Southwestern Turkey Burgers With Sweet Potato Fries

Over the past few weeks I have been DVRing Cook Yourself Thin and watching it while walking my treadmill. They have some really great recipes posted on their LifeTime TV website along with 2 cookbooks available at Amazon.com.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers With Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 4

Calories per serving, turkey burger: 342

Calories per serving, sweet potato fries: 89

For the sweet potato fries:

2 sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling

Juice of 1/2 lime

For the turkey burger:

1 1/3 pounds lean ground turkey

1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2–3 spritzes canola oil in a mister

3 ounces 50%-reduced-fat pepper-jack cheese, cut into thin slices

4 whole-wheat Kaiser rolls

Romaine lettuce leaves

Tomato, sliced

Red onion, sliced

1/2 avocado, sliced

1. For the sweet potato fries, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Wash and dry the potatoes and, with the skin on, slice into 1/2-inch-thick rounds; cut the rounds into 1/2-inch-thick finger-shaped pieces. Toss the potatoes in a bowl with the oil, chili powder, garlic powder and salt.

3. On a baking sheet, spread the sweet potato fries in a single layer and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until brown and tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a platter or bowl and sprinkle with a little more salt.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the lean ground turkey with the diced chiles and season with salt and pepper. Shape into patties and refrigerate until ready to cook.

5. Heat a large grill pan or nonstick skillet on medium heat and spritz with canola oil. Add the turkey patties to the grill pan and cook until browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip, reduce the heat to low, cover (if using a skillet) and cook until the juices run pale pink, about 4 more minutes. Top with the reduced-fat pepper-jack cheese during the last minute.

6. Toast the rolls in the oven or in a toaster oven. Alternatively, grill them 1 minute on each side.

7. To assemble: On a platter, place the fries and a burger on a bun and top with lettuce, tomato, onion and avocado slices. Squeeze lime juice over the fries and serve.

Spicy Chili Bean Burgers

Spicy Chili Bean Burgers



Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min
Makes: 5 sandwiches

1 cup Fiber One® original bran cereal
1 can (15 or 16 oz) spicy chili beans in sauce, undrained
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup chopped green onions (4 medium) (I used ½ small white onion)
1 egg, slightly beaten (or ¼ cup Egg Beater)
1 1/4 cups washed fresh baby spinach leaves
5 slices tomato
5 whole wheat burger buns, split

1. Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or crush in food processor).
2. In medium bowl, mash beans with fork until no whole beans remain. Add crushed cereal, oats, onions and egg; mix well. Shape mixture into 5 patties, each about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
3. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray. Add patties; cook over medium heat about 10 minutes, turning once, until brown.
4. For each sandwich, place 1/4 cup spinach leaves and 1 tomato slice on bottom half of bun; top with bean burger and top half of bun.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Cook patties over medium-high heat about 10 minutes.

Nutrition Information:
1 Sandwich: Calories 280 (Calories from Fat 40); Total Fat 4 1/2g (Saturated Fat 1g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 40mg; Sodium 800mg; Total Carbohydrate 48g (Dietary Fiber 12g, Sugars 6g); Protein 11g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 25%; Vitamin C 8%; Calcium 15%; Iron 30% Exchanges: 2 1/2 Starch; 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat

Sue’s notes:
· I made 8 patties from this mixture and they ended up being 95 calories without the bun.
· I added minced garlic and some Southwestern seasoning to the mixture before cooking.
· My burger was put on an OrrowWheat 100 calorie bun with lettuce and Heintz chili sauce. My mom tried it with lettuce, pepper Jack cheese, and salsa.
· Even though you are using spicy chili beans, the burger can be bland due to the cereal and oats. I highly recommend seasoning with additional items such as chili powder, taco seasoning, chili seasoning, or Southwest seasoning. I am cutting down on sodium, but you could add some salt & pepper.
· You can mash the beans with a potato masher or pulse them in a food processor. Just be careful not to mash them to the consistancy of bean dip. My mom said that she would have preferred it with some of the beans being left either whole or only slightly mashed.