Thursday, October 2, 2008

Southwestern Turkey Burger with Chili Oven Fries

Southwestern Turkey Burger with Chili Fries

Do you have extra points to spend? I don’t this week. I gobbled up my flex points and then some at the beginning of the week. Stress eating got the better of me. I’ll spare you the drama but I got into a minor fender bender with an uninsured driver (they’re at fault) and the boyfriend may lose his job.

There has been more, but I think even those two instances might drive a normal person toward a snacking binge. I probably won’t show a loss on the scale this week, but I’m fine with that. I’m proud of myself for salvaging the week as best I could.

Last week, though, I had plenty of time to work out and for some reason I ended up with a bunch of flex points toward the end of the week. Wasn’t I lucky?

So I used them to make a burger I had on my list for a while – the southwestern turkey burger. And because I had so many points, I could make chili fries that are baked in a little more oil than I typically use. And — this was possibly the best part — I could wash it down with my most favorite beer. Octoberfest.

The boyfriend complained about the burgers falling apart a little on the grill. Maybe because they didn’t have much of a binder? But they were delicious anyhow. And those chili fries never disappoint. I can’t believe I haven’t shared this recipe yet.

The burger, with a “typical” generic wheat hamburger bun was 11 points and the fries are 3 points per serving. More than many oven fries, but totally worth the extra point in my opinion. My mouth is watering just thinking about how good they were.

Chili Oven Fries
Adapted from Everyday Food

1 ½ pounds russet potatoes
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut potatoes into wedges.

In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and toss to coat.

Put the potato wedges cut sides down on a baking sheet coated in cooking spray. Bake, turning potatoes halfway through, until they are tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

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