Gluten free May - Turkey Burgers

I'm craving pizza. And a sandwich on a highly processed wheat bun. Yet, today is May 9th, and I've managed to avoid gluten since May 1st as part of the Gluten Free Challenge for Gluten Awareness Month. I've reduced casein (the protein in milk) but have not eliminated it. My daughter avoids gluten and casein, which means a lot of the recipes I make are GFCF so that she can eat them.

I've eaten a lot of breadless deli-meat roll-ups and hamburger steaks (aka bunless burgers). More salads and fruit. I was craving chocolate and made eggless brownies with a mix from Trader Joe's.

Over the weekend, I made my version of turkey burgers. The original recipe is in this file. I tweaked it to replace apples (my daughter seems to be sensitive to them) and to make the recipe in a pan on the stove top. Adding the sauce ingredients TO the meat mixture keeps the meat moist, and the honey mustard and maple syrup add a hint of sweetness that isn't too much.

Here's *my* GFCF version of it. The sauce makes a nice dressing for lunchmeat and salads, too.

SAUCE:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

1 tablespoon Boar's Head honey mustard

To make the sauce, in a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, maple syrup and Dijon mustard; set the sauce aside.


TURKEY BURGERS:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

1 tablespoon Boar's Head honey mustard

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast

1/2 cup pear sauce

1/4 cup real bacon bits

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

safflower oil

shredded lettuce or cooked rice

To make the burgers, in a medium bowl mix together the mayo, honey mustard, maple syrup, turkey, pear sauce, bacon bits, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

Form the mixture into small patties that are slider size (or sausage size).

Brown the burgers in several tablespoons of safflower oil on both sides and transfer to an oven-safe dish. Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit approximately half an hour until the meat is cooked through. Serve on shredded lettuce or rice topped with the honey-mustard maple sauce.