A Healthy Twist

I am mildly obsessed with The Biggest Loser tv show, and now I have the wii game which is one of the hardest work outs I've ever done! On the game, they even have a section of recipes and healthy living tips from the trainers and past contestants. One tip is to take a recipe you love and find a way to make it better for you. I recently did this with my hamburger hash. Click here to get the original version. In this twist, I used ground turkey instead of ground beef and substituted black beans for the potatoes. I would love to tell you that I calculated just how much fat and calories you saved, plus you added fiber by adding the beans, but I can't. I just didn't have time. I was too hungry. Ha!

It turned out awesome though! And, I didn't even miss the ground beef or potatoes. The ground turkey tasted almost the same. I just bumped up the seasonings a little more. And I love black beans, so that was an easy swap. Logan also loves beans or peas of any kind, so he was all over this dinner. Plus, this fed all 3 of us for dinner, plus it fed Logan and I for lunch for 2 or 3 more days!! It re-heats perfectly.

Ground Turkey Hash
Source: Me

1.25 lbs ground turkey (Make sure they didn't grind the skin up too. Jenni O makes a great one!)
1.5 tbsp chili powder
1.5 tbsp paprika
.5 tbsp cumin
1/2 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can stewed tomatoes

Brown turkey over medium high heat. Once almost cooked through, add spices and garlic/onion. Cook a few more minutes, then add corn, black beans and tomatoes. Stir and turn heat down to low. Let simmer about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes!!

I'm One Tired Turkey

I’m tired. Just plain tired. (Obviously not too tired to think of a cheesy title though) I was super busy last weekend and will be going pretty much non-stop all the way into next weekend. I’m not complaining. All the running around has been something I enjoy. It’s just that this 7 month pregnant body doesn’t function quite the way it used to. And don’t even get me started on the sleeping situation. All that to say, I was so tired I almost threw the meal plan for tonight out the window. After making breakfast for dinner last night I asked Taylor if he would mind just having leftovers or whatever we could scrounge together for tonight. He was so sweet and of course said he didn’t mind.

Well, I changed my mind when I realized I was leaving work early today to deal with some car stuff and I would have more time at home before dinner than I originally thought. The meal plan tonight called for grilling the wild turkey breast we had in the freezer. Yes, my husband is a killer. He enjoys hunting just about anything, but his favorite is turkey. That being said, he has only ever had it prepared one way: fried…as in breaded and submerged in oil. I am not a big fan of fried food in general and since this would be my first time to eat wild turkey he said I could prepare it however I wanted. I think he is hoping that if I really like it I will encourage him to go on more hunting trips. After all, it is turkey season in Alabama right now. ;)

I decided to marinate and grill the turkey breast. I had a little surprise when I went to add the meat to the marinade. It was not a whole breast, but had been pre-cut into pieces and chunks for frying. And then had another surprise when I found out our grill was out of gas. So, I just marinaded the chunks and grilled it in my grill pan. The marinade turned out nice and spicy. But I think it would have been even better had I been able to marinade the whole breast and grilled it outside.

The turkey was served with oven roasted corn with cilantro lime butter and twice baked potatoes. Ever since we had them last week Taylor has asked for a repeat, so they made their way back to the dinner table tonight.

Wild Turkey Breast Marinade
Source: Me

1/2 tsp Brown Sugar

2 Garlic Cloves, pressed

1 tbsp Lime Juice

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Basil, I used dried since mine hasn’t grown enough yet.

1 1/2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1-2 drops Liquid Smoke - I will say to use this sparingly. It is potent!

1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

Reserve about 1/4 cup of the marinade to brush on meat as you are grilling. Add the rest to a Ziploc bag with the Turkey Breast and let it hang out for about 2 hours in the fridge.

Heat grill to 375 degrees. Grill until internal temperature is 170 degrees.

Oven Roasted Corn with Cilantro-Lime Butter
Source: Me

3 ears corn
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and place corn in husks directly on the rack for 30-40 minutes.

Mix butter, cilantro, garlic powder, lime juice and parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Once the corn comes out of the oven, peel away the husks and brush with butter. Or if you are like me and prefer not to get corn stuck in your teeth, you can cut the corn off the cob into a medium bowl and toss with the cilantro-lime butter.

Sorry for the bad picture, I told you I was tired.