Turkey Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

There is some deliciousness going on in my house tonight. I adapted this recipe from a recipe I saw on Paula Deen's cooking show, and we know she is not, well... WLS friendly. So here it is!

• 1 lb lean ground beef OR ground turkey
• 6 slices low fat bacon OR turkey bacon
• 1 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon of each, salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder
• a few squirts of ketchup and mustard, plus ketchup for the top

Cook bacon completely (I did mine in the oven). Chop bacon into pieces. Add all ingredients together until fully combined. Top with ketchup. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. This is so good!

PS. sorry about the lack of picture on this one. My camera died this morning and I am out of batteries!!!

Cheesey Quinoa Veggie Salad

I really love quinoa. If you are not familiar with it, here is a link to this "super food." I have a friend coming over and wanted to serve something different with my lentil soup.

• 1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup quinoa, red or white rinsed first
• 1/2 diced white onion
• 1 diced green pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups spinach
  
• sharp cheddar
• salt and pepper

Rinse quinoa. In a medium sauce pan that is sprayed with cooking spray, sautee onions, peppers and garlic for 5-10 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Add in chicken broth, quinoa and spinach. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until soft. Place in serving bowl, and grate about 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar into quinoa and stir. Let quinoa cool to room temp. Garnish with cheese and enjoy.

Roast pork loin with Gorgonzola cream sauce

This sounds really fattening. But it's surprisingly not. The best thing about eating well is figuring out different ways to make delicious things good for you. I made this up on a whim tonight, I had a coupon for 1.75 off a pack or Gorgonzola, hence this recipe.

• 1 lb pork loin (or larger, just adjust cooking time)
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 Tablespoons honey mustard

for the sauce

• 1 6 ounce package Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 Tablespoon non fat milk
• 2 Tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1/2 a Tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Salt and pepper pork loin then cover with honey mustard. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes. While the pork is roasting, in a pan on low melt butter. Add in milk, broth and flour and mix for 2-3 minutes. Add in cheese. Stir for 7-8 minutes on low, cheese will melt ans sauce will thicken. Take out pork, let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and pour sauce over the pork. Serve immediately. We loved this, definite winner!

Chicken with 40 cloves...

Or 25, whatever you have on hand. I did this in the crock pot and it was easy and phenomenal! Couldn't be easier (or tastier).

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 3-4 lbs chicken drumsticks or thighs (bone in)
• 2 white onions, sliced
• 25-40 cloves peeled garlic, left whole
  
• 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons chicken broth
  
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

In the crock pot put onions on bottom of pot. Then place chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle in paprika, and add garlic cloves and chicken broth. Top with parsley. Cook for 6-7 hours on low. This gets super brothy and delicious. The garlic and onion give a light nutty flavor, this was SO good. Will make again.

Italian Veggie Stew

I was watching food network yesterday. Our heater was broken and I was waiting for the electrician, it was super cold in the house and I saw Rachael Ray making this stew. I was freezing and it looked awesome. This is technically my recipe, being added and subtracted ingredients to make it WLS friendly. I made this tonight, my "I'm not picky, as long as it's meat" husband ate 2 bowls. I consider it a success

• about 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 large parsnips OR carrots, peeled and chopped (the original recipe called for potatoes)
  
• 1 eggplant, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup stock, chicken or vegetable
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, rosemary, and parsley each

Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, bay, chopped garlic and onions and let them sweat out while you prepare the rest of the veggies. Drop in this order: parsnips/carrots, eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper after you add each ingredient, cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add tomatoes and stock and herbs and cook 15 minutes more, to heat through. Add parm cheese on top. This is soooo good with so little calories and fill you up. Add as a side to your protein!

Teriyaki chicken lettuce wraps

I went out with my girl friend for sushi (yes, without the baby and the daddy!) and we split a appetizer. We chose teriyaki lettuce wraps, and omg they were delicious! I decided to recreate them the next night and they were nearly identical, and very easy.

• 1 lb chicken breasts, chopped in small pieces prior to cooking
• sesame oil, about a tablespoon
• salt and pepper, enough to coat the chicken
• 1 can of water chest nuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 a white onion finely chopped
• 1-2 chopped scallions
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 a teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  
• 1/2 a cup of kikkomon teritaki glaze
• 1 Tablespoon peanut butter (optional gives a Thai taste to the dish)
• 1 head of iceburg lettuce

Heat a pan to medium/high with the sesame oil in it. Salt and pepper the chicken and add to hot pan. Stir the chicken around the pan for 3-4 minutes then add in chopped water chestnuts, onion and scallion. Sautee until the chicken is completely cooked and onions are translucent. Turn the heat down to low. Add in garlic, red pepper flakes, glaze and peanut butter. Stir around enough to coat the chicken mixture and melt the peanut butter. Pull the big leaves off the head of lettuce, place the chicken in the lettuce leaf and enjoy.

O and if you want to know what to do with the extra 1 or 2 leaves of lettuce, see below.

Goat Cheese and Pistachio Crusted Chicken

Ok so I totally jacked this from the food network. I saw this on Robin Millers show and it looked friggin awesome. So I decided to make it, I just changed the nuts.

• 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breasts
  
• Salt and pepper
• Honey mustard
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Then brush the chicken with honey mustard. Spread the goat cheese on top and press the pistachios on to the goat cheese. Cover the chicken with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or longer until center is no longer pink. This was SO good. I want to make it again tomorrow lol!