Turkey Chili Cheeseburgers

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/4 cup (about a handful) cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup (about a handful) parsley, chopped
1 small onion, grated
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped, divided
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
A few dashes of hot sauce (add more if you like it spicy)

8 slices plus 1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ripe avocados
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
Juice of 1 lemon
4 Kaiser rolls, cut in half
2 tablespoons chili powder

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation

Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill.

In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the ground turkey, cilantro, parsley, onion, about three quarters of the chopped jalapeño, the tomato paste, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce, grated cheese, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pat the meat down gently in the bowl and use the side of your hand to divide it into four portions. Scoop out one portion and shape it into a patty, pressing the burger together more in the middle to allow it to expand during cooking.

Once you've shaped them all, toss the burgers onto the grill and cook until marked and cooked through, 5-6 minutes per side.

While the burgers are on the grill, remove the pits from the avocados and scoop the flesh into a medium-size mixing bowl. Lightly smash it up with a fork to break up the large pieces, then add the sour cream, garlic, lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper to the bowl. Mix everything up with a fork, smashing the larger pieces of avocado up as needed. Set the avocado smash aside until the burgers have finished cooking.

When the burgers have about 3 minutes of cooking time left, place the Kaiser rolls, split side down, onto the grill to toast. Place two slices of the pepper jack cheese on each burger and let that melt as they finish cooking.

Once the buns are toasted and the burgers are cooked through, place one burger on each toasted bun bottom, top it with some of the avocado smash then cap it off with the bun top. Serve the burgers up along with the Red, White and Blue Grilled BBQ Potato Salad alongside.