Meat...It's what for dinner.

Despite many attempts to do "Meat-less meals," we cannot deny it any longer. My family loves their meat. But I do try to be creative in how we consume it and how often we consume red meat. We have always enjoyed chicken, pork, recently branched out into ground turkey, and I see some ground chicken tacos in my near future.

Here are two new recipes that we have tried...and everyone from 18 months to 33.5 years LOVED.

Cheeseburger Pie

Ingredients:

1 can crescent rolls (I used reduced fat.)

1 pound of ground beef

1/4 cup finely chopped onion OR 1 tsp onion powder (I used the powder.)

1/3 cup chopped dill pickle slices (I had to omit this because Chad HATES pickles even more than he hates green peppers.)

2 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp mustard

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp of dill pickle juice (I did not omit this and Chad was fine with it.)

2 tbsp milk

2 cups shredded chedder cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Unroll crescent rolls and press into bottom and up the sides of an 8 inch pie pan.

3. Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned and drain well.

4. Stir in onion, pickle, ketchup and mustard.

5. Sprinkle with flour and add milk and pickle juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

6. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of cheese.

7. Pour into crescent crust and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Remove from oven and top with remaining cup of cheese. Let stand until cheese melts.

Italian Turkey Sliders with Honey Dijon Mayo

Ingredients:

20 ounces lean ground turkey

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp basil, dried

1/2 tsp oregano, dried

1 tsp salt

16 rolls (I used Sister Shubert Dinner Rolls fresh from the oven- YUMMY!)

Directions:

1. Mix turkey, cheese, seasonings, and garlic together and form into 16 small patties.

2. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

3. Place turkey burger on roll and top with honey dijon mayo (recipe below).

*I also placed a small pickle disc on top of my burger- yum!

[Honey Dijon Mayo: Mix 1/3 cup of mayo with 1 tbsp of dijon mustard.]