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My roommate and I made a trip to The Meat House in Brookline to stock up on some high quality meats and some fancy treats. This little specialty shop located in Coolidge corner--and several other locations in MA including one in Beverly-- has everything a "foodie" could ever want (boasts the website). As a self-proclaimed foodie, they couldn't have been more right. With so many different things to choose from, we were undoubtedly overwhelmed. The butcher behind the counter gave us the recommendation of Caribbean jerk turkey tips. I love a good marinate so we decided to give them a try. With no grill at my apartment and a busted broiler, I was quite puzzled on what to do with them...
In related news, I've been in my apartment since September 18th and I have not yet (re)visited El Pelon --only the best little burrito place this side of Mexico. If you've ever been to El Pelon, you'd understand how crazy this is, some may say even sacrilegious. Did I mention I live only a 15 minute walk from said burrito haven. But rather than spending the money and the calories on a big (and oh so delicious) burrito, I decided I can try to recreate my own using the turkey tips, black beans and veggies to make the burrito filling. Don't worry if you can't find a marinated meat-- leftover Thanksgiving turkey can work just as well! Just look for a good bottled marinate at the grocery store. I added a Mayan Fajita sauce to my veggies to add extra flavor. This dish was SO filling but very healthy! By using no extra oil, tons of fresh veggies, black beans, turkey breast, light sour cream, 75% reduced fat Cabot cheese, brown rice, and high fiber tortillas they are low in fat, high in fiber and loaded with flavor!
Start by prepping all of the veggies. I only had onions, peppers, and zucchini in my fridge so I was limited to that. If you have a preference for other veggies, add them as well (corn, mushrooms, summer squash etc). Slice everything into bite size pieces.
Spray a large frying pan with a little cooking spray and add the veggies on medium heat. Toss the marinate/sauce in and stir.
As the veggies start to sizzle, cut the turkey into bite size pieces and add it to the pan. Next add the black beans. Reduce heat to low-medium and cover with lid or foil, cook approximately 10-15 minutes. If you are using left over turkey, you'll have less cooking time. If the pan/sauce gets dry, add a little water- about 1/4 cup at a time. I probably added 1/2 - 3/4 cup water during the cooking process. Cook until the turkey is cooked through. The smaller you cut them, the quicker the cook time.
While the filling is cooking, prepare the brown rice. Look for a microwavable instant precooked rice (usually cooks in 60-90 seconds). If you can't find that, buy the boil-a-bag rice. Don't bother with flavored rice, there will be plenty of flavor from the marinate you choose.
Once the filling and rice is done, you can assemble the burrito-- herein lies the tricky part. I've yet to master wrapping a burrito and it remain intact through the duration of a meal. Start with a warm tortilla and add a strip of rice (about 1/3 cup) and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. I am loyal to the 75% reduced fat Cabot Cheddar in a block and I grate it myself. When you grate the cheese yourself, use the smaller grate and it'll seem like you are getting a lot more out of a 1 oz serving (more surface area--great mind trick!).
Next add a hearty spoonful of the turkey-bean-veggie filling. You don't want to add too much or it'll be impossible to roll up. Now's your chance to add sour cream, salsa, guacamole, etc. and then roll up! Fold the ends up first then roll it into a burrito. If you actually want to put the burrito down while you eat then you may want to wrap one end with foil so it doesn't unroll when you put it down.
I really wish I could take the credit for the deliciousness of this recipe but I think the marinates had a lot to do with it! I will definitely be making this recipe again soon ...and most definitely polishing off the leftovers tomorrow. I think you'd have a hard time finding a healthier burrito in a restaurant, enjoy!
The temperature has finally dropped a few degrees and I know longer fear the wrath of the oven. So for dinner tonight I made stuffed green peppers, overflowing with brown rice, ground turkey, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, tomato and peas. It's loaded with veggies boosting the fiber content-- helping you feel full without loading up on unhealthy calories.
I must admit though, unlike most of my recipes I don't think this falls under the quick and simple category. Because stuffed peppers is a multi-step process i.e. cooking the rice, then the turkey, mixing everything together, then baking the peppers I did some of the work last night to shorten my cooking time today. I prepped all my veggies and cooked the rice last night, leaving only cooking the meat, mixing it all up and baking for tonight.
Stuffed Peppers (serves 6)
Ingredients:
3 large green peppers
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes, No Added Salt if available
1 8 oz can tomato sauce, No Added Salt if available
~1 lb raw lean ground turkey (97% lean)
1/2 zucchini, chopped (about a cup)
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
cooking spray
optional: grated or shredded cheese
Start by chopping the zucchini, mushrooms, and onion. After I did this, I put them all in the same container along with the frozen peas and stuck it in the fridge until I was ready for it. Next, cut and clean out the peppers. I was undecided so I cut one pepper length-wise, one width wise, and one just trimming the top. If I were to make these again, I'd probably just trim the top on all the peppers to get 1 serving per pepper rather than 2, which in turn would boost the calorie content of each serving.
Next cook the rice and set aside. In a big skillet brown up the ground turkey on medium heat and add the fresh garlic. Drain any excess liquid from the meat then add all the veggies to the skillet.
Stir to mix up then add the stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Break up any big tomato chunks. Add the rice, reduce to low and simmer. Add a pinch of salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Cook on low for about 10 minutes then remove from heat.
Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a large baking dish with a little cooking spray. Stuff each pepper with a heaping scoop of filling and place in baking dish. Set aside any extra filling.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and poke a few holes to allow steam to escape. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, until peppers soften. Quickly reheat the extra filling in the microwave or stove-top and top each pepper with another hefty scoop of the rice mixture, evenly atop each pepper until left overs are gone. Top with a little grated or shredded cheese if you like!
NEW FEATURE:
The recipe (serves 6) contains approximately 200 calories per serving. If you cut the top off each pepper and make 1 serving per pepper rather than 2 servings, the filling (as is) will stuff 4 large peppers and boost the calorie count to 310 calories. This recipe is low in fat and high in fiber.
Note: calorie count does not include cheese.
