30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 21

Day 21 - A Recipe

I love Paula Deen. I want to be her when I grow up. :) The woman is so funny and charismatic and fantastic cook. Living in the shadow of my mom and sister (who are both excellent cooks naturally) I have had to practice in order to get somewhat good at cooking. I now consider myself to be fairly decent, thanks to practice.

I started Weight Watchers for the first time this week, and I have had to re-vamp a lot of the things I cook already to make them healthier. Paula Deen is famous for "loving her some butter". I love me some sugar. Well, we have heart issues and diabetes in the Bennett and Whitaker families folks. So that has to change. Cory and I are pretty committed (at the moment) to getting healthier. We are each on different diets, and I am planning a side-by-side gym/play area downstairs so Cory and I can work out while watching the kids (hopefully!) Anyway, Paula Deen's sons (the Deen brothers, Jamie and Bobby) were on Dr. Oz yesterday and they had some great healthy recipes on the show.

This is their recipe that I am cooking for tonight. It is between 7 and 9 points according to Weight Watchers. The point value will depend on how many servings it makes - I am only using 1 lb. of turkey. I am also not eating the burger with bread, and I am using homemade tortillas chips that I made myself with low-carb tortillas last night (they are only about half a point per tortilla!) I am pretty excited about this meal. :) Check it out, maybe it's up your alley. I will definitely let you all know how it turns out.

Turkey Black Bean Burger With Zucchini Fries by the Deen Brothers


Ingredients
Serves 6-8

Burgers:

1 1/4 lbs ground turkey

1 (15-oz) can black beans

1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

1 tsp The Lady’s House Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup prepared salsa

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 avocado



Zucchini fries:

1 medium-sized zucchini, julienned

1/4 cup olive oil (for frying)

Salt & ground black pepper



Directions

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, beans, tortilla chips, house seasoning, chili powder, and cumin. Use your hands to form the mixture into 8 equal-size patties. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, cook the patties for 4-5 minutes per side, or until no longer pink in the middle. Transfer the patties to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. In a small bowl, mix together the salsa, corn, and avocado. Spoon the salsa mixture over the burgers.



For the fries, preheat oven to 350 ° F. Spray a cookie sheet or large baking pan with olive oil. Season the julienned zucchinis with salt, and peppers. Let rest for 15 minutes. Lay each piece of coated zucchini on the tray. Do not overlap. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let the fries cool slightly before eating.



Recipe courtesy of the Deen Brothers.

EDIT: These turned out OK. I think next time I will halve the beans and put in some more seasoning of some kind. Cory said there was "not much to them" and I kind of agree. Oh well. I still had three points left for an awesome snack tonight! :) WOOT!!!!!!!!!