Cilantro Turkey Burgers - blech!

I'm sorry to say that I've found my first Cooking Light recipe that didn't live up to my expectations. I really had high hopes for these burgers and had heard very good things about them but alas, I ended up hungry after dinner because I didn't finish the burger as it lost all appeal after the first bite. The recipe as a whole sounded great to me - cilantro, Parmesan cheese, and ground turkey - and I'm really sorry that it didn't turn out as I had expected. Nonetheless, I'm going to post the recipe with the hope that someone else might be able to figure out a way to make these better.

ps - I didn't make the ketchup because for the life of me, I couldn't find the chipotles in the grocery store.


On a lighter note, I paired the burgers with some awesome Mexican roasted potatoes that I'm really proud to say is my own recipe. That recipe follows the burger recipe but note that all the amounts are estimates.

Cilantro Turkey Burgers with Chipotle Ketchup

• 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound ground turkey
• Cooking spray
• 1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 4 (2 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns
• 4 red leaf lettuce leaves
  

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/3-inch-thick patty.
2. Heat a large grill pan or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add turkey patties, and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.
3. Remove 1 chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can. Reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Mince the chile. Combine chile, adobo sauce, and ketchup.
4. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each patty with 1 tablespoon chipotle ketchup and 1 lettuce leaf. Cover with top halves of buns.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 406(30% from fat); FAT 13.6g (sat 4.3g,mono 4g,poly 3.7g); PROTEIN 26.6g; CHOLESTEROL 73mg; CALCIUM 229mg; SODIUM 977mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 4.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.5g
Cooking Light, APRIL 2002

Mexican Roasted Potatoes

• 1 lb redskin potatoes, diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. In a 7x11 inch or 9x13 inch oven-safe dish, combine all ingredients except the cilantro, making sure that the potatoes are well-coated with the spices.
2. Cook for 30-40 minutes (or until fork-tender), flipping the potatoes once during cooking.
3. Toss with cilantro before serving.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 4

Tuna...The New Red Meat...

at least in my house! Holy cow was this good! Kyle and I had eaten lots of fish while on our honeymoon in Hawaii last year and got pretty spoiled by it. And now for my confession...I've NEVER made fish aside from whatever comes out of the freezer section. I know, I know...how did I grow up in a coastal community (Long Island, NY) and manage to never learn how to cook fish? Beats me!

Nonetheless, I took the plunge last week and picked up a big tuna steak (that I cut in two) and 2 HUGE sea scallops. I was bound and determined to prepare a healthy seafood meal that reminded me of a fancy dinner we had in Hawaii while overlooking the setting sun on the Pacific Ocean. After lots of searching online to make sure I felt confident enough to cook the tuna without ruining it, I came across a great recipe for balsamic-glazed tuna on CookingLight.com.

The glaze was a touch on the sweet side and I think the next time I make it, I will cut out 1 tsp of brown sugar. While only making 2 tuna steaks, I did make the full amount of glaze because the reviews on the website said that 1 tbsp of glaze wasn't enough per serving. This recipe calls to grill the tuna but I seared it alongside the 2 scallops on a griddle that attachs to our gas grill's side burner and cooked them for 4-6 minutes per side (4min for my med-rare and 6min for Kyle's medium) over low heat. I cooked the scallops for 5 minutes per side - they were about 1 1/2" thick before cooking.

I paired the tuna and scallops with brown rice that I cooked in chicken broth and garlic powder and a vegetable salad that Kyle came up with and prepared all on his own - see below. (I was SO proud of him!) The vegetable salad was a wonderful and light addition to the meal and we will definitely make it again.

Balsamic-Glazed Tuna

• Cooking spray
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 3/4 inch thick)
• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 4 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup diagonally sliced green onions
• sesame seeds (the recipe didn't call for these but I pressed them into the tuna before searing)

Place a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Sprinkle pepper and salt over fish. Place fish in grill pan; cook 3 minutes on each side until medium-rare or desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, combine broth, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spoon glaze over fish; top with green onions.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes (including rice)

Serves: 4

Serving size: 1 steak and 1 tablespoon glaze

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 266 (29% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 2.2g,mono 2.3g,poly 2.9g); PROTEIN 40.3g; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 11mg; SODIUM 366mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 4.6g

Source: Marianne Marinelli , Cooking Light, JANUARY 1999

Vegetable Salad

• 1 1/2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all indgredients and serve cold.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: none

Serves: 4

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

I love it when a "light" recipe doesn't taste "light"! I've found a number of recipes on the Cooking Light website (yes, just like the food/lifestyle magazine) that have fulfilled this desire and this one I didn't have to do any searching to find. This was the first cooking (as opposed to baking) recipe that my cooking board (on The Nest) voted on for the Recipe of the Week on our board's blog, graciously hosted by nestie adamswife.

Now, you ask, how could a recipe with sausage, pasta, and cheese be on the lighter side? Easy. The recipe calls for turkey sausage and the total calorie count for one serving is 418 kcal. Not bad for a whole meal. There are ways, of course, to lighten it even further, some of which I applied this time (used roasted garlic chicken sausage rather than turkey, for example), and one which I will apply the next time I make the dish - see modifications below.

So get on with it, right? OK OK!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 lb package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
• 1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links*
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cans (14.5oz) petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese*
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.
Remove casings from sausage.* Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble.* Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil.* Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes* or until bubbly.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves: 8 (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 413(26% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 6.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 24.1g; CHOLESTEROL 49mg; CALCIUM 265mg; SODIUM 941mg; FIBER 4.5g; IRON 7.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 53g
Source: Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2003

*Modifications

1. Rather than turkey sausage, I opted for pre-cooked roasted garlic chicken sausage (140 calories per link).
2. I always have extra cheese in the fridge so I used 1/4 cup shredded fontina and 1/3 cup part-skim mozzarella (instead of fresh mozz to reduce calories a little further).
3. Because the sausages were pre-cooked, I sliced them into bite-size pieces rather than "de-casing" and browning.
4. I cooked the onions down for a couple of minutes before adding the garlic, and then added the sliced sausage and browned them for a couple of minutes before adding the tomato paste, S&P, and diced tomatoes.
5. To ensure that the flavor of the fresh basil really came through, I sprinkled it on each layer along with the cheese instead of combining it with the hot pasta and sausage mixture that would surely wilt the basil and take away some of its "freshness".
6. I reduced baking time to 20 minutes so as to not overcook the now twice-cooked chicken sausages.
7. And lastly, I halved this recipe (except the garlic which remained at 2 cloves) without an issue but feel like it needed more tomatoes - maybe even just half a can more (including the tomato juice).