Spicy Surprise Turkey Muffins

I love trying new recipes. I love low calorie, low fat, low carb foods too. I see recipes that sound good to me, but they are normally not quite what I like. That's easy to fix, I just change them up to suit my taste. My friend, Liz, has been making "Turkey Muffins" for quite some time. I liked the idea, so I decided to make something, using my muffin pan and spice it up a bit differently. Then, I saw someone adding cheese to their mini-meatloaves and thought that would be good too. I have recently fallen in deep love with Arriba! Fire Roasted Mexican Chipotle Salsa. I eat it on salads, I eat it on Rice Cakes, I could eat it by the bowl full! I love the savory/hot taste of it. I think it'll be delicious in these! So, I have tonight's dinner planned. Spicy Surprise Turkey Muffins!

Let's get the chopping out of the way.


I chop and then brown my onion while I chop up all my peppers.


Ok, that's way too many peppers! Did I get carried away or what?


Actually, I just chopped them all to freeze for later use. It never fails, I want some bell peppers in a recipe and go to get the pieces out of the crisper, I had previously left over. They're spoiled and gross. I can't count the times I have had them go bad because I didn't use them fast enough. No more!


Yummy, the onions are ready. I love onions, raw, cooked, it doesn't matter. I could just eat this whole pan and be happy.


I put my spices, onions, peppers and my Arriba! into my bowl.


I add my ground turkey breast and mix it all together. I also get my cheese out and get it ready. I'll cut it into 12 equal pieces.


I don't mind admitting, I am very picky when it comes to the macro-nutrients in my meals. I measure everything! I weighed my finished turkey mixture and it was exactly 30 ounces. Dividing by 12, comes out to 2.5 ounces for each muffin. I weigh them all out and form balls, just to keep them separate.


One at a time, I take a meat ball in my hand and use my thumb to poke a hole in the middle. I push a cheese piece into the hole.


Then, I form it back into a ball, around the cheese and place it in my muffin pan, which I have sprayed lightly with "PAM".


Ready for the oven. I bake them at 375 for 25 minutes.


Done and smelling like Heaven to my nose! I can't wait to cut into one and taste it!


And the verdict is.... 9.5 on the Yum Meter! Oh my! I might have just found one of my new favorite meals! I have a little Arriba! on the side to dip them into. I made some steamed cauliflower and cheese queso to serve with it.. Thanks to Liz for giving me the inspiration to make these!


The Macros are...


My husband, Rick, says his boss is on Nutri-System or Jenny Craig (One of those lol), trying to lose weight and that he has heard him say the meals taste like 'Crap". Rick said, after dinner tonight, "Eating healthy sure doesn't have to taste like crap. This was delicious!". At these calories, I can have 2 or 3! Between my Crock Pot and my Muffin Pan, I could make yummy foods forever. Ok, I can't forget my George Foreman Grill. I love that thing too!

-Originally posted on October 1, 2012, by Stef