Turkey Sliders

Many things have happened since I last posted. As you can see, the name of the blog has changed. Maybe it's because... I PASSED THE BAR! I've been sworn in and now I'm a real attorney, admitted to practice law in North Carolina. More on that later. I also went to Thailand after taking the Bar exam. There was some serious food and some serious eating done there. More on that later too. I've got some catching up to do on some things I previously cooked [and some unloading of my iPhone photos]. These turkey burger sliders are from Bon Appetit, see the recipe here. They've got onions and spinach inside them and I put them on Hawaiian rolls, so they were really tasty. Also, you can eat about 3 and experiment with different toppings depending on what you have. These turkey sliders were great with pesto, tomatoes, more onions, brie, mozzarella, cheddar, and of course mustard and ketchup. I'm sad that we ate so many before taking pictures of all the possible toppings.

Charlie got really creative with the brie. And how appetizing does that melted cheese look? Wow.

I followed that Bon Appetit recipe pretty much exactly. No scallions, so I just used regular onion. Below you will see photos of most of the steps. Again, we ate a few before I took the pics.

Combine chopped spinach, onions, garlic, and cumin in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. I used the mini food processor on the spinach, onions, and garlic, obviously...

 

Blend all that.

Mix in the ground turkey. Only until blended. Who wants to touch raw turkey more than they have to anyway?

Form 1/2" patties. Mine were about 4-5" in diameter. It's really hard to keep them thin, but they'll plump up in the pan. Also, I made mine about 2 hours ahead of time and refrigerated them to let them get a little firmer.

Cooked up! Really juicy, as you can see from my really clean plate...

My combination of toppings. Mozzarella, tomatoes, onions, pesto, and a little ketchup on the side.

I was impressed by these and so was Charlie. They feel relatively healthy with all that spinach, using lean ground turkey and all. The addition of the Hawaiian rolls and the fact that we ate nearly all of them probably decreases the healthy factor. Those turkey sliders that were leftover did make for a good lunch later on that week though. I believe I'll recommend this recipe.

The Boyfriend Cooks and the End of Torts (for now)

It took me from about 7:00am to 6:00pm, but I finished the Torts section that lasted 3 days (except for completing that heavily discussed one-page study guide) and I got done with the Contracts Foundation course. It was rough. Between eating regular meals and going to the gym, there ain't much time for anything else. I did pretty excellent on the torts quiz if I do say so myself, but tomorrow begins the "deep dive" into Contracts. Vomit.

We agreed last night that the boyfriend would cook dinner... based on what I had planned that is. Kidding, it was very good and surprisingly filling for a salad. He cooked the fresh sweet corn we bought last week and some chicken to go on top of an iceberg and spinach salad with tomatoes and avocado. He even used some of the leftover tza as a "base" salad dressing, meaning he mixed up all of the stuff/vegetables in it until lightly coated. I put way too much of that spicy chipotle-greek yogurt sauce (that I made last week) on my salad, and my nose was running by the end of the meal. REAL spicy. However, the addition of Ranch dressing to that mix made for an excellent combination of flavors. [I mean, come on, chipotle-ranch is critical.] I'll have to remember that. It's SO southwest, Bobby Flay would be proud [yeah right, like Bobby eats Ranch dressing. Also, the Internet is ambiguous on whether or not to capitalize "ranch" in this context]. I tried my best on these lovely pics, as Charlie tried his best on this meal:

Wait for it....

Okay, we are in business now. I just got a new photo editing app [Aviary]. This is the only pic of this blog post that uses it, but you can damn sure tell a difference. Will be using it again soon. Again, this is still the salad plain, wait for it...



It doesn't look like a lot, but that chipotle sauce will burn you up. Yes, this amount only.

Oh, and again I'll be having leftovers during bar-studying tomorrow... for the fifth day in a row. It is very convenient though. And quick. Maybe tomorrow I'll have my roasted red pepper tomato soup outta the box alongside the salad with its all of two chunks of chicken that are left after tonight. Based on my progession in the studying routine right now, it looks like I'll have some catching up to do over the weekend (womp womp), but for once I am not going out of town. The good news: dinner date night for tomorrow is still happening anddddd a FOOD TOUR of downtown Durham is on for Saturday afternoon. Get ready for pics on pics on pics. [I'm writing this like I have an audience... nerd.]

Moving slowly

Well I finished the diagnostic test and did not do as horrible as I imagined. Obviously I'm better at criminal law and evidence than the other subjects, but apparently I know some torts too. I then barely got through Torts foundation course, and there's no way I'll get through all of the supposed 18 hours of introductory courses before I leave for the beach or even before real bar prep classes start, but hey, whatever. We have til the end of July right? Right?!




I ate all these peperoncinis while hearing about "other torts" in one and a half speed. I love them.

I wasn't gonna post my dinner tonight because it is kind of a repeat of the homemade pasta I made- apparently it does freeze excellently by the way. But who am I kidding, I'm sick and love food too much, I obviously took pics of my dinner tonight:

 

 

Yeah, that light lemon-y sauce with parmesan just alll over it.

 

 

In my lap, ready to eat. The things I do for food pictures.

 

It's those noodles, olive oil, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, and kalamata olives with lemon juice and Parmesan. It's a little healthy and feels light, but I promise it's not if you eat a pound of it. This would totally not be the same without the homemade pasta. On the side is a little piece of wheat baguette with some garlic oil and dipping seasoning. You know, trying to be fancy. Food is the best part of the day, especially when you study all day.

 

. . .

 

So the best hypothetical I read today said exactly this: "A young woman felt crushed after to her boyfriend of two years broke up with her. Feeling despondent, she consumed several bottles of wine, and then decided it would be a good idea to fry up some bacon." How awesome. I laughed out loud and then highlighted it on the screen, despite the fact that I was being timed when answering these questions. Maybe because it is ridiculous? Or maybe because it is so relatable? Anything to break up the boredom!