Lime Turkey Burgers and Bruschetta

I had a entire bag full of yellow and red tomatoes my mom gave me from her garden and the yellows were on the VERGE. So what did I do? I made bruschetta ... without bread. I mean, the best part of a bruschetta is the balsamic flavoring anyways, so why waste that goodness on a starchy, bread carb? Ok, I like it on bread, but seeing as this was Day #2 of the cleanse, bread wasn't an option! BUT OMG THIS HIT THE SPOT. I did grill the turkey patties and I now wish I would have pan cooked them because they dried out really easy.

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Bruschetta Mix

5 mid-sized Red Tomatoes
5 mid-sized Yellow Tomatoes
1 mid-sized Green Tomato
1/2 Red Onion

1/4 c. Baslamic Vinegar
1/8 c. EVOO
2-3 cloves Garlic - minced
2 tbsp. Basil or fresh leaves

Slice, dice and throw everything together. Shake up and let set so the flavors combine.

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Lime Turkey Burgers

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Corriander
1 tbsp. Basil
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tbsp. minced garlic
Black Pepper
1/2 Lime - squeeze the juice

Combine all the ingredients until you reach patty-making consistency. Pat out 4-5 patties (I got 5 out of mine). They will be moist but they should retain shape if you worked the meat well.

Grill until done or pan cook until juices run clear.

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Whole Grain Rice 

1 c. whole grain rice (feeds more than 2 people in my house)
2 c. water
1-2 cloves of Garlic
Basil
1 tbsp. chicken stock starter (healthy food store - no msg)
1/2 Lime - squeeze the juice in

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. The rice I use cooks at a simmer for 15-20 minutes (quick rice is faster!). Let set for 5 minutes and serve.

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I was surprised the Turkey Patties stayed together because they were pretty wet, but they did! The grill just leached all the moisture out of them unfortunately. The bruschetta was kickass and pretty easy considering you just had to cut the stuff up, combine and let set (I like my "salads" to marinate). The leftover patties went into our lunches. I had no lettuce left so we had just bruschetta, turkey and avocado leftovers for lunch today. Hey: I was perfectly fine with that!

Challenge Friendly: YES! And filling!