Turkey Meatloaf

I'm not a fan of hamburger and Keith has made comments how he loves meatloaf but I've never made it since I can't eat hamburger. So, a compromise...Turkey Meatloaf. I ate it and actually enjoyed it and Keith loved it.

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup chopped onion             

3 cloves garlic, minced             

1 lb Lean Ground Turkey             

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs            

1 egg             

3/4 cup ketchup, divided             

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce             

3/4 teaspoon salt             

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Heat oven to 350ºF. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; cool 5 minutes. Add turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, 1/4 cup ketchup, Worcestershire, salt and pepper to onion mixture; mix well. Pack into an 8- x 4-inch loaf pan. Spread remaining 1/2 cup ketchup over top. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until no longer pink in center and internal temperature of loaf reaches 165ºF. Let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before slicing. 

Makes 5 servings.

Simple Salmon

This is one of our favorite recipes for Salmon. It's incredible simple but so tasty. I bake it in the oven, but I really like it when it's done on the grill. This is the way I ate Salmon growing up and my parents always cooked it on the grill. So if you have a grill go ahead and do it on the grill, just make sure you have fish holders (not sure of the real name) so the fish doesn't fall through the grates. Add a wedge of lemon to it and it's delicious.
1 lb salmon
seasoned salt
dill
lemon, cut in wedges

Season salmon with seasoned salt to taste and a dash of dill. (The dill reduces the fishy smell and taste). Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet either use cooking spray or olive oil to prevent salmon from sticking. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Or until opaque. Serve with rice and broccoli. Squeeze the lemon over the salmon.

Tip: Fish continues cooking even after it's been removed from the oven or grill.

Chicken Roll-Ups

This is one of my husband's favorite meals. I'd consider it his comfort food. They are super easy to make and can even be made ahead of time. It's a pretty cheap meal too. This is probably a meal the rotates more frequently in our menu line up. When ever I make these my husband likes to sneak some of the dough from the crescent rolls, I find it disgusting, but he loves it and I love him so I let him usually sneak some dough. I will usually add some rice if I'm feeding a lot of people.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
8 oz pkg of cream cheese
4 T margarine
2 c bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 pkg Pillsbury 8 crescent rolls
can of cream of chicken
1/2 can of milk

Cook chicken all the way through (I used the tin foil method, but anyway gets the job done). Cut into small chunks. Mix together cream cheese, 2 T margarine and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. In two bowls melt the other 2 T of margarine and in the other bowl pour the bread crumbs. In each roll wrap about 2 T of cream cheese mixture. Fold and then dip in margarine then bread crumbs. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees. For 20 minutes or until golden brown. Heat cream of chicken and milk to make a gravy. Serves 4.

Chewy Caramel Popcorn

The other day I was having a conversation about caramel popcorn with my friend and we were both wanting it right then. Well we never made it. So I jumped at the opportunity to make it for a ladies night I attended. It was a "Chicks & Chocolate" theme but I decided someone is going to want caramel too. Besides caramel and chocolate go together, second in line to peanut butter and chocolate. I got this recipe back in a foods class from high school and it is the best one I've ever had. I don't like hard caramel popcorn, but this is chewy and so good. There was a ton left over so I've been munching on it, which can't be good for my semi-diet I'm on.

1 3 oz microwave popcorn (I used butter, but I'm sure it would taste good with extra butter or air pop 4 cups)
3/4 c brown sugar
6 T margarine
2 T light corn syrup
1/4 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t vanilla

Pop popcorn according to directions. In a saucepan combine brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup and salt and melt. Bring to a boil, stir constantly. Let sit on heat for 5 minutes. Take off heat and add baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn. Let cool. Enjoy!

Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken

10 3/4 oz can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom

1/3 cup of Milk

1 4 oz can of sliced mushrooms

2 cups of baby carrots

1/2 cup of whole cashews

2 Diced up Chicken Breasts

Optional: 1 cup of sliced celery
Combine Cream of Mushroom and 1/3 cup of milk in slow cooker, mix well. Chop baby carrots in half. Add mushrooms, baby carrots and celery to crock pot, mix well. Place diced up chicken into crock pot, mix well. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Add cashews approx. 30 minutes prior to serving. Serve over brown rice with a side of steamed broccoli.
Serves 3-4 adults

Haystacks

A super easy meal that tastes delicious is Haystacks. This is on our weekly rotation.

1 8 oz. can of pineapple tidbits

1 2.25 oz. can of sliced olives

chow mein noodles

1 12.5 oz. can of chunk chicken (or 1-2 diced up and cooked chicken breasts)

1 10 oz. can of cream of chicken

1/3 cup of milk

grated cheddar cheese

1 cup of rice

optional toppings: diced celery, diced tomatoes

Cook rice using your preferred method. About 5-10 minutes before rice is done heat cream of chicken, chunk chicken and milk in sauce pan on stove pan just until warm.

Serve sauce and toppings over desired amount of rice.

Banana Bread

I mentioned previously how I had 13 bananas in my freezer waiting to be put into banana bread. Which I did. 2 large loaves and 3 mini loaves later here it is. It's a simple recipe. No yeast. No waiting for bread to raise. I only made a few alteration to the original recipe, as I do to most recipes. And it's a prefect turn out. It's important that you have enough bananas otherwise it will end up a little dry and make sure to wrap the bread when are done or it will dry out.


2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 c mashed bananas (5 medium)
1 c sugar
1/4 c cooking oil
1/4 c melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of one 9x5x3 or 7 1/2x3 1/2x2 loaf pan; set aside. Combine flour, baking, powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together. In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar, oil and butter. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Bake for 55-60 minutes for larger pan, or 40-45 minutes for smaller pan, or until toothpick comes out clean in the center. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. To keep wrap in plastic wrap and again in tin foil.

Gumbo

When I was about a week away from delivery we tried everything possible that could induce labor, including spicy food. We have a Cajun restaurant in town that we went to and I got some spicy food and gumbo. It was delicious gumbo, but looked disgusting. I decided to make my own gumbo that would look and taste delicious. Needless, none of the spicy food helped induce labor but I found a new favorite recipe for us. It always makes enough for dinner and plenty for left overs. I recently discovered chicken sausage and replaced that instead of pork sausage and it's much better.

1 lb Italian sausage links, sliced
1 lb uncooked, peeled and deveined shrimp
3 T vegetable oil
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
3 c chicken broth
2/3 c uncooked rice
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (I used a fresh tomatoe this time and it was just as good)


In a large pot brown sausage in oil. Meanwhile in a crockpot combine all other ingredients except shrimp. Add sausage to crockpot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Add shrimp. Cook for another hour or two. Gumbo should be thick. Serves 12.

Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I buy bananas almost every time I go to the store but they usually end up brown before I can eat them all. So what do I do? I throw them in the freezer until I have time to make banana bread. Well this time it got a little out of hand. I had THIRTEEN, 13, bananas sitting in my freezer taking up precious freezer space and not getting put into banana bread, much to my husband's dismay. Well I set out to make banana bread, but after I doubled the recipe and had 2 large loafs and 3 small loafs I still had 3 bananas waiting to be put in something. Then I came across this recipe in Cooking Light. I already enjoy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies so why not add a little banana. And the nice thing is it reduces the butter and sugar in the recipe so I don't feel as guilty eating one. One cookies has 115 calories and only 3.6 g of fat.


1/2 c mashed banana (about 1 medium)
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 cu softened butter
1/4 sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 c flour
2 c oats
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add egg, beat well. In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir. Add flour mixture to banana mixture beat until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop batter by tablespoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden. cool on pans. Enjoy! Yields: 2 dozen Serving size: 1 cookie

Lemon Asparagus Chicken

I'm a huge fan of the crock pot. It makes it so easy to cook, especially when I have a little one at home who doesn't always allow me to spend an hour whipping something up. Most of the time it takes less than 10 minutes to throw everything into the pot and turn it on. One of our favorites is Lemon Asparagus Chicken.

1 10 3/4 oz can of Campbell's Cream of Asparagus

2 Medium Sized Lemons

2 Chicken Breasts

Combine Cream of Asparagus and juice from 2 lemons in crock pot, mix well. Place chicken into crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Serve chicken and cream sauce over whole wheat thin spaghetti with a side of asparagus.

Serves 2

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

This is a nice take on baked chicken. It definitely is more spicy than sweet but it's enjoyable. I love recipes that requires little preparation and I can just cook it in the oven. I gives me time to spend with my little baby. Plus with the summer around the corner (yes around the corner because it seems like it just keeps raining) it's great to just pop it in the oven and go do what you enjoy. Just don't leave the house with the oven on. The original recipe called for a whole chicken but I used some chicken breast. Serve with some pasta, rice or vegetables.


1 T olive oil
1 T chili powder
1 T brown sugar
1 t dried oregano
3/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Heat oven 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the oil, chili powder, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and rub with the spice mixture. Roast until cooked through, 45-50 minutes. Server hot, room temperature, or chilled.

Sour Cream Chicken & Veggies

This is a new take on cream of chicken and rice recipe. It is super easy. It's one of those last minute idea meals. I'm sure everyone has a can of cream of chicken, sour cream, rice and chicken in your cupboards or freezer. I spiced up the original recipe because it just seemed to blah. And it called for white wine but seeing as I don't keep it in the house I used water instead and it tasted great. I baked some veggies in tin foil like this and it made a complete dinner.

Sour Cream Chicken

1 c sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 c water
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
garlic salt
Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350. Combine sour cream, soup, and water. Season with garlic salt and Italian seasoning to taste. Mix well. Place chicken breast in 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour mixture over chicken and bake for 1 hour. Serve over rice.

Tri-Tip Steaks, Sweet Potato Fries & Sugar Snap Peas

Lately I seem to be hearing more about sweet potato fries and how delicious they are. I already knew that sweet potatoes are good for you so I decided to take on the task of making sweet potato fries. And what could be better then a steak to go with and a side of sugar snap peas in a lime, ginger dressing? The only down side with the sweet potato fries is they don't get crispy like regular potatoes that you deep fry, but I'll take baked fries over deep fried any day. It was a delicious meal.Sweet Potato Fries

3 sweet potatoes
1 t salt
1 t Italian seasoning
1 t lemon pepper
1 T olive oil

Preheat oven to broil. Cut sweet potatoes into thin slices, about 1/2 inches thick. On a baking sheet spread potato slices evenly and sprinkle with olive oil and seasonings. Bake for about 40 minutes, turning them over half way through. Serves 4.

Tri Tip Steak

Tri Tip Steak (depending on amount serving)
kosher salt

Season steak with kosher salt and bake in same oven as fries for 15 minutes rotating after every 5 minutes.


Sugar Snap Peas

8 oz sugar snap peas
1 T ginger
1 T fresh lime juice
1 t kosher salt

Mix all ingredients together and let sit in fridge for one hours, at least. Make sure to coat peas well. Serve cold.

Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and Beans

Here is a healthy pasta dish. It contains whole grain pasta, tomatoes, spinach and black beans. The last two are "super foods." Remember when I mentioned super foods? Seriously you should eat them more because I'm guessing most people don't get enough. Since my dear husband can't handle more than one meatless meal a week I made this pasta a side to the Greek Style Rib-Eye Steaks. It was a great combination. But the pasta would have been good on it's own too.

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
10 oz chopped fresh spinach
8 oz whole grain penne pasta
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese

Cook pasta in a large pot until al dente. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and beans in a skillet. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add spinach to the sauce, cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over pasta and sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4.

Eggplant Parmesan

I was a little skeptically when I decided to make this. I had never had eggplant in any form and I was more nervous that my husband wouldn't like it. But it turned out great. I loved. Husband loved it. It was easy to make. The hardest part was peeling and cutting the eggplant, and that wasn't very hard. It's a great alternative to chicken.
1 eggplant peeled and thinly sliced
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 c Italian seasoned bread crumbs
3 c spaghetti sauce
8 oz mozzarella cheese
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese (use fresh)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dip eggplant in egg, then bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes on each side. In 9x13 baking dish spread sauce to cover, Place layer of eggplant then sprinkle with cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients ending with cheeses. Bake for 35 minutes. Serves 4.

Sour Cream & Blueberry Pound Cake

Blueberries are a "super food", or rather any berry is. They can reduce your odds of heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, and are full of anti-oxidants, hence why they can reduce cancer odds. It's important to eat them regularly, frozen or fresh are the best. I found this recipe from the lovely Martha Stewart. (Okay maybe not lovely but she does have some cool stuff). It fulfills your need for "super food" and your sweet tooth. And when I say pound cake a slice is all you need because it really does feel like you are eating a pound. So make sure you share!

3 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 T salt
3 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 c sour cream
2 c sugar
1 t vanilla
9 eggs
1 c blueberries
1 T flour

Preheat oven to 325. Butter two 5x9 loaf pans. Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cream butter, sour cream and sugar with a mixer on high until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Reduce speed and add vanilla. Lightly beat eggs and add in four additions, mixing thoroughly after each. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in four additions mixing until just incorporated. Add 1 T flour and blueberries and blend. Divide batter between pans. Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops. Bake for 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about 30 minutes. Makes 2 cakes.

Jerky Chicken

This is a spicy and sweet chicken recipe. It was very simple to make and goes great with rice, zucchini and asparagus. You can take the jerky sauce and put it on beef, pork, shrimp or anything else you can think of. I had a red pepper so I traded that for the habanero pepper and I just used garlic powder since I didn't have any garlic on hand. It still turned out fabulous.

(photo courtesy of allrecipes.com)

1 t onion, chopped finely
3 T brown sugar
4 T soy sauce
4 T red wine vinegar
2 t thyme
1 t sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 t allspice
1 habanero pepper, sliced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into strips

Combine the onion, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, thyme, sesame oil, garlic, allspice and pepper in food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Place the chicken into a large resealable bag and pour in 3/4 of the sauce. Squeeze out excess air and seal, Marinate in the fridge for one hour. Preheat oven boiler. Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Broil chicken for 7 minutes, then flip and cook for 8 minutes. Heat remaining sauce and pour over chicken when serving. Serves 4.

California Veggie Sandwich

With summer here I like to keep my meals light and flavorful. I discovered this meatless sandwich and really enjoyed it. It calls for grilling but since I don't own a grill I changed it and did it in the boiler. I also added the marinade and asparagus, since I didn't have yellow squash and I don't care for onions. The recipe calls for focaccia bread but I did asiago cheese bread. I added a side of a sliced mango. It was a perfect summer dinner.

1/4 c miracle whip, or mayo
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T lemon juice
1/8 c olive oil
1 c sliced red pepper
1 small zucchini, sliced
handful of asparagus, cut
1 small yellow squash, sliced
bread of your choice
1/2 c feta cheese

Marinade
1/2 c brown sugar
4 1/2 T soy sauce

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator for one hour. Mix brown sugar and soy sauce. Marinate vegetables in mixture. Preheat boiler. Cook vegetables in oven for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Spread mayo mixture on slices of bread and sprinkle with feta cheese. Place bread on separate baking sheet and place in oven until cheese melts, watch to make sure bread does not burn. Remove and layer with vegetables. Enjoy.

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

This is a great chicken recipe, because it requires no effort! I was a little skeptical at first because I am not a huge fan of honey and my husband is not a fan of mustard, by any means. But the honey and mustard neutralize each other to create a great taste. I added broccoli rice and a fruit & lettuce salad with feta cheese crumbles.
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c honey
1/4 c mustard
1 t Italian seasoning
1 t paprika
1/2 t parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chicken with seasonings and place in a lightly greased baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the honey and mustard, mix well. Pour 1/2 of mixture over chicken. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over and pour remaining mixture over chicken. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve immediately. Serves 2.

*For more servings add chicken and double honey, mustard mixture.

Greek Style Rib Eye Steak & Salad

I'm not a big red meat fan, but I do try to have it every once in a while because it has good iron in it and I've been known to lack in iron. Also red meat can be a little on the expensive side. So I bought one steak to share and added a lot of sides. This was a great recipe. Really simple, no grilling and it tasted delicious. I could have eaten my entire portion but I'm trying to eat until I'm full, not beyond.
Greek Style Rib-Eye Steak

1 3/4 lb beef rib eye steak
1 t garlic powder
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t kosher salt
1/8 t pepper
1 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
2 T crumbled feta cheese
1 T sliced black olives

Rub garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper on both sides of steak. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Cook steaks in skillet for about 4-7 minutes on each side. I'd flip mine after every two minutes so it wouldn't get too burnt. (for medium-rare the meat thermometer should read 145 degrees, medium 160 degrees, well done 170 degrees). Take off skillet and sprinkle lemon juice, cheese and olives. Serve.

Fruit & Lettuce Salad

2 c baby spinach
1 Romaine lettuce heart cut
1 apple
1 c Crasins

Dice apple and place in bowl with spinach and cut romaine lettuce. Sprinkle Crasins over salad. Serve with Poppy Seed or Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Chicken, Zucchini & Squash

Here is another recipe I made up by taking ideas from other ones. I've discovered cooking chicken in the oven wrapped in tin foil is a simple way to do so with great results. Sprinkled with kosher salt it brings out the juices but the tin foil holds it in resulting in a moist, tender piece of meat.
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast
medium zucchini
medium yellow squash
one lemon
kosher salt
pepper


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice zucchini and squash. Cut chicken in halves and place on separate large sheets of tin foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon all over chicken and vegetables. Wrap in tin foil. Bake for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. I added Rice-a-Roni Rice Pilaf as a side. Enjoy. Serves 3.