Southwestern Turkey Burgers

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey breast
1/3 cup crushed baked tortilla chips
1/3 cup bottled salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
4 (1.5-ounce) light wheat hamburger buns
4 curly leaf lettuce leaves
4 slices ripe tomato
1/4 cup bottled salsa

Directions:
Combine first 8 ingredients. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat patties with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes. Carefully turn patties over; cook 4 minutes or until done.

Top bottom halves of buns with lettuce and tomato slices. Place patties over tomato slices, and top each with salsa and top halves of buns.

Comments:
Man, I could not get a decent picture of this. Then Adam tried and ended up with obvious cat foodage on the counter. Gah! Oh well. These were really good. I don't like a lot of junk on my burger so I skipped the lettuce, tomato, and extra salsa and it tasted just fine.

Beefy Tex-Mex Stir-Fry

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 poblano chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 pound ground beef
1 tomato, finely chopped
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
Salt and pepper
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the poblano, onion and chili powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat, until the meat is just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato and tortilla chips and season with salt and pepper.

Divide the meat mixture among 4 plates and top with the cheese.

Comments:
At first I was wary of the not draining the beef thing, but it worked out alright. It wasn't greasy - I guess the tortillas suck some of it up, huh? Anywho, couldn't be simpler. Well, ok, so I made the mistake of touching my eye with the hand that de-seeded the hot pepper, which is never advised. I swear even now, days (and multiple showers and hand-washings) later, I still must have some of it under my fingernail. Strong stuff! But other than that, pretty brainless. Adam suggests topping it with some sour cream. And bacon. He always wants bacon on everything.

Taco Salad

From The Everything Glycemic Index Cookbook by Nancy Maar



Ingredients:
16 taco chips
1 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 bag baby spinach, shredded
2 sweet red roasted peppers, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Arrange taco chips on serving plates. Sprinke with cheese and place under broiler until cheese melts. Top taco chips with spinach, peppers, and onion. Serve with salsa and sour cream on the side.

Comments:
Remember what I said about Adam liking his nachos with all the crap up on top of it? Well this is that preference at work again. I left off the red peppers and subbed a green onion. Overall it was ridiculously simple and he ate it. I can't ask for more than that.

Ground Turkey Nachos

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 ounce tortilla chips
3 ounces ground turkey
2 tbsp refried beans
1 tbsp nacho cheese sauce
2 tbsp salsa
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp minced chives (left out)

Directions:
Arrange the chips in shallow bowl.

Set a small skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the turkey, breaking into chunks with a wooden spoon until no longer pink. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the beans.

Meanwhile, spoon the cheese sauce into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on low power in 15-second intervals until it is warm.

Spoon the turkey mixture evenly over the reserved chips. Drizzle on the cheese sauce. Spoon on the salsa and sour cream. Sprinkle with chives.

Comments:
I've made this a couple times. I'm an unconventional nacho eater in that I don't like all this crap all over the chips. I like to dip clean chips into the pile o' crap. I also don't like nacho cheese. So the picture is obviously my dish. Adam's looked more like the recipe describes. All in all, a good recipe.

Turkey-Tortilla Casserole

From Everyday with Rachael Ray May 2008



Ingredients:
limes
turkey breast cutlets (I used ground turkey)
onion
chiles (left out)
diced tomatoes
tortilla chips
chicken broth
shredded cheese
sour cream (omitted)

Comments:
I don't think my swapping ground turkey for the the cutlets really made a difference in the overall taste of the dish. It just seemed like an easier method than what the recipe called for. I think I skimped a bit on the chicken stock as it came out a little dry. Still pretty yummy. And even Adam, who's wary of anything with the word "casserole" in its name, deemed it edible.

Cheesy Corn Bites

From Everyday with Rachael Ray March 2008



Ingredients:
cream cheese
pepper jack cheese
egg
corn
tortilla chips (scoop shaped)

Comments:
The second of the two corn-based appetizers, this one definitely took first place. They reminded us of the cream cheese wontons that Asian Sensations makes. These are super quick, super easy, and super yummy. They also made the list for appetizers at our next party, hands down.