Date Night Dinners - Choppin' and Mixin'

7/11/2014 tringel 0 Comments

This week Brenden and I were looking for something light but filling and tasty but healthy. As we searched the world wide web, we stumbled upon two great sounding recipes that seemed like they would pair perfectly together. A Mexican inspired chopped salad and turkey burgers. The salad called for a combination of  delicious, ripe, and colorful veggies paired with a simple dressing and homemade tortilla strips to accent the flavors. The burgers were simple but sounded like they would be bursting with flavor from the cheese, peppers, and toppings the recipe recommended. So we set out to the store to grab the ingredients and then to the kitchen to put them to use.




Unlike our usual process where Brenden and I make separate parts of the meal simultaneously, we decided to conquer these recipes in steps. We started with the salad, as it looked fairly simple, just time consuming with all of the small dicing. You don't have to chop everything so small, it is really a personal preference, but I began with small cubes and I was trying to keep my knife cuts even...Anne Burrell would be proud.

First we cooked the corn in boiling water and as that cooked we preheated the oven and prepared our tortilla strips. We cut the tortillas and seasoned them to taste. And, since the only tortilla's we could find came in a much larger amount then the recipe called for, we decided to toast up some extra cinnamon sugar dessert chips. If you couldn't guess they are made the same ways as the tortilla strips except we cut them into trianglish shapes and seasoned them with cinnamon sugar instead of salt (thanks Kristina for the inspiration, although yours are ten times better; you will have to teach me your secrets).



Then came the chopping. We chopped jicama (for the first time ever), onion, pepper, and so much more. We added each ingredient to the bowl as it was chopped and watched them pile up, hoping we chose a big enough bowl. Then came the mixing. The colors we so vibrant; the salad looked delicious and we couldn't wait to dig in. The salad was prepped so we moved on to the burgers. Again, the recipe was pretty simple. This one had less chopping and more mixing. We mixed the turkey, cheese, peppers, and seasonings, formed patties, and set them on the skillet to cook. And, in less then 15 minutes they were perfectly done.


As the burgers cooked we took the final step of mixing up the salad dressing, burger sauce, and chopping the burger toppings. By this time our mouths were watering. The colors that were facing us from the bowls and plates and the aroma that was filling the air made it almost too hard to take the time to set the table and sit down to eat. But we did, and then we dove in and enjoyed every bite.

Mexican Salad
Recipe adapted from thecafesucrefarine.com, Mexican Chopped Salad

Ingredients

• Dressing:
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
• ground pepper to taste
• Chips:
• 8 6-inch tortillas (we used 4 corn and 4 whole wheat)
• 1.5 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Salad:
• 1 cup spinach leaves, shredded
• 1 medium bell pepper, diced small
• 1 medium jicama, peeled and diced small
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced small
• 1 small zucchini, diced small
• 4 medium tomatos, seeded and diced small
• 4 ears corn
• 1-15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Dressing:
1. Combine the lime juice, honey, cumin, and garlic salt.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Slowly add the oils, stirring continuously with a fork or small whisk.
4. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
2. Tortilla Chips:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Stack the tortillas on a cutting board.
3. Cut in half.
4. Cut each stack of halves into thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Transfer tortilla strips to a baking sheet.
6. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, shaking every 5 minutes, or until tortillas are golden brown and crisp.
8. When crisp, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
3. Salad:
1. Shuck corn and place corn in a large pot of water over medium high heat.
2. Bring water to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
3. When corn is cooked remove from water to cool.
4. When corn is cooled, cut the kernels from the husks and place into a large bowl.
5. Add all the other salad ingredients with the corn kernels in the large bowl .
6. Stir to combine thoroughly.
7. Serve in salad bowls and add salad dressing and tortilla strips as desired.

Turkey Burgers
Recipe adapted from recipes.runnersworld.com, Red Pepper And Feta Turkey Burger

Ingredients

• Burgers:
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 4 oz feta cheese
• 4 oz roasted red peppers, chopped small
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• Toppings:
• 1/4 cup fat-free plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced thin

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the burger ingredients.
2. Separate mixture into quarters and shape into 4 patties.
3. Warm a skillet over medium heat, coated in cooking spray.
4. Place the four pat tie in the pan, cover and cook for 7 minutes.
5. Uncover, flip and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through.
6. While cooking, combine lemon juice with yogurt in a small bowl.
7. When burgers are done serve with yogurt sauce, cucumbers and any other toppings you desire (suggestions: buns, spinach, barbecue sauce or ketchup).