Mushroom, Garlic, and Swiss Turkey Burgers

 

Ingredients:

Burgers:

• 1 lb of lean ground turkey meat
• 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• Ground black pepper
• Sprinkle of paprika

Mushroom, Garlic Topping:

• 8 oz. of white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon of minced garlic
• Ground black pepper

Condiments:

• Whole wheat hamburger buns
• Reduced-fat swiss cheese, slices
• Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground turkey, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, pepper, and parika. Mix ingredients together with your hands until well incorporated. Assemble into 6 burger patties (you can do 4 if you like your burger larger).

2. Spray a large grill pan with cooking spray so the burgers don't stick. Add the burger patties to the pan and cook on medium heat until completely cooked through (should no longer be pink in the middle-this can take up to 20 minutes).

3. While the burgers are cooking, add the olive oil and sliced mushrooms to a medium saute pan and saute on medium-high heat until the mushrooms start to sweat (about 5-8 minutes).

4. Next, turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic (stir continuely so the garlic does not burn) and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season the mixture with black pepper. Turn the heat off and cover so it stays warm until your burgers are finished cooking.

5. Add a slice of swiss cheese to one side of each hamburger bun and toast until lightly brown and the cheese is melted.

6. To assemble, add dijon mustard to the side of the bun without the cheese and add a spoon full of the mushroom/garlic mixture on top of the melted cheese. Place a burger patty in the middle and smoosh together. Enjoy!!

* I served these with roasted red potatoes and a side salad*

Spinach, Mushroom, and Turkey Sausage Stuffed Shells

I found some recipes in the Food Network magazine this week for light stuffed shells and rich stuffed shells and I thought I would do something in between. The flavors in this recipe sort of remind me of lasagna and pizza (just what I like)! Hope you enjoy! :)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of lean turkey sausage (I used Jennio brand)
• 2 Tablespoons of light olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 10 oz. of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
• 8 oz. of white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup of fat free cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup of part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup of reduced-fat grated parmesan
• 1.5 cups of reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese (divide in half)
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• Black pepper
• Sprinkle of paprika
• 1 jar (24 oz) of vodka sauce (I used Preggo)
• Sprinkle of dried oregano
• 1 box of jumbo pasta shells

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, brown turkey sausage over medium-high heat. Once it is finished cooking, drain any excess liquid and place in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a large pot, boil water for pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the shells and cook for about 7 minutes. Drain and place the shells back into the pot. Add a little bit of olive oil to the pot so the shells don't stick together. Set the pot aside.

3. Gently wipe out the skillet that you cooked the sausage in with a dish towel or paper towels and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and diced onion. Cook over medium-high heat until onions are lightly browned (about 3-5 minutes). Next, turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic (stir consistently so the garlic doesn't burn) and cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Add the sliced mushrooms and chopped spinach (make sure you thawed and squeezed out all of the liquid) to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes until mushrooms are lightly browned.  Add the turkey sausage back into the pan and remove the skillet from the heat. Season with black pepper and paprika.

5. In a medium mixing bowl, add cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, and 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Mix together until well incorporated. Next, stir in the sausage and veggie mixture to the cheese mixture. Season with dried basil and crushed red pepper.

6. Pour 1/2 of the vodka sauce into a large baking dish and spread evenly throughout the dish. Next, generously stuff each shell with a spoon full of the turkey/veggie/cheese mixture and place into the baking dish seam side down. Once you have stuffed all of your shells pour the remaining sauce over the top. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and dried oregano.

 

 

7. Bake for 20 minutes (covered with foil). Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes (cheese on top should be melted and dish should be bubbly). Enjoy!

Blog/Baby Update

So what have we been up to these past 7 months........

As many of you already know we are expecting a baby boy at the beginning of May! We are super excited and can't wait to be a family of 3. The first 17-18 weeks of pregnancy were pretty rough, lots of nausea, vomiting, fatigue, etc. and that is the main reason why I stopped blogging. Since our lives are a tad bit different now I will be posting pregnancy/baby updates along with recipes, nutrition information, and other tid bits. So here we go with the first pregnancy update:

How far along?  28 weeks 1 day

Baby's size:  14.8 inches; 2 and a quarter pounds (according to babycenter.com)

Symptoms:  Tired, heartburn, shortness of breath, restless legs (this is terrible at night), increased appetite some days, and frequent bathroom breaks.

Sleep:  Sleep is definitely hit or miss. Some nights I sleep pretty well and other nights I don't. I usually wake up 4-5 times a night to either go to the bathroom, drink water, or get a snack.

Movement:  Most days our little guy is quite the squirmy worm but there are some days where he sleeps more. I recently started to notice the difference between him kicking/punching and him totally switching positions (usually my stomach jumps). For those of you that are preggo right now...I started feeling him kick around 20-21 weeks!

Labor signs:  I think (from what the doc says) I have had a few braxton hicks contractions in the middle of the night and in the morning when I wake up which they think is mainly due to dehydration (when you are dehydrated your uterus contracts). Once I go the bathroom and drink some water these go away pretty quickly. It sorta just feels like your stomach is tightening up.

Anything make you nauseated?  When I overeat! Terrible feeling!

Food cravings:  Bread, pizza, pasta (carbs in general), really cold and juicy fruit, cheese, chewy candy (skittles, laffy taffy, starburst, etc.). I pretty much force myself to eat my veggies!

Best moment this week:  We have an ultrasound tonight to see our little guy!

Looking forward to:  Holding the baby, baby showers, being a Mom, and watching Kel be a Dad.


**Next up: Stuffed Shells with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Turkey Sausage**

Quinoa Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of quinoa, rinsed
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 zucchini, grated and drained (wrap in a paper towel and squeeze out the water)
• 2 tsp. of minced garlic
• 1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup of reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. of paprika
• 1 tsp. of ground black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Whole grain sandwhich thins
• Brown mustard

Directions:

1. In a small pot, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 12-15 minutes and set aside.

2. Add the black beans to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork (doesn't have to be pureed, just mashed up). Next add the grated carrots, zucchini, garlic, and bread crumbs and stir until all of the ingredients are combined.

3. Place the egg and egg white in a seperate small bowl and whisk together with a fork until smooth. Add the eggs to the large bowl of beans and vegetables and stir. Next add the cooked quinoa  and the shredded cheese to the mixture and stir until everything is well incorporated.

4. Next season the mixture with cumin, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and ground pepper. Form the mixture into patties (1/4-1/2 cup of mixture per patty depending on how big you want them). In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add patties. Cook for about 5-8 minutes per side (or until browned).

5. Toast sandwhich thins and add mustard to one half of the bun. Place patty on the bun and enjoy!!

*Recipe adapted from Whole Living*

Tomato Basil & Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breast cutlets (Sliced very thin or pounded out very thin)
• 4-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
• 2 oz. of fresh goat cheese
• 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1 tsp. of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper

Coating:

• 1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. of dried oregano
• 1 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper
• 1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the chopped basil leaves, sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, garlic powder, olive oil, and pepper. Stir the ingredients together until they are well incorporated (it should look like a compound butter). 

2. Spread half of the cheese mixture in the center of each of the chicken cutlets leaving about half an inch of space from the border. Next roll the chicken to completely cover the cheese, using toothpicks to secure.

3. Stir the bread crumbs, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper together in a small bowl. In another small bowl, crack the egg and whisk until smooth. Dip each chicken breast into the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture.

4. Place chicken breasts onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees. Remove tooth picks from chicken. Enjoy!!

**Sides: roasted okra and whole wheat bread**

Baked Vegetarian Egg Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

This recipe was made up last night by my sister, Kendall. These were absolutely delicious!! My husband and I had them leftover for lunch today and they were still just as yummy. We paired these egg rolls with a Thai marinated flank steak on top of a udon noodles and vegetables. Hope you enjoy!!

 

Ingredients: (makes 10 egg rolls)

Egg Rolls

• 1 package of all natural egg roll wraps
• 1 bundle of bean threads
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned (matchsticks)
• 2 cups of cole slaw mix
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 2 green onions (scallions), diced
• 2 Tablespoons of light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of light olive oil

Peanut Sauce

• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of natural crunchy peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons of honey
• 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Bring a small pot of water to boil and add 1 bundle of bean threads. Immediately after adding the bean threads, remove from heat and let sit for 20 minutes or until softened.

3. In the meantime, in a large saute pan (on medium heat), add 2 teaspoons of olive oil, julienned bell pepper, zucchini, cole slaw, and carrots and saute until soft and lightly browned. Next stir in the green onions and soy sauce and mix until combined. Reduce heat to low.

4. Drain the bean threads and give them a rough chop. Add the bean threads into the vegetable mixture and stir until ingredients are well incorporated. Let this mixture cool for about 15 minutes or it will break through the egg roll wrapper.

5. Once the mixture is cooled, add about 1/4 cup of mixture to the end of each wrapper. Fold in the sides and roll. Place the egg rolls seam side down onto the cookie sheet. Spray the top of egg rolls with cooking spray.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are browned and crispy.

7. While the egg rolls are baking, prepare the peanut sauce by adding all of above ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until combined. ENJOY!!

Creamy Spinach Enchiladas

Ingredients:
(Makes about 7 enchiladas)

• 1 package of soft flour tortillas (if you use corn, use less filling)
• 2 packages of chopped frozen spinach
• 1 cup of corn (canned or frozen)
• 1/4 cup of low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup of fat free cream cheese
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 Tablespoon of garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 cups of salsa (any kind you would like)
• 1/2 cup of low-fat sour cream
• 3/4-1 cup of low-fat mexican shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove frozen spinach from the package and place in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for about 5 minutes or until the spinach is thawed (it does not need to be hot, just thawed). Squeeze as much water out of the spinach by placing the spinach in paper towels or a dish towel. Set the spinach aside until ready to use.

2. Make the sauce by adding 2 cups of salsa + 1/2 sour cream to a small bowl and stirring. Set aside.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and chopped onion to a medium saute pan and cook on medium-high heat for about 5-8 minutes of until the onion is soft and slightly browned. Next, turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic and stir until the ingredients are well incorporated (be careful not to burn the garlic).

4. Add the spinach to the garlic and onion, breaking it apart while stirring (you don't want all of the spinach to be stuck together).

5. Next add the corn, ricotta, and cream cheese and stir into the spinach, garlic, and onion until the cheese is melted and all of the ingredients come together.

6. Assemble the enchiladas by first adding about 1/2-3/4 cup of the sauce to the bottom of the dish. Next, make each enchilada by stuffing the tortilla with a couple of spoon fulls of the spinach mixture, rolling the tortilla, and placing it seam side down into the bottom of the pan. Repeat this same step for the remainder of the tortillas.

7. Lastly, pour another 3/4 cup of sauce on top of the enchiladas and top the sauce with shredded cheese. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the top is melted and bubbling. Enjoy!!