Turkey Burgers with Roasted Eggplant

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) eggplant
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, divided
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 pound turkey tenderloins, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon less-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon Marmite
4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns, toasted
4 Bibb lettuce leaves
4 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Lightly coat eggplant with cooking spray; wrap eggplant in foil. Place eggplant on a jelly-roll pan; bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until very tender, turning once. Remove from foil; cool slightly. Cut eggplant in half. Carefully scoop out pulp to measure 1 1/4 cups; discard skin. Place pulp in a food processor; process until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup pureed pulp. Combine remaining pulp, 1 tablespoon parsley, 2 teaspoons oil, juice, and garlic. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.

3. To prepare grinder, place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die plate in freezer 30 minutes or until well chilled. Assemble the grinder just before grinding.

4. Arrange turkey pieces in a single layer on jelly-roll pan, leaving space between each piece. Freeze 15 minutes or until meat is firm but not frozen. Combine meat and remaining 2 teaspoons oil in large bowl; toss to combine. Pass meat through meat grinder completely. Immediately pass meat through grinder a second time. Combine reserved 1/4 cup eggplant puree, turkey, remaining 1 tablespoon parsley, soy sauce, and Marmite in a large bowl. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, gently shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Press a nickel-sized indentation in the center of each patty. Cover and chill until ready to grill.

5. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

6. Lightly coat patties with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place patties on grill rack, and grill 4 minutes until well marked. Carefully turn patties over, and grill 3 minutes or until done. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each serving with 1 tablespoon eggplant mixture, 1 lettuce leaf, 1 tomato slice, and top half of bun. (Reserve remaining eggplant mixture for another use.)

Comments:
Ok, who really grinds their own turkey? Please... quit making the rest of us look like lazy cooks. Go to the grocery store and buy Jennie O like a normal person. Anyway, a little time-consuming on the eggplant prep (I actually ended up roasting and pureeing it the night before.) Good results, if not exactly earth-shattering. The eggplant in the burger itself is pretty much invisible. The condiment on top is interesting, but not really the best thing I ever ate. I do have some leftover tortillas so I plan to use the leftovers as a dip. We'll see how that goes.

Greek Meatballs (Keftedes)

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook



Ingredients:
5 oz lean ground pork
5 oz lean ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small eggplant, peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 egg
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, lightly combine all the ingredients except the tomatoes. Shape the mixture into 16 meatballs, about 2 inches each.

2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray; set over medium heat. Cook the meatballs, turning as needed, until well browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes.

Serves 4. POINTS Value per serving: 3 (meatballs/sauce only - doesn't include pasta/rice)

Comments:
These were very good. I used all beef instead of a mix with pork and served them over gnocchi instead of pasta or rice. There's so much going on in these meatballs that I was afraid they'd fall apart during the browning process. They held up pretty well. I also used a 14.5 oz can of tomatoes since Adam never really likes the sauce part anyway. Threw in a little additional water and it worked out fine.