recipe: southwest turkey lettuce wraps

For the first time in my entire long life, I'm going to the west coast!!!! Los Angeles has been calling my name and I can't believe it's finally happening. [I also can't believe it's happening in Ellen's off season. Guess I'll have to make another trip ASAP.]

Anyway... an LA trip calls for an LA diet. Meat and veggies, with some carbs in the morning. I'm gonna have to get a little creative.

After discovering that romaine lettuce is only 50 cents more than iceburg in the city and way better for wraps, I've been making all sorts of lettuce wraps. My favorite so far: This southwestern take on ground turkey.

[It's always sad to eat alone, in the studio, and with paper/plastic utensils, but deliciousness makes it better.]

What you need: 

• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1/2 packet of taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
• 1 can of diced tomatoes/green chiles [as someone who hates tomatoes, I really do love this so much]
• ~3 tbs of plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 can of corn
• cilantro [I put quite a bit of dried cilantro in because I love it. Fresh would be even better.]
• lettuce for wrapping

What you should do:

1. Cook the turkey and taco seasoning in skillet for about two minutes to get the flavor going in there. 
2. Add in salsa and tomatoes/chiles, then corn. Cook until turkey is no longer pink. 
3. Drain grease and add in a couple spoonfuls of greek yogurt to make it more creamy. 
4. Scoop some into lettuce and enjoy.

Lettuce wraps are not only delicious and super healthy for you, but the easiest and quickest thing I can make. It takes me 10 minutes tops to make this and be out the door. Plus, this fed me for two nights [and with proper "portion sizes," probably should have lasted another night]. It holds well over a few days, too. 

If you have any favorite lettuce wrap recipes, help a girl out! I might be sharing a lot of them coming up.

love,

elizabethany

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recipe: skinny tex-mex pasta bake

Living alone again means that when I cook a dinner, I normally eat it for a couple days.. so when I can make something that is great for eating leftovers, I'm all sortsa pumped.

This casserole was perfection.

Meat, carbs, veggies... all in one delicious dish that I can heat up in the microwave day after day and it still tastes just as delicious. PLUS.. it's fairly good for you as long as you're not on the Atkins kick again.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 can 10.75 ounce Campbell's Healthy Request Cheddar Cheese Soup
• 1 can 10.75 ounce Campbell's Healthy Request Tomato Soup
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 can 4.5 ounce green chilies
• 1 10 ounce can Rotel Mild tomatoes
• 1 15 ounce can Black Beans
• 1 15 ounce can Sweet Corn
• 2 cups cooked whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbs dried cilantro

TO DO: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a casserole dish.
2. Cook the garlic, onion, and meat in a large skillet until turkey is cooked through.
3. Drain any grease and add in cheddar cheese soup, tomatoes, chilies, 1 tbsp of chili powder, cumin, and salt/pepper to your liking. Cook 3-5 minutes. 

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together tomato soup and 1/2 cup of water.
5. Add that mixture to the cooked pasta, and layer that on the bottom of the dish. 

6. Layer the meat/cheese mixture on top of the noodles. 

7. In another small bowl, mix together the corn, black beans, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tbsp cilantro. 

8. Bake for 15 minutes and voila! It's delicious and ready to eat! 

It seems like a lot of ingredients and dishes and such, but it was really easy to make and saved me a lot of time for the rest of the week... so I'll definitely be making it again. 

love,

elizabethany

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