Southwest Burgers & Low Fat Cornbread

 I have to be honest.  When I found this recipe online, I wasn't sure how good it was going to be.  And once I had it cooked and in front of me, it looked like it might be too dry or bland.  BOY WAS I WRONG!

Southwest Burgers & Low Fat Cornbread

Total Time: 50 min

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 35 min

Yield: 8

Ingredients

1 1b package Marie Callender’s Low Fat Southwestern Corn Bread Mix

1 pound lean ground beef*

1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped

½ cup crushed baked tortilla chips (1 ounce chips)

¼ cup orange bell pepper, finely chopped

1 egg white

2 teaspoons Spice of Life’s “Southwestern Mesquite” spice**

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

8 tomato slices from 2 large tomatoes

Tostitos Chunky Salsa, Medium

½ cup fat free sour cream

½ cup green onions, chopped

Sharp cheddar cheese, Topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of a cast iron skillet with cooking spray.  Whisk together the cornbread ingredients and water until the lumps disappear.  Pour the batter into the cast iron skillet.  Bake for about 25 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

2. While the cornbread is baking, add the beef, onions, tortilla chips, red peppers, egg white and all the spices including fresh ground pepper to a large mixing bowl. Shape the beef mixture into 8 patties. Tip: Break up the beef before adding the other ingredients so everything combines better; otherwise, the onion and pepper won’t adhere to the beef.

3.Place all 8 burgers on a grill and continue to cook each for around 10-12 minutes.  Flip the burgers and cook the opposite side for another 10-12 minutes.  Before removing them from the grill, slightly cut open each burger to make sure there is little to no pink remaining. ***

4. Cut the cornbread into 8 slices (one for each burger patty).

5. Place one slice of cornbread on each plate. Place a burger patty on top of each cornbread slice. Top each with cheese, sour cream, salsa and scallions.  Enjoy!

*I used ground beef because that’s how I prefer my burgers.  For an even healthier option, substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef.

**Make your own southwestern mesquite spice blend using: ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ teaspoon cumin

***This burger can also be made using a panini grill, George Forman grill or nonstick pan.  Just coat the grill with cooking spray. It only takes 4-5 minutes total with this type of grill because both sides of the burger are cooked at once. To cook in a nonstick pan, coat the pan first with cooking spray and cook burgers on each side about 4-5 minutes.

This was such a fantastic meal, and my husband couldn't stop raving about it either!  If you like southwestern flavors, you will love this recipe!  And believe it or not, even though these look small and simplistic, I was full  after eating just 2 of these delicious burgers and cornbread.

I'm curious to know what you all think about this recipe.  What do you like?  What would you change?  Have a great day everyone!