Santa Fe Stuffed Zucchini

It's definitely zucchini season!  I don't know about you, but I love zucchini and I am always looking for new ways to prepare it.  I found this recipe which makes zucchini boats that are stuffed with a Santa Fe seasoned ground turkey mixture.  The original recipe calls for 12 oz. ground turkey and not the full cans of black beans or corn - I decided to make a bigger recipe and had some leftover stuffing mixture that I baked in a sepearte pan in the oven.  The leftover stuffing would be great over lettuce!

Servings: 6
Serving Size: 2 zucchini halves 
Points Plus: 7pp
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
5 medium zucchini
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 jalapeno pepper
1 tomato, diced
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
Kosher salt
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup Mexican shredded cheese, reduced-fat

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to to boil.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and slice each zucchini in half length-wise.  Scoop out the insides of each zucchini half, leaving about 1/4 of an inch to form a zucchini boat.  Place the hollowed out zucchini halves in the boiling water and boil for 1-2 minutes.  Save the insides of the zucchini to add to the stuffing mixture.  Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet over medium high heat; season with salt to taste.  Once the turkey is almost cooked through, add in the black beans, corn, jalapeno, tomato, onion, garlic, zucchini and cumin.  Mix all ingredients together and simmer on low for about 20 minutes, covered.  Place the zucchini boats in a 9x13 baking dish.  Add about a 1 Tbsp. to the bottom of each zucchini half and then top with the turkey stuffing mixture, about 1/3 cup of stuffing will fill each boat.  Finish with 1 1/2 Tbsp. shredded cheese per half and top with fresh cilantro.  Bake for 35 minutes and then serve immediately.

Tip:
Maybe Santa Fe isn't your favorite seasoning?  Try taco zucchini boats instead!

XOXO Megan

Recipe inspired by Skinnytaste  

Cilantro Lime Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers are a lighter burger option that still has a ton of flavor.  And for some reason, they remind me of summer! Trader Joes makes a delicious Cilantro Lime Turkey Burger, and I decided to try and recreate them in my own kitchen. The unique cilantro and lime flavors give these burgers a tasty Southwest feel!

Servings: 4
Serving Size: 1 burger + 1 bun
Points Plus: 7pp
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6-8 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
2 green onions, chopped
¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped
2 t garlic, minced
½ t salt
¼ t red pepper flakes
½ cup cilantro, copped
Juice of 2 limes
4 light buns, toasted
Pinch of garlic powder
1/2 avocado, sliced
Cooking spray

Directions
Add ground turkey, green onions, bell pepper, salt, cilantro, red pepper flakes and lime juice to a bowl.  Mix with your hands until well combined.  I added all ingredients to my Kitchenaid and turned her on, letting the mixer do the mixing! When ingredients are well combined split the meat into four balls, then make each ball into a hamburger patty.

At this point you could easily toss these burgers on the grill, but I grilled my burgers inside on a grill pan. Lightly coat your grill pan with cooking spray and heat to medium.  Toss on your burgers and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until done.

When burgers are done place them on a bun.  Lightly sprinkle each burger with garlic powder, and then toss with a few slices of avocado. Also feel free to add ketchup, mustard or any other zero point plus condiments!

Tip
You could easily make these burgers ahead of time and bring them to your summer BBQ to grill on the spot!

XOXO - Katie

Spanish Rice

Have you ever made Spanish rice??  I hadn't either, but it's really quite easy!  I love to use a rice cooker since it makes cooking rice a breeze!  This recipe adds in some veggies and spicy flavors to make a delicious side dish for your next Mexican night.

Servings: 8
Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 mintues

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups long grain rice

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded cheddar, reduced-fat

Directions:
Cook the rice and chicken broth in a rice cooker - this will take about 20 minutes.  While the rice is cooking, wash and chop the onion and green pepper.  Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, green pepper and garlic - saute for 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the diced tomatoes, chili powder and salt.  Add in the cooked rice and shredded cheddar; stir until well combined.  Transfer to a serving bowl to serve immediately!
 
Tip:
Serve this Spanish rice with the Flank Steak Fajitas we posted earlier this week! They are a perfect complimentary side dish.
 
Recipe adapted from Food Network

XOXO Megan

Taco Dip

I love taco dip!  It's a great appetizer when you are having Mexican for dinner.  This recipe is for a lightened up version and it's SO good!   I like to add fresh cilantro to the top for an extra pop of flavor.  Check it out and see what you think of this skinny, light version of taco dip!

Servings: 24

Serving Size: 1/24 of the taco dip

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, 1/3 less fat

8 oz. sour cream, reduced-fat

15 oz. can refried beans, reduced-fat

16 oz. jar salsa

1 packet taco seasoning

2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded

2 tomatoes, diced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and taco seasoning with an electric mixer or stand mixer.  On a platter, spread the can of refried beans first in an even layer. Next, spread the cream cheese taco mixture into another even layer.  Top with the shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and shredded cheese.  Finally, finish off the taco dip with some chopped fresh cilantro!

XOXO Megan

Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste

Southwest Chopped Salad

This salad is full of flavors and bright colors!  I love all the colors throughout; it definitely reminds me of summer.  I found the original recipe on Pinterest and I adapted it slightly by adding in some avocado.  The recipe calls for a homemade cilantro-lime dressing found here.  It sounded DELICIOUS, but I had to opt for a store-bought dressing for a few reasons. 

1. I’m moving soon and have already packed up my blender. 

2. Although the recipe says to make the dressing in either a blender or food processor, I really think it would work best in a food processor and unfortunately I don’t have one.  Hopefully sometime soon I will have this kitchen tool since it’s on my wedding registry :)

Servings: 6

Size:   1/6 of the salad

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  n/a

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

Large head of romaine lettuce

1 large orange bell pepper

5 green onions

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz. can of corn, drained

1 medium avocado, diced

Directions:

Wash and finely chop the romaine, bell pepper and green onions.  Wash and quarter the cherry tomatoes.  Open the cans of black beans and corn, drain and rinse. Dice the avocado.  Add all ingredients into a large bowl, stir to combine.  Toss salad with your desired dressing and enjoy!

Tip:

Don’t underestimate the size of the bowl you need to mix up this salad!  There are lots of veggies in this recipe and you will want a bowl big enough that you can really fully mix all the ingredients in.  Also, a little tip for really brining out the flavor or your avocado. Sprinkle some salt on top of your salad with fresh avocado - the salt will really heighten the taste of the avocado - yum!

XOXO Megan

Veggie Cajun Pasta

Have you every heard of a SLURRY??!?!?!  It is a way to thicken up stuff (soup, sauces, exc.) without adding heavy cream, massive amounts of flour or cornstarch.  Slurry's are the bomb!  Anyways, this recipe calls for a slurry made with a just 1 Tablespoon of flour, cream cheese and milk.  It makes for a really creamy pasta sauce.  I altered Skinnytaste's recipe by omitting the meat and kicking up the veggies.  This is a great dish when you are craving spicy pasta!

Servings: 2
Size: about 1 1/2 cups
Point Plus: 8pp
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
3 ounces uncooked whole wheat pasta
2 tsp Cajun seasoning (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoon light cream cheese
2 shallots
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder

Directions:
Prep all veggies. In your small food processor make slurry by combine milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside.  Prepare pasta in water according to package directions.  Add olive oil to a large skillet and sautee bell pepper, onions and garlic, about five minutes on low heat.  Add mushrooms and tomato and suatee 3-4 more minutes.  Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Add stock and pour in slurry.  Stir and let boil, about 3 minutes.  Sauce should thicken slightly.  Add Cajun seasoning.  When pasta is cooked add to veggie slurry mixture and mix together.  Let simmer until the sauce reaches your desired thickness.  I added a sprinkle of parm (see photo) but I don't think you need to.  The flavor of this is so GOOD!

Tip: 
If you don't have a blender, food processor or anything that you can mix the slurry in, I would suggest using room temp cream cheese and putting three slurry ingredients into a dish with a lid.  Mix with a fork and then shake so that the slurry gets a little bubbly.  Then, go buy a food processor, blender or other mixing item.  I have a food processor obsession, and I would highly recommend this tiny four cuper for dishes such as this!

XOXO Katie