Hey there Cowboy

I love burgers--it is actually what brought me and my husband together. On our first date, I made sure he was a fan of cheeseburgers, because I knew that if he wasn't, our relationship was doomed. He introduced me to Pal's Cabin, where you can get the most delicious burger in NJ, topped with melted cheddar cheese and crisp steak fires (my mouth is watering as I type).

Realistically, I am trying to limit the amount of red meat I consume, so I go for the next best thing--turkey burgers seasoned with BBQ sauce, or as I like to call them, Cowboy Burgers.

Cowboy Burgers
6 points per burger patty
Makes 5 burgers

20 oz 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg
3 tbs seasoned bread crumbs
2 tbs BBQ sauce
1/4 red onion, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

-Mix together bread crumbs, egg and BBQ sauce.
-Add onions, salt and pepper
-Mix in ground turkey until just blended
-Shape into 5 patties
-Refrigerate patties for 30 minutes
-Preheat grill pan, sprayed with PAM, over medium high heat.
-Grill 5-10 minutes per side, until cooked all the way through.
-Serve on whole wheat roll.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Fall Back into Food Prep

Daylight Savings offered a little extra time for cooking this weekend, which was nice.

Dinner 1:
Turkey Cowboy Burger on Whole Wheat Bun-9 point
Home on the Range Fries-4 point

Dinner 2:
Spanikopita--9 points
Greek Salad—2.5 points

Dinner 3:
Chicken Papas--9 points
Roasted potatoes—4 points

Featured recipe:

Turkey Cowboy Burgers
8 oz 93% lean ground turkey breast
1 egg
3 Tbs bread crumbs
2 Tbs BBQ sauce
½ onion, diced
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley

-Mix together breadcrumbs, egg and BBQ sauce.
-Add in onion, salt and pepper.
-Mix in meat until just blended.
-Form into 4 patties.
-Grill each side for 5-10 minutes until cooked through.

Calories-161
Fat-5.6
Fiber-.6
Protein-18.5
4 points per patty

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Mushroom-Beef Burgers

I love a good burger. It was one of my pre-requisites while dating: If a guy didn’t like a good hamburger, I knew it wasn’t going to work out. While turkey burgers are great (I love my Cowboy Burger recipe) sometimes I crave real ground beef. By combining mushrooms and ground beef, this recipe allows me to bulk up my burger, so I get a pretty large patty using a minimal amount of meat. Top with low fat cheese, shredded lettuce and tomatoes and you will be in heaven!

Mushroom-Beef Burgers
PointsPlus Value: 4 per patty
Servings: 4
145 calories, 4 grams fat

Ingredients
8 oz 90% lean ground beef
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 egg white
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions
-In a food processor, pulse mushrooms and onion together until it is finely chopped, almost like a paste.
-Sauté mushroom-onion mixture in a pan sprayed with PAM until most of the liquid dissolves. Let cool.
-In a mixing bowl, mix together Panko breadcrumbs and egg white. Add parsley, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Mix well.
-Stir in ground beef and mushroom-onion mixture.
-Form into 4 patties and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. They fall apart really easily, so handle with care.
-Heat up a large skillet sprayed with PAM. Cook patties 5 minutes each side, or until juices run clear. Do not grill, they will fall apart!

Healthy Meals to Nourish Your Mind.

Grill season is here!

I am so happy that the weather is finally warming up! We took the grill out last week for the sweet whiskey flank steak and jerk-style chicken, and I will be using it again for one of my favorite go-to dishes--balsamic chicken.

Here is this week's line-up

Balsamic chicken with orzo salad

Cowboy burgers with steak fries

Meatball parm subs with cauliflower

The balsamic chicken is great because you put all of the ingredients into a zip-lock bag the night before and then throw it on the grill 20 minutes before you want to eat. If you don't have an outdoor grill, I suggest investing in a grill pan--they are great for year round BBQ. We have the All Clad Non Stick Double Grill and Griddle, and we use it all of the time.

Balsamic Chicken
Serves 4
5 points per serving (about 250 calories)
20 oz chicken, cut into fillets (or just buy chicken cutlets)
2 tsp oil
2 tbs mustard
2 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic, or two whole garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tbs Italian seasoning

Place chicken in a large zip-lock bag.
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients.
Pour marinade into zip-lock bag.
Squeeze out the air and seal.
Place the bag in a shallow dish and refrigerate.
Let chicken marinate for at least 2 hours, or if possible over night.
Pre-heat grill to high. If using grill pan, coat with cooking sprat.
Grill each piece 4-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness**.
Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

**If you are not sure if chicken is done, cut into one piece. You should not see any pink and the juices should run clear.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.