Recipe: Southwest Turkey Burgers

This is another recipe from my new favorite Cook Yourself Thin cookbook. I have always been hesitant to try turkey burgers...for some reason they just never sounded appealing to me. :) But when we had some friends over for the Fourth of July and decided to cookout, I knew I needed something low calorie instead of the foods I typically eat at a get-together like that. I found this recipe and tried it...soooooo yummy! Even one of my guests ate it and raved about it!!!

1 1/3 pounds lean ground turkey
4-oz. can diced green chiles, drained
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2-3 spritzes canola oil in spritzer
3 ounces 50% reduced fat pepper jack cheese, cut into 8 slices (all I could find was fat free and it was still delicious!)
4 whole wheat kaiser rolls
Romaine lettuce leaves
Tomato, sliced
Red onion, sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced

1. In a large bowl, mix turkey with chiles and season with salt and pepper. Shape into patties and refrigerate until ready to cook.

2. (I omitted this step and just threw them on the grill!) Heat a large grill pan or skillet on medium heat and spritz with oil. Add the turkey patties and cook until browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the juices run pale pink, about 4 more minutes. Top with pepperjack cheese during the last minute.

3. Toast the rolls in over or toaster over. (Or grill them 1 minute on each side!)

4. Place burger on roll, top with lettuce, tomato, onion and avocado slices.

4 servings