Archive | March, 2014

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

31 Mar

This recipe is from my cousin, Christy. It has made meatloaf lovers out of many folks who didn’t think they could like meatloaf. I didn’t originally consider it a. “Skinny” recipe, but if i make it into a long, thinner loaf, it easily makes 10 slices of very nutritionally reasonable meatloaf.

If you’re looking for a different sort of meatloaf altogether, check out my meatloaf muffins!

Ingredients:

– 2 lbs 92% lean beef
– 25 saltine crackers, crushed
– 2 eggs
– salt and pepper to taste
– 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce, divided
– 3 tbsp mustard
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 1/2 cup ketchup
– 1/3 cup water
– 3 tbsp vinegar

1. Mix beef, crackers, eggs, salt, pepper, and half of tomato sauce thoroughly.

2. Form beef mixture into a long, narrow loaf stretching the length of a 9×13 pan.

3. In a small saucepan, mix remaining sauce with mustard, sugar, ketchup, water, and vinegar. Cook on low until sauce begins to thicken.

4. Pour a little over half of sauce over loaf. Reserve remaining sauce in pan.

5. Cover loaf with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15-30 min or until center is done. Scoop sauce from sides, and pour back over top of loaf about every 20 min.

6. Just before serving, cook reserved sauce down until thickened. Serve over slices of meatloaf.

Makes 10 slices = 200 calories

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Salisbury steak

27 Mar

Ingredients:

– 1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
– 1 egg
– 1/4 cup bread crumbs
– ground black pepper
– salt
– 1/2 tsp onion powder
– 1/2 tsp garlic powder
– 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
– 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
– 1 thinly sliced onion
– 1 cup sliced mushrooms
– 2 tbsp flour
– 1 can condensed french onion soup
– 1 tablespoon cooking sherry
– 1/4 cup water + 2 tbsp water, separated
– 1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Form into 5 balls, and flatten into patties.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the patties in the oil until patties are nicely browned,and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the beef patties to a plate, and cover with foil.

3. Add onions, and 2 tbsp water to pan, Cook onions until they begin to soften.

4. Sprinkle flour over the onions, and stir with a fork, scraping bits of beef off of the bottom of the pan as you stir. Gradually mix in the onion soup and sherry.

5. Add mushrooms and 1/4 cup of water. Stir in seasoned salt.

6. Simmer and stir over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until mushrooms reach desired doneness. If gravy becomes too thick, add 1 tablespoon water at a time until the gravy is desired consistency.

7. Serve patties covered with gravy. Also great over mashed potatoes.

Makes 5 servings= 265 calories per serving

Approximately 7 weight watchers points plus

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Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup

22 Mar

You could easily do this in the crockpot too. 5 hrs on low.

Ingredients:

– 2 cans of chicken broth
– 2 cans italian style diced tomatoes
– 3 cups fresh spinach
– 1/4 tsp or 1-2 packets of Splenda
– salt and pepper to taste
– 1 tsp dried basil
– 1 bag of frozen cheese tortellini
– 1 block of fat free cream cheese

Directions:

1. Cut cream cheese into blocks.

2. In a large pot, Mix broth, tomatoes, cream cheese, basil, salt and pepper, and Splenda and heat, stirring until cream cheese melts.

4. Add spinach and tortellini and heat on warm, stirring regularly.

5. Heat for 10-15 min.

Makes 6 (1 1/2 cup) servings= 280 calories per serving

Apps 7 weight watchers points plus

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Oven Roasted Potatoes

22 Mar

This recipe requires about 45 minutes, which is a luxury I don’t often have with our busy schedule. If you have all the time in the world…continue on. I prefer the results of the “slow cook” method. However, If you’re interested in speeding this up, you can use a ziplock steamer bag, and cook your potatoes 1/2 of the time listed on the bag. Then toss in olive oil and bake for only about 15-20 min.

Ingredients:

– 3 medium size (4 inches) Red potatoes
– 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp pepper
– 1/4 tsp garlic powder
– 1/4 tsp paprika (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut potatoes into cubes, no more than 1 inch wide.

2. Place potatoes, and olive oil in a large ziplock bag. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and shake until all potatoes are lightly oiled.

3. Spray a flat baking sheet liberally with nonstick spray, and spread potatoes in a single layer on pan.

4. Cover pan with aluminum foil, making sure all corners are tucked under to create a seal.

5. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes. Uncover, turn potatoes, and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Makes 3 (1 cup) servings= 205 Calories per serving

Napa Chicken

21 Mar

This is inspired by the Napa Chicken at Applebees. It’s pretty tasty, and the whole meal (this and the roasted potatoes) together is less than 500 Calories.

Ingredients:

– 12 oz of boneless chicken breasts (3 chicken breasts, 4 oz each)
– Salt, pepper, paprika to taste
– 1 large onion, sliced
– 3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
– 1/2 cup red wine
– 1 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika on both sides. Grill chicken breasts on medium heat until cooked through. You could also bake them i the weather is bad, but I like them grilled.

2. While chicken is grilling, melt butter in a large skillet. Sautee onions until about halfway done. Add mushrooms and stir until mushrooms begin to soften. Add 1/2 cup red wine to skillet, and cook mixture, stirring occasionally, until wine has reduced to just a few tablespoons of liquid.

3. Divide onion and mushroom mixture evenly between 3 plates, and place a chicken breast on top of onions. Pour any remaining “sauce” in the pan over the chicken.

I serve this with roasted potatoes, just like Applebees does, and altogether the whole meal is less than 500 Calories. Enjoy.

3 Servings of Napa Chicken= 309 Calories
Appx 10 weight watchers points plus

3 Servings of Napa Chicken with q cup of Roasted Potatoes= 490 Calories

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Tasty Turkey Burger

19 Mar

So, a while back I posted a link to my buffalo turkey burger, which was really good. But, sometimes you just want a more classic burger. So Here it is. I used a trick my best friend taught me, and added some A1 to the meat for great flavor. Also, I use a steak seasoning that is the “Kroger” grocery store brand. You could probably use McCormick montreal steak grilling seasoning.

Ingredients:

– 3/4 lbs of ground turkey
– 2 tbsp of onion, very finely chopped
– 2 tablespoons of A1 Steak sauce
– 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
– 1 egg
– 1 tablespoon minced garlic
– 2 tsp “McCormick grill masters Montreal steak seasoning” or “kroger steak seasoning” equivalent

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients, except for steak seasoning, together until well combined.

2. Roll out about 16 inches of plastic wrap, and divide meat into 4 even balls. Space evenly across plastic wrap.

3. Place another sheet of plastic wrap on top of meat, and smush each ball into a patty, between the sheets of plastic wrap.

4. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap, and sprinkle 1 tsp of steak seasoning on top sides of the patties.

5. Recover patties, flip over, and repeat step 4 with the back sides of the patties.

6. Cook patties in a skillet, or on the grill. About 4-5 min on each side, or until center reaches 165.

Makes 4 Patties= burger alone = 180 calories

Appx 5 weight watchers points

With 2% Kraft single and 80 calorie light bun= 305 calories

Approximately 9 weight watchers points

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Rosemary chicken in cream sauce

13 Mar

This was really yummy. I served with mixed grains, and poured the sauce over the grains. Definite repeat.

Ingredients

– (3) 4 oz boneless chicken breasts
– 1/2 an onion, diced
– 1 tbsp minced garlic
– 4 tbsp flour
– 1/2 cup 1% milk
– 1/2 cup chicken broth
– 1 tsp rosemary
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Salt and pepper your chicken breasts, then sautéed them in a skillet, using butter flavored nonstick spray.

2. Remove chicken and place it in a baking pan (9×9 would work) sprayed with nonstick spray.

3. Spray same skillet again with spray and sautéed onions and garlic until softened. If you need to you can add 1-2 tbsp of water to keep onions from burning.

4. Stir four into onions and slowly add broth, stirring until smooth, then stir in milk slowly.

5. Bring to a simmer, and then cook on low heat about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until sauce thickens.

6. Pour sauce over chicken. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 25-30 min.

Makes 3 servings= 175 calories per serving

Appx 5 weight watchers points plus

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Butterscotch Bars

10 Mar

These left me on the fence, but after much consideration, i decided that this was a good recipe… but I’m just not a huge fan of butterscotch. Next time i make these, i’m going to use Chocolate pudding, and I’m really looking forward to it. The recipe itself, is a keeper.

Ingredients:
– Graham crackers (15 squares, or 30 little rectangles)
– 4 tbsp melted butter
– 2 8 oz blocks of fat free cream cheese, softened.
– 3 cups of 1% milk
– 1/4 cup Splenda
– 3 tbsp sugar
– 2 small boxes of sugar free, instant butterscotch pudding
– 1 container of lite cool whip
– 1/2 tsp rum extract.

Directions:

1. place graham crackers in food processor, and chop until finely crushed. Mix in a small bowl with melted butter. Press mixture evenly along the bottom of a 9×13 glass pan.

2. Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup of milk, splenda, and sugar. Mix until smooth, and then spread evenly over graham cracker crust.

3. Mix remaining milk with packages of pudding, mixing until pudding begins to set. Spread pudding over the cream cheese layer.

4. In a clean bowl, mix coolwhip and rum extract until well blended. Spread cool whip mixture over top of pudding.

5. It is important to refrigerate this for at least 4 hours before serving. If you can afford to refrigerate overnight, that’s even better. The layers need to “set” and also, the rum extract needs a chance to marry with the cool whip. Otherwise, it tastes very strong.

6. Cut into 15 squares= 163 calories per serving

Approximately 4 weight watchers points per serving

*You can omit the sugar altogether with pretty good results. if you do, your calories will be 153 per serving. pp remain the same.

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Classic crock pot pork loin

7 Mar

This is as simple as it comes, but it’s so yummy. Make the gravy to go with it for an extra rich flavor.

Ingredients

– 2 lb pork loin
– 2/3 cup water
– 1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

Directions

1. Place frozen or thawed pork loin in crockpot.

2. Add water, and sprinkle onion soup evenly over top of pork and also around the pork, into the water.

3. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

To make gravy:

After cooking pork, remove liquid to a small saucepan.

In a separate cup mix 3 tbsp water with 1 tbsp corn starch and stir until smooth.

Stir this mixture into liquid in saucepan, and heat over medium heat, stirring until gravy thickens.

5 servings without gravy= 220 calories

5 servings with gravy= 234 calories

With gravy, appx 6 weight watchers points plus

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Sam- meatball bandit!

4 Mar

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This guy stole the meatballs and ate them, turning what I intended to be a “turkey meatball and marinara pasta” recipe into a “homemade marinara” recipe. Scoundrel. But, how could I stay mad at that face!? *sigh*

To see that marinara recipe, click here!

https://mommysonadiet.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/homemade-marinara-sauce/

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