Herb & Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Let me begin by saying: Wow! These were pretty amazing. I can't remember the last meal all three of us so equally loved as much as these burgers. Beckett, who will rarely eat meat, began crying when he mistakenly thought his father was taking his burger away from him. Yeah, they are that good.

My last experience with a stuffed burger was a high school cooking class, where some fellow students demonstrated stuffing a beef burger with American cheese, ketchup, mustard, mayo and pickles and called it an Inside-Out Burger. I've never been much of a fan of beef burgers, but as a teenager, I thought the idea was so neat, I made them for my family. I guess they must have not been too impressive, because we never had them again. But it wasn't the fault of the concept, it was the contents. Thinking back, it doesn't even sound good. Especially for an almost-vegetarian, as I was.

So fifteen-ish years later, I found a recipe for herb & cheese stuffed burgers in Taste of Home magazine and had to give it a shot. Of the many changes I made, the most noteable were using ground turkey instead of beef, reduced fat cheeses and wheat rolls, seasoning the meat with thyme instead of sage and rosemary, and adjusting it to make three burgers, instead of four. I did opt for the more flavorful, but less healthy, ground turkey over ground turkey breast, but these burgers were so fulfilling, we were happy with a simple salad as a side to make up for it. I will certainally be making these family pleasing burgers again, perhaps experimenting with the herbs and cheeses.

adapted from Taste Of Home Magazine, February/March 201, serves 3
3 tbsp shredded 2% cheddar cheese
1 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 3/4 tsp dijon mustard, divided
1 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp Italian-style breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tbsp ketchup
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
10 oz. ground turkey (half of a standard 1.25 lb. package)
3 whole wheat sandwich rolls
light mayo, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, optional, for serving

In a small bowl, combine cheddar cheese, cream cheese, parsley and 3/4 tsp of the mustard. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine onion powder, bread crumbs, ketchup, salt and pepper, thyme and remaning mustard. Add ground turkey and mix well. Shape into 6 thin patties. Spoon 1/3 of cheese mixture into the center of three patties. Top with remanining patties and press edges firmly to seal.

Grill over medium heat, about 5 minutes per side. Serve burgers on rolls with tomatoes, lettuce and/or mayo as desired.