Peach Salsa with turkey burgers

Sometimes I amaze myself with creations and this time I definitely was pleased. The sweetness of the peach and the strong flavor of the cilantro did a wonderful job adding texture and taste to the turkey burgers.

I challange everyone to spice up their normal grilled burger with a little fresh fruit this summer! You won't be disappointed.

Source: Adapted from Weight Watchers weekly reader
Serves: 2

Salsa:
2 large peaches, diced
1 small jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

Mix all ingredients and set aside.
Cook burgers and top with salsa! Recipe was orginally written for salmon burgers...so feel free to make adjustments to what you're having for dinner.

Enjoy

4th of July revamped

Before you pack the cooler and head off to the lake or the family picnic….really think about how you can have a wonderful holiday weekend with delicious healthy foods and not the normal fat and calorie ridden repeats.

Here are some ideas to get those brain juices flowing!

*Fresh fruit bowl- cut up a bunch of your favorite fruits and put them in a bowl all together. I know I am much more likely to enjoy fruit if it’s already cut up and ready to go. My favorites to put together are: grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries and pineapple. If you want to put a dip out try this greek yogurt fruit dip.

*We all like something salty and crunchy, so instead of a bag of potato chips, try veggie straws. A serving size is 38 straws!! For a total of 3 points plus. A pretty good alternative if you ask me.

*Black bean salsa: this is very easy to put together and you can feel comfortable knowing it doesn’t have any dairy that will spoil if left in the heat. To save on even more calories, don’t serve it with chips! It’s just as good right off the fork.

*Start up the grill!! Rather than sauce laden barbeque brisket or a bucket of fried chicken try turkey bratwursts, 97% fat free Hebrew National hot dogs, or even some grilled turkey burgers! Lots of alternatives to make this holiday different than a week night meal.

*Crystal light lemonade- Instead of the regular Country Time Lemonade that is full of sugar, make a big batch of Crystal Light. Very refreshing in this heat and very low in calories.

Most importantly: have a wonderful holiday weekend, enjoy the people that you’re with and stay safe!

Jalapeno and Cheddar stuffed Burgers

For those of you that know me you will probably read that title and be surprised I actually WILLINGLY added Jalapeno's to a food creation of mine...but I did! And my mouth didn't burn off and I actually enjoyed it. So like I've said before, "Give it a try. You never know, you might like it!"

Ingredients: for 2 burgers
8 oz of lean ground turkey or beef
1 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese (I like Cabot)
sliced jalapenos from the jar
burger condiments you enjoy

Divide the meat into 4- 2 oz patties. On top of two patties, layer the sliced japs and cheese. Then enclose the japs and cheese with the other 2 oz patties.

Grill until your desired doneness and enjoy!

*Note- Cabot has a reduced fat cheddar that is two points plus for 1 oz. They also mark their packages with 1 oz sections so it's really easy to make sure you're getting the correct portion. Points for these burgers are going to vary depending on your meat choice...but it will range between 4-5 points plus per burger.

Stuffed Peppers

Even better leftover!

Source: Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
Ingredients: Serves 4, 5 points plus

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbl tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
1 tsp minced fresh basil
4 green, red or yellow bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded
1/2 cup tomato puree or tomato sauce.

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix together beef, rice, onion, peas, Parmesan, tomato paste, garlic, thyme and basil in large bowl; spoon evenly into bell peppers. Stand peppers in shallow baking dish. Pour tomato puree over peppers; add enough water to baking dish to come partway up sides of peppers.

3. Cover baking dish with foil and bake, basting peppers occasionally with tomato liquid, 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until peppers and rice are tender and filling is cooked through, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Notes: I replaced the fresh herbs with a few sprinkles of Italian Seasoning. I did not do the basting while cooking and they turned out just fine. When I make rice for other dishes, I often make extra and freeze it so it can be ready for meals like this. Just defrost and use!

SUNDAY SLOW COOKER: Bolognese Sauce

Even though this looks a lot like spaghetti sauce it has a very different taste. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey

salt and pepper, to taste

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup white wine

1- 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1. Spray skillet with cooking spray and saute carrot, celery and onion 5 minutes. Add beef and cook stirring until no longer pink. Season with salt pepper and nutmeg.

2. Pour in milk and wine; bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook at a lively simmer until most liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. 3. Transfer to slow cooker and stir in tomatoes. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Stir, and then cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes longer.

I served mine over pasta with some garlic bread. Yummy!

Note- a serving of sauce is about 3/4 cup.

Stovetop Meat Loaves

Some people have no interest what-so-ever in eating or preparing meatloaf. But this happens to be one of our go tos when nothing else is springing to mind. So when I found this quick variation, I was all too eager to give it a try. Both of us were very pleased with this quick cooking, easy assembled, very fulfilling meal! So before you turn your nose up at “meatloaf”, give it a try…you might be just as pleased as we were!

Source: Taste of Home Comfort Diet Food Cookbook

Ingredients: 2 servings
3 Tbl reduced fat milk
2 Tbl quick-cooking oats
1 Tbl chopped onion
¼ tsp salt
½ lb lean ground beef or turkey
½ tsp cornstarch
½ cup Italian tomato sauce (tomato sauce with oregano, basil and garlic)
¼ cup cold water

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the milk, oats, onion and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into two loaves.

In a small nonstick skillet, brown loaves on both sides; drain. Combine the cornstarch, tomato sauce and water until smooth. Pour over meat loaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients: Serves 6

2 cups cooked pasta- penne preferably
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tsp olive oil
4 med. garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
1/2 lb extra lean ground beef or turkey
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

*Preheat oven to 350.
*Heat oil over medium heat; add onions and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned; drain fat and set pan back over medium heat.
*Add the oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and mushrooms and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Layer as follows:
1. Small about of beef mixture in bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish (just enough to slightly cover the bottom)
2. Half of cooked pasta
3. Half of remaining beef mixture
4. Half of mozzarella cheese
5. Remaining pasta
6. Remaining beef mixture
7. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese

Bake until cheese is golden and bubble, about 30 minutes.

Note: I didn't have any regular tomato sauce so I used some that basil, garlic and oregano and it was most delicious!

Spaghetti and Meatball "Stoup"

"Stoup"- according to Rachael Ray is thicker than soup but thinner than stew and this is a great recipe for your first adventure into stoupland. I've adapted mine from Rachael's recipe and I think I did pretty good.

Source: adapted from Rachael Ray

Serves: 2- her original recipe is written for 4, but I am firm in believing only cooking the amount of servings you have people. Feel free to double or make alterations for you and your family/guests

Ingredients:

10 baby carrots, sliced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 8oz can of tomato sauce and 1/2 of another small can

2 cups chicken/vegetable broth

1/2 ground beef/turkey/venison

1/8 cup bread crumbs, Italian if you have them. If not, add a tsp or two of Italian seasoning

1/8 cup plus 2 Tbl egg beaters

2 cups egg noodles

Preheat a med. soup pot over med. heat. Add a tsp of olive oil, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and saute 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and broth and cover pot. Turn up heat and bring to a fast boil.

While your soup is warming up, start making the meatballs. Mix the ground meat with the bread crumbs and the egg beaters. Roll into meatballs. I try to make an even number for easy splitting.

Once the tomato and broth mixture is reached the boil, slide the meatballs into soup. Bring back to a boil and then stir in spaghetti. Reduce the heat and simmer soup 10 minutes more stirring one or two times, until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through.

Feel free to serve with crusty bread but I have never chosen this route. Enjoy!

SLOW COOKER SUNDAY: Lasagna

With the weather changing outside nothing says fall and winter better than the crock pot. This one is perfect for a Sunday evening meal while NFL football is on. Takes a little more time to put together and doesn't cook as long as a workday crock pot meal....enjoy with a nice glass of red!

Source: Weight Watchers, serves 6

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked lean ground beef (7% fat)

1 small onion, chopped

1 med. garlic clove, minced

28 oz canned crushed tomatoes

15 oz canned tomato sauce

1 t salt

1 t dried oregano

1/2 t dried basil

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella, shredded, divided

6 dry lasagna noodles, no-cook

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese such as Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano

*Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-high head. Add beef, onion and garlic, cook; stirring frequently breaking up meat as it cooks about 5-7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

*Meanwhile, in a med bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup mozzarella.

*Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture (about 2 cups) into a 5 quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 beef mixture.

*Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 4-6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste, if desired.

*In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and Parmesan; sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until the cheese melts and the lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes

Notes: I used cottage cheese instead of the ricotta and didn't add any of the Parmesan cheese. If you have them, use a crock pot liner for easy clean up. You can put together the lasagna the night before and just turn on when you're ready. If you happen to cook it for more than 6 hours, it will still be good but the noodles will be just a little more mushy.

Taco Salad

This has been one of my family's favorites ever since I can remember and I'm happy to pass it along and hopefully make it one of your family's too!

Ingredients: For 2

1/2 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef

taco seasoning

lettuce

tomato

red cabbage

cucumber

carrots

onions

freshly grated cheese

Doritos

Cook turkey until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning. Put crushed up Doritos on bottom of plate. Assemble desired salad on top and add with warm meat. Freshly grated cheese has way more flavor than the pre-shredded stuff you buy in the store and when it comes to things like this, you can cut on the calories with the extra sharpness of the cheese. Top with a little bit of reduced fat or fat free Ranch. Also, if you want to save even more calories, skip out on the ranch and just use salsa!

Gyro-Style Turkey Pitas

Source: taste of home

Ingredients: serves 4
1 lb. ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t salt
2/3 cup sour cream
3 T mayo
2 T Ranch
1 small tomato, chopped
1/3 cup chopped cucumber
4 pits breads, halved and warmed
Shredded lettuce

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, cook the turkey, onion, sauerkraut, brown sugar and salt over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Note: we used 93/7 turkey and there was nothing to drain
2. While the turkey is cooking....in a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayo and Ranch. Stir in tomato and cucumber.
3. Fill pita halves with turkey mixture, lettuce and sauce.

What we did different:
Used fat free sour cream. Used light mayo. I stuffed as much as I could get into half a pita and then had a little salad on the side with the leftover.

What we'll do different next time:
Double the sauerkraut. Mix turkey mixture, dressing and lettuce all together and then put into the pita. Try it without the salt. And repeat "what we did different"

"Foil Packs"

Turkey Foil Packs...a staple at our house

Ingredients: for one pack

1/4 lb turkey

1/2 chunked onion

1 cup chunked butternut squash

mushrooms

Directions: place the ground turkey patty on the foil. Top with squash, onions, mushrooms and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Fold in three of the four sides and add 2 Tbl of water. Close in fourth side and put on med heat grill for 20-25 min.

Feel free to make this your own with different veggies. I had some yellow squash from the farmer's market and added it to the pack above. My brother in law loves sliced potatoes in his. If you use potato or rice, add more water.

The great debate of ground turkey vs. ground beef. We always use 93/7 ground turkey and have never used ground beef in the foil packs. We just like the taste but it is also MUCH cheaper than ground beef. While I was at Wal-Mart today....I took a look at the beef so I could inform you of the real difference. Here's how the two sized up against each other:

93/7 beef- 170 cals, 8 g fat, $3.18 per lb., 4 points if you counting

93/7 turkey- 160 cals, 8 g fat, $2.12 per lb., again...4 points

new find I had never seen....96/4 beef- 130 cals, 4 g fat, $3.78 per lb., 3 points

I'm interested to see this new beef in cooking action so I might give it a try next time we are having burgers. But if you have never tried ground turkey, give it a shot....you never know, you may like it.

Butternut Squash: My good friend Lindsey introduced me to this wonderful vegetable and I cook with it all year long. Technically, it's a winter squash so it carries 1 pt per cup but you can find it year round. They are a little tough to handle. I suggest using a vegetable peeler to peel the skin. Then use a large sharp knife to cut the squash into circles...from there, cut it into chunks. There are seeds at the very end much like a pumpkin seed. Just use a spoon to scrape them out. Again, if you've never had it...give it a shot!

Remember...."not a crumb left" on my table