Weight Watchers Mushroom Smothered Salisbury Steak

This recipe has solidified my place as "World's Best Chef" in my husband's eyes.  What is it with men and meat?  Add gravy and mashed potatoes and he thinks I'm a culinary goddess.  Whatever, I'll take it! 

Don't be turned off from a recipe like this because it's Weight Watchers.  Honestly, I think they have some of the best recipes around...and you usually cannot even tell they're "healthy."  I consider myself a pretty healthy eater and I'm always looking for healthy recipes...but you get tired of the same ol' grilled fish/chicken, brown rice and veggies recipes that are considered "healthy" by the cooking world.  Weight Watchers has better-for-you-versions of your favorite recipies and foods.  They use lots of little tricks for making their recipies low-fat, low-cal and low-sodium, without making it taste like diet food.  For example, this recipe puts picante sauce (which is fat free) in the burgers and gravy.  Picante, really?  I was a little apprehensive, but it gave so much flavor to the meat and kept it really moist and juicy.  Score one Weight Watchers.

• 1 (14 oz.) can low-sodium beef broth
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3/8 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 cup picante sauce, divided
• 12 oz. ground sirloin*
• 3 tablespoons Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg white
• cooking spray
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms

1. Combine broth, flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt in small bowl; stir with a whisk.  Add 1/4 cup picante sauce; stir well.  Set broth mixture aside.
2. Combine beef, breadcrumbs, egg white, remaining 1/4 cup picante sauce, pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.  Divide mixute into 4 eaqual portions and shape each into 1/2 inch thick patty.
3. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add patties; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove from heat; cover and set aside.
4. Add mushrooms to pan; saute 2 minutes or until browned.  Add broth mixture to pan.  Bring to a boil; cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.  Return patties to pan, and cook until thoroughly heated.
5. Serve patties with gravy on top!

Yield: 4 servings (1 patty and 1/4 cup of sauce each)

Nutrition: 5 points (217 calories and 9g fat)**

* Instead of beef/sirloin, I used ground bison (although often referred to as "buffalo" - the correct term is bison).  Ryan and I hardly ever eat beef...we substitute bison for beef in almost every recipe.  Bison is a  much much healthier alternative for beef, and we think it's even better tasting.  Bison has more iron and protein than beef, but fewer calories and fat than fish or chicken.  Bison is also rich in Vitamin B12, Selenium, Zinc, Phosphorus, Vitamin B6 and Niacin, all of which are recommended daily.  Ground bison can be substituted for ground beef and is prepared in exactly the same way.  When preparing bison steaks, the bison needs to be cooked slower and at a lower temperature than that used for beef because of the lack of marbling (white streaks of fat through the meat). 

You can get bison at most specialty food stores (like Whole Foods), or order it from our friends at Sayersbrook!  Click HERE to place your order.  Try the bacon and breakfast sausage...delicious!

**Calories and fat will be significantly lower if you use bison, instead of beef.

Serve with sauteed green beans (with a little extra-virgin olive oil and lightly sprinkled with Italian dressing seasoning) and mashed potatoes (made with skim milk and low-sodium chicken broth)

Yeah, so, it's a little messy.  I need to work on my presentation skillz.

Yum.  Seriously.  Yum.

Sorry for the pictures being a little blurry and dark.  I'm using Ryan's underwater fishing camera.  My camera is currently in the shop being fixed.  I think Miami was just too much for the poor thing.