Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers

My WC sis, Lindsey, never ceases to give me reasons to love her. When I saw this dinner on her blog today, I began drooling all over my desk and had to pull out the disinfecting wipes. It was perfect because I had no dinner plans and was going to be home alone for dinner. I printed out the recipe and went straight to the grocery store after work to get some ground turkey. I couldn't wait to mush up these burgers.

I pulled out my digital scale and measured out 4 (5 oz.) servings from my package of ground turkey and froze 2 servings for future use. I decided to cook up 2 of these flavorful burgers so I would have something to take to work for lunch tomorrow (by the way, I so thought today was Friday, phhffft).

Here's the recipe scaled down for 2 burgers/servings:

TEX-MEX TURKEY BURGERS
Source: Lindsey

10 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash of hot sauce (I excluded because I was too lazy to grab it out of the fridge)
1 Tbsp diced jalepeno peppers
1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted)
1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced (I generally only keep sweet onions on hand because I prefer the taste)
1 sliced bell pepper, any color (I used 1 cup frozen tri-color pepper strips)
1 tsp olive oil

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1. In pan over low heat, saute 3/4 of onion and bell peppers in olive oil; stir occasionally to avoid burning.
2. In mixing bowl, combine turkey, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne black pepper, hot sauce, jalapeños, cilantro and the remaining 1/4 of the onion(finely chopped).
3. Using hands, mix until ingredients are combined. Divide mixture into two equal parts and form into patties.
4. Place patties on prepared grill or grill pan. Cook for five minutes per side or until no longer pink in center.
5. Remove from heat and top with onions, peppers and your favorite salsa.

To follow with Lindsey's suggestion, I served with 1/2 cup black beans

So, if you're looking for a very flavorful and quite healthy mexican dinner, you should definitely, hands down, give this one a try! Thanks, Lindsey!!

Weight Watchers points values per my calculations:
5 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey breast: 3 points
1/2 cup black beans: 2 points
1/2 tsp EVOO: 1 point
onions/peppers: 0 points
TOTAL: 6 points

"mock" Chicken Marsala and Oven Roasted Broccoli

I'm not really one for making elaborate or fancy meals. In fact, I have nothing against cooking with condensed soup. I came up with this really simple, delicious and healthy dish that also comes together really quickly. And recently somebody posted on the WC board raving about this oven roasted broccoli recipe. I'm always looking for a new interesting way to cook broccoli and it fit the bill. I tried it once last week and am officially in love with it.


"mock" Chicken Marsala
Source: me

olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
1 can fat free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
thin/angel hair spaghetti
salt and pepper to taste
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1. Set pot of water to boil for cooking pasta.
2. Heat pan and lightly coat bottom of pan with oil (I use my Misto sprayer). Add chicken and cook until lightly browned.
3. Add chicken broth and simmer while pasta is cooking.
4. While pasta is cooking, add condensed mushroom soup to pan, stir well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until pasta is done.
5. Drain pasta and serve with chicken and sauce.

Oven Roasted Broccoli

Source: Alton Brown - Good Eats

1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed (I just used one crown)

2 tablespoons olive oil (I just spray with Misto sprayer until lightly coated)

2 cloves garlic, minced (1 clove per crown)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (I did not use)

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or sharp Cheddar
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1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices.

3. Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Spread the panko into a 13 by 9-inch metal cake pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted.

5. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine.

6. Return the mixture to the cake pan, place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 more minutes.

7. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately.

My notes: Instead of cutting into bite size pieces and the stalk into rounds, I just cut into small spears. It just takes a little longer to roast.

WW Friendly Baked Ziti

I'm trying to eat healthier (if you're reading this, please pay no attention to all of the baking that I do) so when I came across the Foodie Fashionista Blog I was inspired. I found Dori's baked ziti to be the perfect meal for a week where I would be eating dinner by myself. I couldn't find fat-free ricotta, so I used part-skim ricotta, which brought the points value to 7 WW points per serving.

You can find the recipe here. Enjoy!

bacon, Bacon, BACON!

Who doesn't love a BLT? Well, honestly, I never craved them until not too long ago. And, well, I'm not a fan of tomatoes. But I've learned to like them on my sandwiches. And the perfect time for a BLT is when is Jersey Tomato season! Oh, yeah, and I've been craving bacon all week. So I made extra last night with my jellyroll pancakes so that I could have my BLT tonight!

Eating alone...

So my husband works shift work. 2 weeks out of the month I'm eating dinner alone. And he doesn't eat leftovers so I can't make an actual meal and save some for him. So, I take this opportunity to make dinners that I normally wouldn't make with him around.

The other day I caught a craving for a cheap meal from my childhood... Jellyroll Pancakes! And since I can never fight my cravings, I decided to make it, along with some bacon. It's pretty simple and very filling.

JELLYROLL PANCAKES

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 egg (edit - Grandmom says it's 2 eggs for 1 cup of flour)

Jelly

(edit- Grandmom also says you need to add a splash of vanilla extract or orange juice - my mom must've forgot to tell me this part when I asked how to make them, but I think they're great without it, so don't sweat it if you forget or dont have it to use)

1. Heat a non-stick skillet (I used my square skillet with no sides for ease) over low-med heat.

2. Mix first 3 ingredients together.

3. When the pan is hot, ladle some batter onto the pan and spread into a thin pancake. These cook pretty quickly are not not to be browned. Flip after about 30-60 seconds (you'll notice steam begin to rise). Continue to cook other side.

4. Transfer to a plate.

5. Spread a small amount of jelly over the pancake and roll up. Serve :)

Makes about 6 pancakes

Serves 2-3

Don't be alarmed if your first one gets screwed up. Serve with plenty of breakfast meat!