Pork burgers with feta and tzatziki

Remember when I posted that recipe for Paleo pork balls? Ever since that time, I've thought about making pork burgers with feta and topped with tzatziki. But, for whatever reason, I never got around to making them. And while I do love the pork balls, I've been getting a little bored of them lately as they are in frequent rotation on my 'busy working momma' menu plan. Boredom is the mother of invention in my kitchen and so, enter pork burgers with feta and tzatziki!

I had some idea about how I wanted the burgers to taste and a quick internet search gave me the rest of  the tips that I needed to make my recipe come to life. These burgers would be great if they were cooked on a BBQ but since mine is currently buried in snow, I fried them on the stove and finished them in the oven when they didn't seem to be cooked through in the middle.

I ate my burgers topped with tzatziki plus sliced tomato and cucumber. I've really cut back on the amount of wheat products that I eat and a big bun didn't seem like it would go well with this meal. However, I think that these burgers would be yummy inside pita pockets, thin burger buns, or even butter lettuce. They would also be good with some thinly sliced red onion but I was fresh out. C'est la vie!

Pork burgers with feta and tzatziki (Adapted from TasteofBBQ.com)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork

10 shakes Worchestershire sauce (approx. 2 tsp)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp ground garlic

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Instructions:

1. Place ground pork in a medium-sized bowl. Add all ingredients and mix together with pork. Only combined until just mixed. 

2. Use your hands to form pork mixture first into balls and then into patties. 

3. Make small indentation in the middle of the burger. 

4. If cooking on the stove top, heat pan over medium high heat. Cook patties until golden brown on each side but take care to not flip burgers too frequently. Burgers are cooked when they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. 

5. If using the BBQ, heat it to 400 degrees. Cook patties for approximately 5 mins per side or until cooked to 160 degrees.

6. Topped with tzatziki and serve with tomatoes, red onions, and/or cucumber slices. Enjoy!

Makes 4-5 patties

Baked halibut with pesto sauce

Hey there! Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've done a post...I guess that you could say that life's been a tad busy over these past five months...

We enjoyed the summer of 2013 as a family - Scott and I were both off on parental leave and we spent much of it on holidays. We were away from Canmore for weeks at a time. We visited family in Grande Prairie and on Vancouver Island plus enjoyed lots of camping, climbing, hiking, and mountain biking.

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Sadly, we had to return to real life by mid-September as both of us needed to get back to work. Being a working momma with two kids has been both challenging and overwhelming at times but we are finally starting to settle into a routine. Scott's new business venture (Windtower Construction) has added a whole new level of busyness to our lives but we're managing. I look forward to a time when things settle down a little but I suspect that this is our new reality.

And since this blog is supposed to be more about food than my family life, I'm finally going to post a new recipe! Our fish order arrived at the end of October and again, I'm thrilled with both the quality and quantity of fish that we received for our $250. I only opted for one piece of halibut which we enjoyed this past Sunday. I searched the internet for a new halibut recipe and came up with the one posted below. It's been modified slightly from the Barefoot in the Kitchen website.

Baked halibut with Pesto Sauce

Ingredients: 

1 large pieces of Halibut (or 2 smaller pieces)
2 tablespoons flaked almonds
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp mayo
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grind or chop almonds into medium-sized pieces using coffee mill or large knife.
3. Mix almonds, pesto, mayo, parmesan cheese plus salt and pepper in a small bowl.
4. Place halibut on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread pesto mixture evenly on top of halibut.
4. Bake in oven for 15-20 mins. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Enjoy!