How to Make Turkey Tacos {Plus a Stuffed Pepper Recipe!}

I thought I might write a few recipes focused on ground turkey.  In our house, we don't eat too much ground beef--it's all turkey.  Once you know how to season and cook with it, you'll be a fan too!  It's cheaper, healthier and can replace any meal made with beef. 

To start off, I thought I would give some tips for buying ground turkey.

• Most packages are 1.25 lbs.  It's a bit of adjustment to season if you're used to just 1 pound packages of beef.  When seasoning ground turkey, you do need to add a bit more than you would for other ground meat. 
• Start off with "Lean" labeled packages (or 93/7).  Extra lean is quite dry if you don't know how to cook it.  Sometimes premade burger patties will use both dark and white meat and they will be a fattier variety.  I prefer just making my own burgers.
• Keep your eyes peeled on the Sunday paper coupons or on Coupons.com....very frequent coupons lately!  Pair with a sale and stock up!

Our favorite recipe: tacos!  Serve with some pantry salsa and you have dinner in less than 20 minutes! 

What you'll need:

• 1 package of Lean ground turkey
• 1 can (4 oz) of green chiles
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (about 1.5 packets)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Optional: 1 can rinsed black beans + 1/2 cup frozen corn

1.  In a large pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil over medium heat.  Add onions, green chiles and garlic. (Also corn, if wanted) Cook 3-4 minutes, until soft.  Add package of ground turkey.  Use a spatula to break up turkey as it's browning.
2. Season with cumin and taco seasoning about halfway through cooking.  (Since you don't drain it, you can season early).  Cook about 3-4 minutes longer.  Add water and turn to low heat.   
3. Optional: Add black beans.  Cook on low for 5 minutes. 
4. Serve on taco shells or in a taco salad!

Tired of tacos?  Make some stuffed peppers!  I love to make these when I find markdown produce pepper bags and I'll freeze half of the batch!

This recipe is perfect for a quick and healthy dinner.  I added quinoa instead of rice to keep it light.

Here's what you need:

• 1 cup of quinoa, cooked as directed with 2 cups chicken stock
• Turkey taco meat (see recipe above) making with black beans and corn- I used about 2 cups for my peppers and had plenty left over
• 1 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
• 5-6 green peppers- poblanos or red peppers work great too!
• Garnish: cilantro, salsa, guacamole, green onion, sour cream/Greek yogurt

Let's Cook!

1. Cook 1 cup of quinoa as directed with 2 cups chicken stock (there will be some leftover)
2. Preheat oven to 400*.
3. Cut peppers in half and seed them.  Place in a sprayed 9x13 pan.
4. In a large bowl, mix 1 cup cooked quinoa with about 2 cups taco mixture.
5. Fill peppers generously.  Top with a sprinkle of cheese.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and peppers are browning. 
7. Top with favorite garnishes and serve with a salad!

What's your favorite way to enjoy turkey? Head on over to my FB page to answer that question and I'll draw one lucky winner on Thursday (5/15/14) to get 4 FREE product coupons for Jennie-O Turkey products!