Caprese Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Ooey Gooey Caprese Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Caprese (cuh-pray-say)- just the name is straight up bougie. Fancy foods gone cheap and clean is about my favorite thing right now. This recipe was a HUGE hit with both of us, like I would probably eat this 5 nights/week if I could. Especially because they are SO EASY TO MAKE and REAL INEXPENSIVE. I mean let's be real I'd pay $14 for one of these in a restaurant. And do you see how much the ingredients cost?? $3.00 for one burger.

I knew this week was going to be nutso so I prepped these Sunday night and we ate them Tuesday. BF made plantain chips for a side...we're still working on perfecting that recipe as these chips were "Cajun Style" i.e. burned.

Servings: 2 big stuffed burgers
Cook Time: 25 mins
Prep Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground turkey, thawed ($3.99)
• 2 tomatoes, chopped into big pieces ($1.00)
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese {or 4 slices fresh mozzarella, obvi I go for the cheapest option} ($1.50)
• 2 Tablespoons dried basil leaves {or fresh basil leaves, it's just cheaper to keep the dried basil on hand} ($.30)
• 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

Season the ground turkey with the garlic powder, Italian seasoning and onion powder. Separate the turkey into 4 equal portions. Roll them into balls and flatten them out. Now push kind of a dent in the middle of the patties so they form a small "bowl" like shape.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the mozzarella into one of the "turkey bowls". Put the tomatoes and basil on top. Top with another 1/4 cup of mozzarella.

Now set an empty "turkey bowl" on top of the pile of tomatoes/mozzarella/basil (TMB). Spread the "bowl" over the filling and pinch the edges of the bottom and top bowl together until they are sealed around the TMB. Full disclousure: I made this on a Sunday so I was obviously drinking wine so these were obviously not perfectly pinched together, but they tasted delicious. So no matter how much of a slob kabob you are in the kitchen, these work out. I kind liked them better BECAUSE of how oozy and sloppy they looked- like nasty bar food (which I secretly miss on the reg). So hey, you win some you lose some.

You can throw these on the grill to cook, or if you're lucky like us and live in an apartment complex that regulates "grilling season" and restricts any grilling (as well as restricting the pool, the picnic tables, loud music and happiness) after Labor Day, cook in a frying pan over medium heat covered. Cook on each side for about 15 minutes. We added 5 minutes on each side to make sure the turkey was cooked all the way through.

Once they are cooked, drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. Omzzzellliciousssnesss.

Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil...

And more mozzarella!