Turkey Enchiladas

I love, love, love Mexican food! Unfortunately, I don't eat it as often as I like because it can really pile on the weight. I decided to try and make my own enchiladas recently, only I swapped the chopped beef for ground lean turkey which I am sure saved me a lot of calories! The enchiladas were both healthy and tasty and honestly, so easy to make!

Enchilada Ingredients

4 flour tortillas

1 can pre-made enchilada sauce

1 lb ground lean turkey

22scallions, diced

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp coriander

1/2 tbsp paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

handful of shredded cheddar cheese

1 can refried beans

2 tbsp olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a pan then toss in the onions, 2 of the scallions and tomatoes. Saute for a few minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add in the ground turkey and spices, and mix until the meat has cooked through. While everything is cooking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spread about 3/4 of a cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Take the first tortilla and dip it in the sauce, then flip and dip the other side. Spoon about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the turkey into the middle of the tortilla, roll it up and move to one end. Repeat with the next three tortillas as well. You'll also want to spoon some of the enchilada sauce on top of the rolled up tortillas.

Sprinkle some of the cheddar cheese on top, glob on a few spoonfuls of refried beans here and there, then sprinkle with the remaining scallions.

Pop in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and the insides have heated up, about 15 minutes. You can serve with some sliced up avocados or guacamole, some reduced fat sour cream and diced tomatoes!

Yummy Meatballs

I've always wanted to make meatballs, but for some reason I've been intimidated. I just thought it would be difficult to not only make them, but make them well. Meatballs are great because it lets you indulge your red meat craving without having to consume an entire steak or burger. I found a recipe and gave them a shot and was pleasantly surprised at how good they came out! Just a warning, don't make these in advance and let them sit out too long... and don't reheat them in the microwave, or they will dry out (which I did for my husband who got home late the night I made them). Enjoy!

Meatball Ingredients

1/2 lb ground veal

1 lb ground beef

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup grated parmesan

4 cloves finely chopped and sauteed garlic

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tbsp chopped oregano

salt and pepper

This recipe was so easy to make! Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl...

roll the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls....

heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat and fry until the meatballs are fully cooked.

You'll need to turn them around with tongs to make sure all sides cook.

When the meatballs are done, you can eat them plain or toss them over some spaghetti with marinara sauce!

Tuna Burgers with Wasabi Aioli and Asian Slaw

Burgers have kind of become my thing. I love experimenting and making lots of different kinds, like turkey burgers, lentil burgers and chicken apple burgers! I find it fun to experiment with different proteins, seeing what kind of combinations I can come up with! Right before the new year, I decided to try my hand at tuna burgers, since I always love them in restaurants. They came out yummy, but it's not the cheapest protein to turn into a burger! I also made some wasabi aioli and awesome asia slaw to serve with it... the result was a very satisfied husband :)

Burger Ingredients

1 lb sushi grade ahi tuna, chopped

2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp black sesame seeds

2 scallions, chopped

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Start by chopping up the tuna, until it's pretty smooth. In a bowl, mix the tuna with the cilantro, soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds, scallions and sesame oil.

Form the mixture into patties and cook in a pan with olive oil over medium heat until the burgers have seared on the outside and remain a little rare on the inside. Be careful, it's easy to overcook them, but they'll be a lot more tasty and moist if left a little pink in the middle.

Wasabi Mayo Ingredients

3 tbsp mayo (regular or low-fat)

1/2 tbsp wasabi paste

juice of 1/2 lime

For the mayo, simply mix all the above ingredients together in a bowl!

Slaw Ingredients

1 carrot

1/2 red bell pepper

1 cup red cabbage

1/4 cup cilantro

4 scallions

3/4 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 1/2 tbsp creamy peanut butter

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp rice vinegar

This slaw is so easy and so tasty! Just cut the carrots, scallions and peppers into thin matchsticks and chop up the cilantro, ginger and cabbage. In a separate bowl, combine all the liquid ingredients to make the dressing and then pour over all the vegetables. I recommend combining closer to serving time otherwise the slaw might become wilted.

Top the tuna burgers with some wasabi mayo and serve alongside a big heaping of slaw!