Meal

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Southwest Burgers

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Southwest Burgers.  Don't worry, they are not spicy, they are just a perfectly seasoning burger, although adding some fresh jalapeños sounds amazing! 

This is a staple in our house, we probably eat them 3 weeks out of the month! I love them topped with homemade guac or even plain! 

When I made these, I double up! I love to individually wrap these bad boys and keep them in the freezer for my weekday lunches or quick dinners! Have you guys learned by now, I have to simplify meals?! 
 

What you need:
2 lb 93/7 or 94/6 Lean Ground Beef
2 tbsp Southwest Seasoning
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp mustard

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl except for the ground beef, stir them together.
2. Add ground beef, mix well by hand.
3. Make your patties (I make 7 4oz patties for Aaron and I, then 2 2oz, for the kids). I am a fan of measuring and using my burger press. You do not need these items though. 
4. Place burgers on grill or heated grill pan. Press thumb into middle of burger, this helps them cook evenly & not plump up, do not smash the burger with your spatula or you squeeze out the juices.  
5. I cook about 10 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through.  You can cook until your desired doneness. 
6. Throw on your favorite toppings and enjoy OR wrap them and freeze!

And if you have not learned by now, this seasoning is a must have in your kitchen at all time! You will see it on my blog often!

Southwest Seasoning:
2 TBSP chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregno
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix seasonings together and put in a container, there should be some left after you season the chicken! I use this seasoning for taco meat, chicken, anything really! 

For my Fix Family, this burger is 1 red! 

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Turkey Chili

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Alright guys, I attempted my first recipe video! I hope you liked it. There is some room for improvement for sure but I have to start somewhere, right?! 

Anyways, if you stumbled across this post, this is by far my most FAVORITE Chili recipe EVER. It is a modified version from a meal plan of a program I have done in the past and has become a staple in our house! 

This recipe makes 6 servings at 1 cup each however in the video, I made double, so 12 servings total at 1 cup each.  I prefer to double any recipe I can so that I can portion it out and put extras in the freezer for those busy weekdays or weeknights! Work smart, not hard! 

Turkey Chili

1 tsp. olive oil
1.5 lbs. raw 93% lean ground turkey
1/4 med onion, chopped (you can use one whole onion, we don't)
1 med green bell pepper, chopped
1 cloves garlic, finely chopped (you can use 3 cloves, again, we don't) 
1.5 tsp. ground cumin
1 Ttbsp chili powder
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste; optional)
2 (15oz) cans black beans (or pinto beans) drained & rinsed (I prefer to use one of each)
1 (15oz) can all natural diced tomatoes, no sugar added (do not drain)
12 fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

  • Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, I prefer to use my dutch oven! 
  • Add turkey, onion, bell peper and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 8 min or until turkey is no longer pink (this time will be longer if you doubled the meat) 
  • Add cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper; cook, stirring constantly for 1 min.
  • Add beans and tomatoes (with liquid). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 min, or until thickened.
  • Serve warm, sprinkled w/ cilantro.


For my Fix family: 1/2 green container, ½ red container & 1 yellow container  

Recipe Modified from 21 Day Fix Extreme Eating Plan

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Chop it likes it's HOT!

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Ok, so I might be crazy, but really, I used my new Pampered Chef Salad Choppers today to chop my salad and it TASTED way more amazing than it usually does. Like ridiculously amazing. Of course that means I would have to share my recipe, but fair warning, it just may not taste as amazing without these salad choppers. Ha! Just kidding, it will be still be good, it is one of my favorites. Even before salad choppers came into my life! 

First step is to make turkey taco meat.  I make this in batches and store it in the freezer for quick weeknight meals or lunches. Really, in my eyes, if I can double something when I cook it and freeze it, you can bet your ass I am going to do it.  That saves me time later on and I like to save time! I work smart, not hard...sometimes. 

What you need (makes about 8 servings): 
2 lb 93/7 Ground Turkey
2 tbsp of Southwest Seasoning (see below) 
1/4-1/3 cup of diced tomatoes w/ peppers (rotel) 
3/4 cup water

Instructions: 
1. Cook the meat until no longer pink (be sure to chop it up or crumble). 
2. Drain, although w/ the lean I buy there is never much to drain
3. Add in water, rotel & seasoning, mix well.
4. Let it simmer until water is gone. Usually about 10 minutes. 

Southwest Seasoning
2 tbsp chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt
Mix all the seasonings together and put in a sealed container, it should make enough to have some left for other recipes! It is really great on anything, I use it in my burgers too! 

Oh wait...we are talking salad recipe here, right? Guess you need that too...I almost forgot! 

Here is how I assemble my salad! 
2 cups butter lettuce (the bag kind because I am lazy like that) 
3/4 cup turkey taco meat
1/3 cup avocado & cheese (half & half) 
1/4 cup salsa

Put ingredients together and ENJOY! 

For my Fix Family:
2 Greens, 1 Red, 1 Blue
If you use a fresh salsa (no extra junk in it), Autumn says a small amount isn't enough to count! 

Healthy-ish Turkey Sausage Gravy!

We like to use our "fine china" for a lot of our meals.

Breakfast food.  It is a total downfall of mine. Everything I want to eat for breakfast or brunch ends up being centered around bread. Biscuits & gravy, french toast, pancakes...my mouth is watering just writing this post, which I probably shouldn't be writing when I am doing a program that doesn't allow biscuits & gravy! Ha!

Anyways, so if you know me, you know I am always trying to find way to make healthier versions of my favorites foods.  So here it is folks..."healthy-ish" turkey sausage gravy! 

What you need: 

Breakfast Turkey Sausage
1/3 whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups skim milk

I like to use my dutch oven for this recipe but a large skillet or large pot will do.  Crumble sausage into dutch oven.  Cook over med-high heat until the turkey sausage is browned and no longer pink, be sure to stir frequently. 

Grab a wire whisk, stir in flour, salt and pepper, then gradually stir in milk.  Continue to cook until mixture thickens, be sure to stir constantly. 

Serve over your favorite biscuits and enjoy!  I love to buy Trader Joe's biscuits, they are flaky and delicious. 

Chicken & Broccoli Mac

Well, it may be a new year, but that doesn't mean my kids have made a resolution to eat better! I try, but seriously, my son is so picky. I mean, we didn't have the best eating habits the first few years of his life, so I can't blame him.  He saw broccoli on his plate tonight and cried before he even let me explain to him that all I wanted was for him to try ONE bite. ONE. Stinking. Bite. There was more of a meltdown and then we got through it. 

And lately, my toddler has decided that she is no longer a meat eater. Not to mention, anything she chews that she doesn't want anymore, she spits it out...onto your hand, onto the floor, on the table, wherever, really. 

So I knew when making (in my opinion) the best healthy versions of Mac N Cheese I have had that they would beg to differ. Being the amazing mom (haha) that I am, I opted to not mix the broccoli in until after I made their plates.  

Both loved what they ate, even if there were tons of veggies left on the plate (and chicken for the toddler)!  The husband is a fan of this meal, so no complaints from him.  I opted for salad for dinner tonight, feeling a little carb loaded at the moment. 

It is a recipe from the Fixate cookbook however, I have had to modify the original due to my son's tree nut allergy.  Plus, I use a rotisserie chicken to simplify my life. So here is my version!

UPDATED: Finally! It only took almost a year from this original post to get my son to eat this WITH the broccoli in it. I set a small serving on a plate in front of him and told him he had to eat every bite and if he did, he could have a quesadilla or pbj. It worked! I did it two times now and he ate it all both times. Remember, it takes 10 exposures to a food before someone can acquire a taste for it or even want to try it...so keep placing the food in front of those picky eaters as often as you can.

Macaroni & Cheese w/ Broccoli & Chicken
{{Recipe: Adapted from Fixate Cookbook}}
Serves 8 (1 1/2C each) 

What you need: 
4oz. dry whole wheat macaroni
4tsp. organic grass fed butter (or you can use coconut oil instead) 
2TBSP. unbleached whole wheat flour
1 1/2C skim milk (or almond milk, which is used in original recipe)
1 1/4C freshly extra sharp cheddar
3C chopped rotisserie chicken breast, skin removed (or bake your own chicken breast)
6C chopped broccoli florets
1tsp. sea salt
1/2tsp. ground black pepper

Your roux should look like this...cheesy goodness! 

1. Cook macaroni per the box (do not add extra salt or oil). Set aside.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add flour; cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until brown (don’t let it burn).
4. Slowly whisk in skim milk; cook, whisking constantly, for 1-2 min, or until mixture thickens & there are no lumps.
. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese; cook, whisking constantly, for 2-3 min, or until melted. 
6. Add chicken, noodles, broccoli, salt & pepper; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 min, or until heated through.
7. Serve & enjoy!! 

For my Fix family, this one counts as 1 green, 1 yellow, 1/2 red, 1/2 blue

The final product. 

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!