Love and The Heart - Turkey Sliders with Okra Fries and Remoulade Sauce

I have been blessed to know some really wonderful people in my lifetime, and I should have known that it was only the foreshadowing to meeting my husband. I love him with all of my heart and am amazed every single day at the beauty of a life where we both work at loving each other better. Even though I used the word "work" there, it is more like a hobby where the joy derived makes it never feel like work.
We both come from families with history of heart issues, and in our 40s have decided to make a conscious effort to eat healthier and, true to our own selves as a couple, we are making it fun!
I didn't really intend to put this on the blog, so I only took a few photos before we enjoyed them, but WOW - these were really good, and felt like amazing gourmet pub fare, and not anything like sacrificing taste for health benefits.
Our local grocery sends out some pretty great coupons. Don't get me wrong, I only wish I were organized enough to be a big "couponer," but $10 off is worth the trip and I started off going mainly for some high end toilet paper.
The produce section had some really healthy-looking okra, and here in the south, okra is usually best purchased from the local farmers market - but this looked great and made me think of summertime. Which in the cold and dreary dark of winter is a great thought to cling to.
IF YOU HATE OKRA BECAUSE YOU THINK IT IS SLIMY, STAY WITH ME HERE, THIS COULD BE A DEAL CHANGER!
By slicing the okra in half, tossing it with olive oil and sea salt and putting it under the broiler - it gets light, crispy, and amazing. Dipped in a little Remoulade Sauce, you will be shocked.
I found some fresh-baked rolls that still had a bit of steam in the package where they had been packed still warm, and knew that there had to be some little sandwiches of some sort to be made with these. Having had a good bit of beef lately, I was hesitant to buy ground beef, even the leanest, but saw the ground turkey and it is a great option for balancing out your meat selections for the week. We try to alternate chicken, fish, turkey, beef, and even a little lean pork, so that we don't overuse any of them.  I get really tired of chicken and even though it is healthy, sometimes you find yourself eating chicken 10 times a week. Bock bock.  We have found the secret to a wonderfully moist turkey burger that will save you a good bit of fat and calories.  I might have to look up the calorie difference and post it here, because the last time I looked at it, I was amazed. But, you didn't come here for that - you came for the YUM factor, so here goes;

Turkey Sliders

1 lb Ground Turkey

1 Egg

seasonings to taste - I used smoked paprika, salt, pepper

This one is just so easy and can be customized with whatever seasoning you like.  

Put the ground turkey into a mixing bowl and add the egg and seasonings.

You can mix it with a spoon, but the best and easiest way is just to combine it with your hands until it is well mixed.  

Make small patties just larger than your buns and about 1/2 inch thick

In a large non stick skillet, cook the patties over medium heat until they are done all the way through. You will feel the texture change if you poke them a bit with the spatula from "spongy" to firm and that is a great indicator of doneness.  

Slice the rolls and wrap them in aluminum foil and place in the oven to warm.  

Top each slider with some good cheese, some sautéed onions, tomato, lettuce or spinach leaves, maybe a good pickle or two and a dab of the remoulade sauce. We "might" have used a tiny bit of bacon on each one for fun!

Okra Fries

Fresh Okra, Sliced length wise

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Slice the fresh okra length wise and put in a mixing bowl

Toss it with a tiny bit of olive oil or spray with a "mister" until lightly coated

Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil

Spread okra on prepared pan

Sprinkle with salt

Place under preheated broiler and cook until lightly brown and crispy 

I actually took it out half way through cooking and  tossed the pieces around

Serve with Remoulade Sauce for dipping.

Remoulade Sauce

2 T Mayonaise

2 t Spicy Mustard

2 t Ketchup

Dash of hot sauce

There are too many recipes for this one to even count, everyone has their own idea as to what it should taste like - I think it should taste like what YOU like.  So - mix it up, taste it, and add whatever makes you happy.  I usually add whatever kind of fun relish is in our fridge - this time it was pear relish, a lovely homemade gift from my Mother-in-Law.  Once you taste this on the burger, and the okra fries, you will find lots of excuses to use it on everything!