Color Me Domestic - Hot & Cold Chicken Burgers

I've completed one week on the Self Drop10 diet and fitness program. I really enjoyed it and did see some success which is always a good thing. There are two high intensity cardio sessions a week and three at-home weight sessions plus a calorie target of 1,600 which seems really high for us dieters but the recipes they provide make it easy to fill up on super foods.

On Sunday I made these chicken burgers that I am calling "Hot & Cold" because the burger is has a smoky tang to it and the cucumber salad is perfectly cool and refreshing. 

I recommend these for a Saturday or a Sunday when you have the time and counter space for prep. You have to process the ingredients yourself and then form them into patties. I would die for a big girl food processor but I managed just fine with my stand-by mini-prep! (These middle of the road processors handle more than the mini and come in super fun colors)

I just broke up each patty into one process cycle... so each ingredient got quartered.

Hot & Cold Chicken Burgers (via Self's Drop 10 Cookbook)

Ingredients

•  - 1/4 cup lowfat plain Greek yogurt
•  - 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
•  - 1/2 teaspoon sugar
•  - 1/2 small red onion, divided
•  - 1 ripe avocado, cut into 1-inch chunks
•  - 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
•  - 1/4 portobello cap
•  - 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
•  - 2 cloves garlic
•  - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each), quartered
•  - 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
•  - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•  - 1 tablespoon olive oil
•  - 4 whole-wheat English muffins (or whole-grain buns), split
•  - Lettuce leaves (optional)

Process

Heat oven to 400°. 

In a bowl, whisk together yogurt, vinegar and sugar. Dice half the onion; add diced onion, avocado and cucumber to yogurt mixture; toss to coat. 

In a food processor, process portobello, edamame, garlic and remaining half of onion until finely chopped. Add chicken, soy sauce and cayenne. Pulse until chicken is chopped and ingredients are combined, about 12 times. Form mixture into 4 patties. If you're using a mini-prep repeat this 4 times until you've got all 4 patties finished.

Heat oil in a large oven-safe skillet over high heat. Add patties and cook, turning once, until both sides are browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place skillet in oven; bake until patties are cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. 

Place lettuce, if desired, and patties on bottom halves of muffins; top each with 1/2 cup avocado mixture and remaining muffin half.

THE SKINNY (from Self.com)

436 calories per serving, 20 g fat (4 g saturated), 36 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 31 g protein