My First Cooking Class and Cilantro Lime Turkey Burgers with Corn Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

Yesterday I taught my first cooking class out of my home kitchen. I taught a group of four teenagers how to prepare a healthy dinner packed with protein and vegetables. 

The dinner was a huge hit! They all devoured the turkey burgers, some topped with light cheddar cheese, and they all ate the filling out of the tomatoes. A couple of them were not huge tomato fans, but still loved the corn filling.

I'm hoping to acquire a few more groups of young people to teach throughout the rest of the summer. To my surprise, many teenagers and young adults are very interested in healthy cooking, which I think is wonderful and so exciting.

My kitchen all set up to teach my cooking class.

So, back to the food! I make this meal regularly when I'm at college for my roommate and boyfriend and they absolutely love it. They've expressed to me that it is one of their favorite burger recipes and the stuffed tomato pairs perfectly with it. It's also a great and refreshing summer meal. I served the meal with my sugar free watermelon lemonade, which the students also loved. 

Link to the lemonade: http://naturalkitchencook.blogspot.com/2013/07/sugar-free-watermelon-lemonade.html

Cilantro Lime Turkey Burger:

(recipe adapted from: http://iowagirleats.com/)

1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 lime, juiced

4 pieces pepper jack cheese (optional)

4 whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Cut your hamburger buns and half and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until toasted.
3. Combine the ground turkey, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, garlic, salt and lime juice in a large bowl. Form into 4 patties and set aside.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and put a small amount of olive oil in the skillet to coat. Place your patties in the skillet and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
5. If using cheese on your burgers, place the cheese on and cover with a lid until the cheese melts.
6. Place your burgers onto the toasted buns and top with homemade guacamole (recipe below).

Yields: 4-5 turkey burgers

Calories per serving (without guacamole, cheese or hamburger buns): 215 calories

Guacamole:

1 large ripe avocado

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Mash all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

Corn Salad Stuffed Tomatoes:

(recipe adapted from: http://www.marthastewart.com)

4 beefsteak tomatoes

3 ears corn, husked

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 cup scallions, chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta (I used fat free feta from Trader Joe's)

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook the corn in a large pot of boiling water for about 7 minutes.
2. Cut the kernels off of the cooked corn and add to a large bowl. 
3. Cut the top third off of the tomatoes and discard. Scoop out the insides, chop and add to the large bowl.
4. Add the olive oil, white wine vinegar, all but 2 tablespoons of the feta, scallions, salt and pepper to the bowl and stir to combine.
5. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture and add the remaining feta to the top of the tomatoes.

Yields: 4 stuffed tomatoes

Calories per stuffed tomato: 50 calories