skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I modified this last time I made it to completely eliminate the red peppers. But, tonight, I had a few left over from the Pioneer Woman's recipe earlier this weekend and felt I should do the "right" thing and try to get them incorporated. They bothered me a bit more than I'd expected so I'll probably leave them out next time or sautee them slightly before adding the ground turkey to the pot to brown. It also occurred to me that instead of serving as a calzone, you could cut the calories and increase fiber by serving the filling with something like a La Tortilla Factory Tortilla
or Flat Out Wrap
Tex Mex Calzone
Serves: 4 + (I leave any leftover after I use 1/2 cup for the filling for each calzone as my kids' dinner. They aren't big in to calzones and will eat the filling just as it.)
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 t ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 c red bell pepper, chopped fine
1-2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 (11 oz) can pizza dough, refrigerated, thin crust
1 c Weight Watcher's Mexican blend cheese, shredded
1 egg white, beaten
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground turkey and cook 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. 3. Add onion powder and garlic; continue to cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
4. Add spices and cook for 1 minute to bring out the flavors in the spices. Add chopped pepper; continue to cook 1 minute.
5. Remove mixture from heat and stir in tomato paste.
6. Unroll dough and divide into 4 equal portions. Working with one rectangle at a time place, 1/2 cup of turkey mixture on half of the dough then top with 2 tablespoons of cheese.
7. Using a pastry brush or fingers, brush the egg mixture on the border of the dough. Fold dough over turkey mixture and press with a fork to seal. If you prefer a crisp crust, brush some additional egg wash over the top of the calzone.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
NI: 475 cals, 19 g fat, 95 mg chol, 799 mg sodium, 37 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 37 g protein
Here's an example of morphing a recipe. The original was done by Gina and looked incredible!
But, me and my family won't eat many of the ingredients. So I modified. I left enough filling out for another complete enchilada and my two toddlers split the filling. The enchilada itself is too messy for them to really eat, but the filling was perfect served with corn and whole grain rice. They both had seconds & were so quiet during the meal. A testimony to success. That and my husband eating 2, claiming to be stuffed and asking for it to make a repeat appearance on our menu!
And now, with pictures! I didn't get one before we eat, but here are the leftovers. Definitely enough for a lunch (3 were leftover, 2 for him & 1 for me). I get asked about how I've lost weight a lot and this is the key- portion size. And filling our diet with (excuse the pun) filling, wholesome foods that don't leave you hungry an hour later. Check out the fiber in this dish as an example!
Additionally (I know, get to the recipe already!), I have many friends going through deployments. This would be an extremely simple dish to freeze for yourself for quick dinners during the week. Freeze portions of the enchilada and sauce separately (ziploc bags in regular sandwich bag size then in snack size for the sauce) and stick in the fridge the night before to thaw. Healthy dinner for one! You could also freeze the filling for quick toddler meals.
Turkey & Black Bean Enchiladas
Servings: 7
Total Cooking Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 lb extra lean (93%) ground turkey
15.5 oz low sodium black beans
1/2 c low fat or fat free chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt
7, large La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat High Fiber Low Carb Tortillas
1 cup Weight Watchers Mexican Style Shredded Cheese
Nonstick cooking spray
Sauce:
2 cloves garlic minced
1 can tomato sauce (calculated with normal, would prefer low sodium)
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup low fat or fat free chicken broth
kosher salt & fresh pepper to taste (calculated without)
Directions:
Preheat over to 400 degrees F.
For sauce:
In a sauce pan, saute 2 cloves garlic with cooking spray & onion powder for about 4 minutes. Add spices, chicken broth & tomato sauce. Bring to boil. Set aside.
For filling:
Brown turkey in a large skillet and season with salt. Add onion powder, garlic, black beans (drained & rinsed), cumin, tomato paste, chicken broth & chili powder. Mix well and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
Wrap 1/2 cup of filling in an enchilada. Place seam down in greased 9x13 baking dish. Repeat. Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese. Bake, covered with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes, removing cover with 5 minutes remaining. Serve warm with choice of sides.
NI: 298 cals, 10 g fat, 55 mg chol, 1,154 mg sodium, 38 g carbs, 17 g fiber, 30 g protein
Pretty much all my recipes are adapted from someone, somewhere. I'm not adventurous, creative, knowledgeable enough about the food world to start from scratch and I'm too picky to try. So, I just swap out what I or my family won't eat and go from there. I've grown significantly in this since I became a mom- trying to set a good example for my children but there are things that texture wise just won't fly no matter how I try. Onions and tomatoes are two of those things. Shown here with reduced fat cheddar cheese & a corn muffin VitaTop. So... feel free to tweak or change, but here's how I make it:
Rachel's Mexican Chili
Servings: 7, 1 cup portions
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey (93% lean)
1-2 t onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (16 oz) can chili beans with liquid
2 (16 oz each) cans red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel sweet corn, drained
1 (28oz) can tomato sauce- low sodium if you can find it
1 pkg low/reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 t chipotle chili powder
Cooking spray
Directions:
Brown ground turkey in a skillet with garlic and onion powder. Dump in to crock pot sprayed with non-stick cooking spray along with all other ingredients. Mix to blend together. Cook on low for 8 hours.
NI: 361 cals, 6.2 g total fat, 46 mg chol, 1762 mg sodium*, 54 total carbs, 15 g fiber, 26.5 g protein
* I believe this may include the liquid with the beans which I don't use. Either way, I admit it's a higher sodium recipe than I'd like & I'll be really looking for lower sodium tomato sauce as soon as I get my bearings in this town.
Optional toppings: sour cream, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips
I also think this would be great served over a baked potato or frozen if you make a double batch then taken for lunches during the week.
And here's the slow cooker I make it with. When the movers broke my old one, I had to get a new one fast- I use mine ALL the time! I found this one and am in love with it. Seriously, if you're in the market for one, this is fabulous!
Hamilton Beach 33956 Set 'n Forget 5-Quart Slow Cooker, White
