Recipes

Turkey Meat Muffins

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Tonight for dinner I made some Turkey Meat Muffins! 😯

Alright, alright, that just sounds gross… I really made turkey meatloaf in a jumbo muffin tin 🙂

I had the full intention of following Gina’s Skinny Taste recipe to a T, but impatience got the best of me and I messed a few things up. Woopsie!

First I mixed up the following in a bowl:

  • 1/2 package Nature’s Valley 99% Fat Free Ground Turkey Breast (leftover from the stuffed zucchini I made Sunday)
  • 1/2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/4 of a white onion, chopped (per Gina’s recipe, these were supposed to be sautéed.. but I missed that step)
  • 1/4 cup quick oats
  • 2 tbsp ketchup 😀
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 tsp Marjoram
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper
  • 1 tsp worcesterchire (this was supposed to go on TOP of the meatloaves.. oops again)

Into the tub:

Once combined, I evenly distributed the mix into two jumbo meat muffins (I don’t know why, but “meat muffin” makes me giggle 😉 )

Then I basted the top with about a tbsp of ketchup mixed up with a dash of worcesterchire:

These cooked in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, I put a cup each of cauliflower and broccoli into the oven to roast. I usually roast my veggies at 415 degrees for 15 minutes, so I put these veggies in for an extra 5 minutes since the oven was at a cooler temp.

I seasoned the broccoli with S&P and garlic powder and the cauliflower with S&P, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.

When I opened the oven to put the veggies in, it smelled EXACTLY like my mom’s meatloaf (must be the smell of baking ketchup 😆 ) I got pretty excited at this point, and was glad I made 2 meat muffins so I’ll have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Woo hoo!

All baked up:

I served this meat muffin up with some Heinz 57, because that’s what any self-respecting meatloaf eater should do:

All together:

Two thumbs up!!! All of my mistakes made for one TASTY dinner 🙂

Stats on 1 turkey meat muffin: 235 calories, 15g carbs, 4g fat, 36g protein, 1g fiber

Stats on the whole shebang: 305 calories, 30g carbs, 4g fat, 40g protein, 6g fiber

 

Off to mow the lawn…..

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Recipes

Zucchini Pancakes

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Sometimes life is just about compromises.  Tonight, I had a serious craving for some french fries… a big ole mound of french fries and some ketchup.. mmmmm….

In lieu of this, I opted for a big ole salad…  hmm big ole salad vs. big ole mound of french fries?  That’s not exactly a fair fight…

My salad consisted of:

  • 1/2 bag fresh express romaine
  • 2.5 ounces grilled chicken breast
  • 1 roma tomato
  • 1/4 cup red onion
  • 1/4 cup white mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp Ken’s Steakhouse Lite Italian Romano dressing

 

Not exactly a french-fry-craving cure… but darn tasty in its own right. 

Stats on the salad:  204 calories, 18g carbs, 6g fat, 17g protein, 5g fiber

To help curb my desire for some grease, I decided to try out this recipe I found for Zucchini Pancakes on Gina’s Skinny Taste blog. 

Here’s what went in to my zucchini pancakes:

  • 1 medium zucchini, shredded
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives (holler at you, backyard garden 😉 )
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 large egg white
  • 2 tsp DiGiorno Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp each S&P
  • Sprinkling of red pepper flakes

I combined everything up, then heated up a skillet I had sprayed with some cooking spray.  Using a small cookie dough scooper, I dropped 3 pancakes into the pan.

One by one:

Batch #1 Finished Products:

These tasted AWESOME.  They really spoke to the onion-lover in me.  Only problem was they didn’t get crispy like a traditional potato pancake.  I tried several different methods, including flattening them out til they were very thin–but they just wouldn’t crisp up!  Maybe it’s the whole egg that helps to get them crispy–but regardless of the texture issues the taste was yum-o.

I tried one bite with some ketchup of course:

And I tried one bite with some Frank’s red hot:

(I preferred the ketchup in this case)

The zucchini pancake “batter” made 9 of these little fritters.  I ate 7 of them (I had to try one for each cooking method…. haha), and I saved two of them for breakfast tomorrow so I can see how well they heat up in the microwave.

Stats on 9 Zucchini Fritters (entire batter):  159 calories, 27g carbs, 2g fat, 11g protein, 2g fiber

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Recipes

Stuffed Zucchini

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I saw this recipe for Turkey Stuffed Zucchini on the Skinny Taste website a while back, and have been wanting to try it out since then.  Tonight was the night!

First, I sliced 2 large zucchini in half lengthwise, and then scooped out most of the innards (I hate the word “flesh” in reference to foods, so I choose “innards” instead 😉 ):

Then I chopped up the zucchini bits I had scooped out and set them aside. 

Meanwhile I sprayed a pan with cooking spray, and once the pan was warm I added:

  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 3 gloves garlic, minced
  • 10 sprays parkay butter spray (yes, I actually counted them out 😉 )

When the onions were translucent, I added the chopped up zucchini bits, seasoned everything with some salt, and cooked about 3 more minutes.

Next, I added a splash of white wine .  I’m not a white wine drinker, so I went with the only white I had on hand —   charles shaw chardonnay — AKA two-buck-chuck 🙂

When the wine was mostly evaporated, I added:

  • 1/2 a package (about 10 ounces) of 99% fat free ground turkey breast
  • a healthy sprinklin of Red Pepper Flake & S
  • a light sprinklin of cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, paprika, and marjoram

After the turkey was cooked through, I put the mixture into a bowl and added:

  • 2 tbsp grated parmesan
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped

The rosemary and basil were from my backyard garden 😀

I don’t know why it makes me so happy when I use fresh herbs from my garden… It’s not like I put any effort into their growth and prosperity.. other than dropping them in the dirt, I just leave them to flourish on their own 🙂 

I stuffed the zucchini halves with the turkey mix, then sprinkled with 2 tbsp Progreso Plain bread crumbs.  Put everything onto a cookie sheet that I sprayed with cooking spray:

Next, I carefully poured 1/2 a cup of free range chicken stock into the pan and covered tightly with foil.  These baked at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.  Then I removed the foil and cooked for an additional 5 minutes.

These were yummy!  Next time, I think I’ll cook up some spicy red sauce to go on top of the zucchinis.  Also, I like my veggies on the crunchy side, so I will use less chicken stock in the pan and probably cook them less time.  Definitely gonna make these again and tweak things up a bit.

On the side, we had a salad consisting of romaine lettuce, red onion, green pepper, and a couple generous handfuls of cherry tomatoes that I also grew in my backyard garden 😀 

I had some Ken’s Steakhouse dressing on top, of course.  Ken’s my homeboy 🙂

Stats on 2 stuffed zucchini halves:  286 calories, 24g carbs, 4g fat, 39g protein, 4g fiber

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Recipes

Cajun Chicken Pasta

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Change of plans for dinner last night!  Jarrod decided he wanted to make us some dinner, and of course I was not opposed to such a wonderful idea 🙂

Jarrod and I LOVE pasta.  Prior to my 2010 plan to healthify my life, I’d eat pasta 2-3 times each week.  Nowadays, it’s more like 0-1 times per week.  As evidenced by the pasta dinner we had on vacation (and again, and again, and again, and again), we just don’t really EVER get sick of a nice pasta dinner.

First, Jarrod sautéed some garlic, sliced onions, sliced white mushrooms, and the rest of the banana pepper I grew in my garden:

Once the veggies were nice and tender, he added them to a simmering pot of Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic sauce.  Meanwhile, he threw some chicken breasts on the george foreman grill.  They were seasoned up with a little olive oil and A TON of cajun seasoning.  And he also dropped some Dreamfields Penne Pasta.

Pasta dinner comes to fruition:

On the side, we had a delicious salad consisting of romaine lettuce, sliced red onions, roma tomatoes, green pepper and Ken’s Steakhouse Lite Balsamic Dressing:

LOVE me a good salad!  I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again:  that Ken really knows a thing or two about salads!

This dinner rocked my socks 😀

Jarrod didn’t measure all of the ingredients out like I do, so calculating the stats was more of an art than a science this time. 

Stats for 1 4 ounce boneless skinless chicken breast with 1 tsp olive oil, 1 serving Dreamfields Pasta, 1/2 cup Classico Fire roasted Tomato & Garlic sauce, 1/4 cup sliced white onion, 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms, 1/4 cup sliced banana pepper: 434 calories, 57g carbs, 8g fat, 31g protein, 9g fiber

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Recipes, What I ate

Healthified Chicken Parmesan Sub

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What’s better than a dinner that only takes 15 minutes to get into your belly?  A dinner that only takes 15 minutes AND is healthy AND tastes delicious!

Lately, I’ve been craving bread.  Buns, muffins, bagels, pizzas, you know the deal.  So tonight, I thought I’d make a healthified chicken parmesan sub.

I topped a Joseph’s Low-Carb Pita with a 1/4 cup of Classico Fire Roasted Tomato Garlic Pasta sauce (leftover from yesterday’s pizza), and 3 ounces of grilled chicken (leftovers from the weekend).  I added some red pepper flakes, dried oregano, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Then I thinly sliced a light mini babybel cheese round into four thin discs and tossed that on top along with some banana pepper rings:

In another pan, I added 2 cups broccoli and a ¼ cup of garbanzo beans (leftovers from the couscous garbanzo bean salad).

Everything into a 415 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Beautiful.

So friggin’ tasty:

 

I love roasted veggies

 

Melty and amazing

So is it still considered a chicken parmesan sub if I didn’t use any parmesan?  Chicken Babybelesan sub perhaps 😉

Stats on the sub:  228 calories, 13g carbs, 7g fat, 33g protein, 5g fiber

Stats on the broccoli/beans:  110 calories, 22g carbs, 2g fat, 8g protein, 9g fiber

Altogether:  338 calories, 35g carbs, 9g fat, 41g protein, 14g fiber

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