Turkey Joes

Serves: 6
Serving Size: 1 burger with bun

Makes a perfect one-dish meal, one that includes at least three kinds of vegetables, plus plenty of fiber when you use a whole-grain bun.

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 peeled garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 pound ground turkey breast
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup mesquite or other smoky barbecue sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 whole-wheat hamburger buns, grilled or toasted
6 thin onion slices, for garnish (optional)
Shredded lettuce, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and pepper until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the turkey and cook, using a wooden spoon to break it up and stirring until it loses its pink color, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and barbecue sauce.

2. Simmer vigorously until the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If not using immediately, refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a microwave oven before using.

3. Place the bottom of each bun on a plate. Spoon over each equal amounts of the meat mixture. Top with the onion and some lettuce, if using. Cover with the top of the bun or set it to lean on one side of the meat topping. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION INFO
Calories: 259
Fat: 9.4 g
Carbohydrates: 29.1 g
Protein: 16.9 g

This is a favorite in our house! Delicious, low in calories, high in fiber and taste! 

Curried Lentil Soup
(serves 6, at least)

2 tsp olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 1/4 tsp curry powder
3 c water
4 c chicken broth (or veggie broth)
3 c lentils (or one package – that’s what I use) rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil , or 2 tsp dried basil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt (and pepper to taste)
1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 4 minutes. Add curry; saute 1 minute. Add water, chicken broth and lentils; bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer 40 minutes or until lentils are tender.  (Or, after onion is cooked you can put all ingredients thus far in a crockpot and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours or til lentils are tender)

(optional) Place 4 c lentil mixture in a blender; process til smooth. Return mixture to pan.

Add basil, vinegar, salt, and tomatoes; cook til thoroughly heated.

Nutritional info, per serving:
104 calories; 2 g total fat; 7 g protein; 17 g carb; 10 g fiber; 0 mg cholesterol; 168 mg sodium
That translates to 1 Weight Watcher point per serving!

(you can use fresh ingredients, but I was throwing this together fast)
1 can artichoke hearts (rinsed)
1/4 can of chick peas (garbanzos), rinsed
6 baby carrots (or 1 full carrot, peeled)
1/2 c nutritional yeast flakes
2 cloves minced garlic
To taste:
cayenne pepper
black pepper
garlic powder
onion flakes
Options:
baby carrots/carrot sticks
spinach flour tortillas
Throw it all into a food processer until smooth.  Serve as a “burrito/wrap” in a spinach tortilla.  Or, use as a dip for carrots.

Ingredients:
2 medium butternuts
1 apple
2 medium onions
4 TBSP vegan buttery spread (Earth Balance)
1 1/4 tsp medium curry powder
4 TBSP cake flour
pinch of ground nutmeg
2 vegetable stock cubes
3 cups boiling water
2 cups of soy milk (or coconut milk)
1 1/2 tsp salt

How to make:
Trim off the stem and blossom end of the butternut squash. Halve lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds and fibers. Cut into large chunks and carefully peel each chunk. Cut the peeled chunks into 1-inch pieces.

Peel, seed and dice the butternuts.  Peel, core and
chop the apple.  Peel the onions and chop roughly.  In a
large saucepan, saute the chopped onions in the
butter.  Add the curry powder and fry the mixture lightly. 
Add the butternut and apple and saute the mixture for
a while (about 10 minutes).  Add the flour and nutmeg and stir-fry lightly.

Dissolve the vegetable stock cubes in the boiling
water.  Add the stock, together with the milk, and salt,
to the butternut mixture.  Boil, with the lid on, over
moderate heat until the butternut pieces are soft. 
Stir the mixture occasionally.  Puree or blend until
smooth.  The color of the soup should be a deep yellow
and the texture creamy.  Serve the soup hot.
Makes 8 cups of soup.

2 quarts water
2 cups dried Great Northern beans
1 whole carrot
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
15 oz can stewed tomatoes (used crushed and add another can as needed later)
2 teaspoons oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12 oz box elbow macaroni
–I soaked the beans overnight (the more water you use, the less cooking time the next day).

In a large pot, combine the water, beans, whole carrot, and bay leaf. Simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. Add the onion, celery, tomatoes, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Simmer one hour or until the vegetables are tender. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Cook the elbow macaroni, drain. Puree half of the soup in a blender, return to pot and add the cooked pasta. (I skipped the puree step). Remove the bay leaf.

Note: the carrot can be diced before serving (it adds sweetness).  May need to add 2-4 cups more of water.  If you do, double the tomato.

3-2-1 Salad (so named because it is 3 greens, 2 beans, and 1 topping)
Can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Can of chick peas/garbanzos, drained
Can of corn (whole kernel), drained
Red pepper chopped (optional)
Avocado, cubed
Balsamic vinegar 

Throw it all (except vinegar) in a big bowl with a lid and shake (or mix well). Serve, and let people put their own amount of vinegar on top.

(you can also do red onion; balsamic is optional)

Toppings:
Container of vegan cream cheese
Container of vegan sour cream
Shake in dill, garlic powder, chives, salt, and pepper
Put in finely chopped veggies (if you can get salad confetti or pre-chopped, even better): broccoli, cauliflower, onion, carrot, celery 

Mix well and set aside in the fridge. 

Crust:
1 1/2 cups warm water
yeast packet
tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour 

Whisk the first 3 ingredients together, add in flour and knead. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then spread out on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Let it cool completely before topping. 

We tried these yesterday and they are PHENOMENAL!

1 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 1/2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped basil (fresh is best!)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 large portobello mushrooms, washed – stems sliced off
1/2 cup non-fat cream cheese
4 large whole wheat tortillas

Mix the olive oil, garlic together in bowl. Brush the mixture on the mushrooms.

Grill mushrooms 3-4 minutes each site (I grilled them on our George Foreman grill). Let cool. Cut into 1 inch strips.

Mix cream cheese, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Layout tortillas and spread 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on each. Lay a green lettuce leaf over the cheese then lay 3-4 mushroom stips on each. Roll the toritilla and enjoy!

This is a recipe of my very own making. I made it up just yesterday, as a matter of fact. It was a hit with the man AND with the kids!

First! Make the Ranch Dressing with 1 package Fat Free Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix and 2 cups of fat free plain yogurt. (My favorite fat free yogurt comes from StonyField Farms)

Salmon Ranch Wrap

Whole Wheat Tortilla
Canned Pink Salmon

Mix a few tablespoons of the Ranch dressing in with the salmon. Then, I chopped up some cherry tomatoes, chopped up some chives, gathered some shredded carrots (I bought them pre-shredded) and mixed all that in with the salmon and dressing.

For extra flavor – I added a spoonful of capers, a dash or two of dill and some ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper into the salmon mixture.

I let the salmon mixture sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let all the flavors comingle.

Then – I spread a thin layer of the ranch dressing onto one of the whole wheat tortillas, laid a green lettuce leaf on it and put two slices of fat free swiss cheese on it, then I put about 1/2 cup of the salmon mixture ontop of that and rolled it all up and chomped it all down.

It was heavenly!

I just have to say – making the ranch dressing with fat free plain yogurt instead of fat free mayo makes a WORLD of difference. Try it sometime – you won’t even notice the difference!