Southwestern Turkey Rice Casserole

The first recipe I have tried with my new healthy-ish mindset was this Southwestern Turkey Rice Casserole. I found the recipe here , and tried it today after a rainy and hot Sunday afternoon. Its hard cooking for one, but leftovers are okay too...This meal was so good, and surprisingly easy to make! It took about 40 minutes, and was absolutely delicious!

Southwestern Turkey Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

~2 tsp olive oil

~1 lb. lean ground turkey

~1 onion, chopped

~2 garlic cloves, minced

~1 ½ tsp ground cumin

~1 tsp chili powder

~¾ tsp paprika

~½ tsp salt

~½ tsp ground pepper

~2 cups cooked brown rice

~3 oz. canned diced green chiles

~1 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes (I used 1 fresh tomato, diced)

~1 ½ cup salsa (your favorite kind)

~1 cup black beans, reduced sodium, drained and rinsed (I used one can)

~¾ cup corn kernels (I used one can)

~¼ cup minced cilantro

~½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an 11- by 7-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium high heat. Add the ground turkey and onions. Cook, breaking up the turkey, until the turkey is just cooked through.

3. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute.

4. Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, diced green chiles, diced tomatoes, salsa, black beans, corn and cilantro. Stir to combine.

5. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cook until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve.

Okay so I never understood the importance of rinsing your canned veggies, but I recently started rinsing my black beans, and now I'll never stop. It is so important to rinse off all the crap that your veggies are sitting in, especially since I have high blood pressure, and many of those veggies are stored in sodium-filled water. But anyways, I topped my casserole with diced avocado and lime juice, and it was so good!

Let me know what you guys think of this recipe :)

~S

#casserole #healthy #avocado #turkey #lime