Turkey Meatloaf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can tell by the picture, this turkey meatloaf was almost completely devoured before I even got to take a picture.  Which to me is a complement of this highest degree, since I think finally I got a delicious meatloaf using my favorite extra lean turkey. The extra lean turkey is 99% fat free which makes keeping it moist very difficult, but when I cook for just my husband and I its what I like to use.

Turkey Meatloaf

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely diced

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp BBQ sauce, divided (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup water

1 egg

1/2 cup  whole wheat bread crumbs

1 package of jennie-o extra lean ground turkey (or about 1 1/4lb ground turkey breast)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saute pan 0ver medium heat cook the onions and olive oil until translucent, stirring occasionally. Once cooked turn off heat and add Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp BBQ sauce, water, salt and pepper. Cool mixture. In a bowl combine egg, bread crumbs, turkey and cooled onion mixture. Place mixture into a loaf pan and smooth out. Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remainder of BBQ sauce and bake for 10 more minutes.


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When bananas go bad….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

….you make BANANA BREAD!  When I was at my clients house yesterday they had 5 bananas that were screaming to become banana bread. So I brought them home and will deliver a beautiful banana bread to them on Wednesday when I go back. I used a “low-fat” recipe from a canyon ranch cookbook, but made a few alterations…adding chocolate was one of them!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

1/3 cup canola oil

3/4 cup cane sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup mashed banana

2 tablespoons applesauce

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine canola oil and cane sugar in a medium bowl. Mix until cane sugar begins to dissolve.  Add egg and beat for about 20 seconds. Add bananas and applesauce and mix just until combined.
3. Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to creamed mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove from pan. Cool completely and cut.


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A little browsing on tastespotting lead me to chocolatecoveredkatie.com, somewhere I think I will be visiting more frequently. It sounds like her love for sweets and chocolate is very similar to mine! So here is not only a gluten free recipes, which I love, but it is also a healthy recipe.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup quick oats

3 tbp unsweetened apple sauce

1 tbp canola oil

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8×8 or 9×9 pan with non stick spray

Blend everything except chocolate chips in a food processor until very well blended. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.  Bake for 30 minutes. Let sit 15 minutes before cutting.

 


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Sweet Potato “Risotto”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure where this idea came from, I may have seen it once on top chef, but I really can’t remember? But anyway whoever thought of it first had a great idea! I added a little honey to make it sweet and topped it with some toasted walnuts for a little protein.  Also unlike a traditional risotto you do not have to constantly stir this while it is cooking. In fact you don’t really stir at all or you might break up the sweet potato pieces.

Sweet Potato “Risotto”

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups, or one medium size sweet potato, finely diced

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 1/2 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tbsp heavy cream

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat large pan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Once heated add onion and stir constantly till onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add sweet potatoes and stir to cover with olive oil. Add white wine and cook until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Add chicken stock, 1/2 cup at a time. Make sure all liquid is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. This process will take about 45 minutes. Do not stir potatoes too much while cooking. Once the last 1/2 cup liquid is incorporated, gently stir in honey and nutmeg. Turn off heat and stir in heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve topped with walnuts.

 


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Artichoke Chicken

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using a spring time vegetable on a day it seems spring is no where in sight. And if it were spring outside, this dish would be great topped with some parsley, that I hope to be growing on our patio when spring does arrive.

Artichoke chicken

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups Frozen artichoke hearts
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one lemon

Heat large pan with lid over medium high heat. Spay with non stick cooking spray. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to heated pan and sear on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove from pan. Add onion and cook until slightly browned, add garlic and stir. Add white wine and bring to a boil, reduce wine until there is almost no liquid left, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and chicken into pan, bring back to boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Remove chicken and cover with foil to keep warm. Raise heat to high. Add artichoke hearts and cook until liquid is reduced in half about 7 minutes. Add chicken back into pan, top with lemon juice and serve.

 


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Passover Kugel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In an attempt to make sure we have some food in the house to eat this week during passover, I made a apple matzoh kugel today. It is actually going to make its way into the freezer since we probably won’t get around to eating it till Thursday, but at least I know it is done! I adapted the recipe from epicurious. However, I used less butter and less sugar. I also only made 1/2 recipe since it is just for 2 of us.

Apple-Matzoh Kugel

  • 2 large apples, Granny Smith or any tart apple, cored and cut into medium dice
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/8 cup orange juice
  • 3 plain matzohs
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

    2. Toss the apples with the brown sugar and orange juice, set aside in a medium bowl.

    3. Break the matzoh into 2- to 3-inch pieces and soak in 1 cup of warm water until soft but not mushy. Set aside.

    4. While the matzoh soaks, beat the eggs with a wire whisk in a large bowl until blended. Add the salt, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter.

    5. Squeeze the liquid from the softened matzoh and add the matzoh to the egg mixture with the apples. Stir the kugel well and pour into a lightly greased casserole dish or a 9×9-inch pan.

    6. Bake the kugel for 1 hour.


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    I was in Israel a few weeks ago with my family for 10 days. It was an absolutely amazing trip. We traveled through the entire country and obviously did our fare share of eating Mediterranean food. Specifically I think we hit up every falafel stand comparing the differences in the texture between the chickpeas, the toppings, how good the hummus was and weather or not you got french fries in your pita pocket. The Falafel winner was surprisingly at a mall food court outside of Tel Aviv (we had picker eaters on the trip and had to go where people could choose what they wanted to eat).  I can’t wait to create my own Falafel recipe at home. Oh…and there will be french fries in mine!

     

     

     


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