Our last recipe used crushed pineapple as one of its main ingredients, so it got the name “Aloha Quesadillas”.
Can you guess what the main ingredient is going to be in today’s “South-of-the-Border Cheeseburgers”? I’ll give you a hint: You get this at every Mexican restaurant you go to, and it is usually free with a basket of chips…
Fresh Salsa!
(photo credit: Pampered Chef)
I used fresh salsa from the deli area of our grocery store, but you could also make your own. My favorite fresh salsa recipe of all time is a Pampered Chef recipe. I learned how to make it a long time ago when I was a consultant. It tastes great, and it is really easy to make. You can get to the recipe here. It’s zero points, because all of the ingredients used in the salsa recipe are MyWW zero point foods! Even if you don’t make today’s recipe, you should at least try making this salsa once. You won’t regret it. I love these cheeseburgers, though, so I really hope you will try them too!
Ways to lower the points per serving.
Avocado.
I used a full avocado in this recipe. They taste great on these burgers (and they are healthy in moderation), but they are also high in points. An easy way to shave off 2 points per burger is to leave out the avocado. Or if you mash 1/2 of an avocado and spread a thin layer on the top half of the burgers, you could shave off 1 point per burger. The only problem with using just half of an avocado is that you might not notice the avocado very much. (The point calculations for avocados just mentioned apply to all three MyWW plans.)
Pepper Jack cheese.
I used reduced-fat Pepper Jack cheese, but you could also use Ultra Thin sliced Pepper Jack cheese if your store carries it. According to the WW recipe builder, one slice of reduced-fat Pepper Jack cheese is 2 points, so if you want to shave off another 2 points per burger, you could leave out the cheese. (This also applies to all three MyWW plans.)
Turn your burger into a lettuce wrap.
If you have a gluten allergy, this concept is nothing new, but anyone can do it. If you want to shave off another 2 points per serving, swap out the light buns (that are 2 points each) for large romaine or iceberg lettuce leaves and wrap up the burger as a lettuce wrap! These burgers are really good this way too! Not sure what a “light bun” is? I have a list of low point breads and buns that you can check out here. (This list was made before the MyWW plans started, but all of the Smart Points have stayed the same.)
Okay, let’s get right to this recipe!
Here is what you need:
1 pound 98-99% lean ground turkey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh fat-free salsa, divided
Cooking spray
5 slices reduced-fat or “ultra thin” Pepper Jack cheese
5 light hamburger buns
1 avocado, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped onion, optional
Here is what you do:
In a medium bowl, combine ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce, Southwest Chipotle seasoning, salt,and 1/3 cup salsa. Shape meat mixture into 5 patties that are about 1/4 cup each; flatten patties. Spray large skillet with cooking spray and cook patties over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes on both sides, or until fully cooked.
Top each burger with 1 slice of cheese and continue to cook the burger until the cheese begins to melt, about 1-2 minutes.
Place one burger on each of the bun bottoms. Divide the avocado slices evenly between the 5 burgers.
If desired, and if the salsa you are using does not include red onion, mix the chopped red onion in with the remaining salsa.
Scoop 1/4 cup salsa on the top of each burger and place the top of the bun on the burger. Serve immediately.
Makes 5 burgers
One burger is 8 green, 7 blue, or 7 purple points.
South of the Border Cheeseburgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound 98-99% lean ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh fat-free salsa, divided
- Cooking spray
- 5 slices reduced-fat or "ultra thin" Pepper Jack cheese
- 5 light hamburger buns
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce, Southwest Chipotle seasoning, salt, and 1/3 cup salsa. Shape meat mixture into 5 patties that are about 1/4 cup each; flatten patties. Spray large skillet with cooking spray and cook patties over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes on both sides, or until fully cooked.
- Top each burger with 1 slice of cheese and continue to cook the burger until the cheese begins to melt, about 1-2 minutes.
- Place one burger on each of the bun bottoms. Divide the avocado evenly between the 5 burgers.
- If desired, and if the salsa you are using does not include red onion, mix the chopped red onion in with the remaining salsa. Scoop 1/4 cup salsa on the top of each burger and place the top of the bun on the burger. Serve immediately.
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