Spicing It Up!

Yesterday, I promised an explanation of this:

It's like this: In my surfing around to different running and/or nutrition websites, I often stumble back upon paloOMG www.paleomg.com and find a new tip or recipe. The other day, I found this one for Pineapple Stuffed Chorizo Burgers (I'll wait while you click on "this one" ... you'll see her blog entry, the recipe and the pretty pictures) ...

Okay, now that you're back (welcome!) ... since seeing it, I have been craving the chorizo-pineapple combo!! CRAVING. I *love* grilled pineapple, so putting it with a burger made my mouth water. I decided we'd have these burgers this weekend in some fashion.

So, yesterday when Aaron and I went shopping, how coincidental was it to walk into the store and see a big display and sample of fresh pineapple?! Mmm ...

A pineapple sample when I'm craving
pineapple? SERENDIPITY, BABY!

You think Aaron's getting himself a
sample when he was actually serving me
first. He's a gentleman, that one. But, we
all know I'm not much of a lady when I
seem to drop my food on the floor ...

The thing is, even though the recipe calls for fresh pineapple, I'd already decided to get some in a can. I hate preparing a fresh one, so I'll save those efforts for grilling season! In the meantime, crushed pineapple in its own juice did the perfect trick!

The real point of the recipe trial was for the use of chorizo to make burgers, and HOLY COW it was DELICIOUS!! I don't think I'll ever not use it in burgers or meatballs or meat loaf again! There's no going back now!

Here's the dinner rundown:

There's my friend Soyrizo. OH.SO.GOOD. I altered the recipe
all over the place. I used 1 pound of ground turkey and 12 oz.
of the soyrizo. I also added a quarter cup of wheat crumbs and
one egg to ensure they held together because chorizo is crazy
soft and loose.

Among the toppings were my home made guacamole and
hummus ... both so easy to make!!

And, can you believe I almost completely forgot to get the
pineapple out of the pantry? What a stooge.

The mixture made 15 slider-style burgers.
I baked at 350 degrees for almost
30 minutes. Mmmm ... mouth watering ...

We also had a big batch of kale chips with a small bowl of mac-n-cheese on the side:

Those are the chips I loaded with Emeril's Original Essence.
BAM and DOUBLE BAM, I used a LOT! (Maybe a smidge
too much ... but, we still at 'em!)

How lovely is my plate?

My sliders on a bed of baby spinach. Each received a quarter
of a piece of turkey bacon then topped with the pineapple,
guacamole and/or hummus. Mouth: Still watering.

My favorite topping turned out to be the pineapple!! Juicy
goodness that went perfectly with the burger!

With a huge punch-o-protein, I have some great fuel in the tank for the morning run! And, I'm stoked to have another easy go-to for dinner ... if you want to add some major taste to your burgers, I've just passed along the perfect way to do it! Oh, and for those counting, all four of us loved these! ALL FOUR!!!

Here's to heading into a great week! Elly and I will see you after the morning run!