Sweet Potato & Turkey Sausage Hash

I found this recipe in a low calorie magazine. I love a good potato hash and this included a sweet potato so it made it a little healthier. I made the mistake of peeling the potatoes a couple hours before cooking them-shows how often I cook potatoes!-so they turned a funky color. I had to google it to make sure I could still eat them lol. I should have cooked the potatoes separately because the white potatoes had to cook a bit longer than the sweet potatoes and the sweet potatoes ended up being a tad mushy. I used mini sweet peppers in multi colors instead of the green peppers. All in all everything tasted pretty good. I think I chopped up the potatoes a little too small because it made way too much! Lol but it still tasted pretty good. I served mine with a fried egg on top to add some protein. Yum!

Sweet Potato & Turkey Sausage Hash (4 servings) (Better Homes & Gardens Low Calorie):

2 med russet potatoes, peeled, if desired, and diced
1 med sweet potato, peeled, if desired, and diced
Nonstick cooking spray
1 small green sweet pepper, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
1/2 of a 14-oz ring, smoked turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 tbsp snipped fresh sage or 1 tsp dried sage, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Place russet and sweet potatoes in a 15x10x1-inch shallow baking pan. Lightly coat with cooking spray and toss to coat. Bake about 20 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, turning once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook sweet pepper, onion and sausage for 8-10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sweet potato mixture, sage and pepper. Enjoy!




Everything mixed together...






Enjoy!...

Baked Turkey Tenderloin

My mom convinced me to try turkey tenderloins-she said she and my dad eat them quite a lot. I had a lot of trouble finding them actually. My mom and aunt were in town one time and she took me grocery shopping and we happened to come across a package of two of them so we got them. They've been in my freezer just sitting there waiting for me to figure out how to cook them. I figured I could cook them similar to a pork tenderloin. I was looking around on Pinterest and found a simple recipe with a homemade spice rub so I decided to try that. I think I cooked my tenderloin a little too long since it was a little dry but the flavor was really good-the spice rub gave it so much flavor. I'd definitely try this again and cook the tenderloin a little less. The recipe called for 2 tenderloins but I wanted to cook one at a time to see how I liked them. I did half the recipe for the spice rub. I'll post the actual recipe.

Baked Turkey Tenderloin (Pinterest):

2 turkey tenderloins
Olive oil
4 tsp onion powder
4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Mix together all the seasonings. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on both sides of the turkey tenderloins and then sprinkle some of the spice rub on both sides of the turkey (I also used a fork and forked both sides so the oil and spices would get into the meat more). Place tenderloins in a prepared baking dish. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until internal temp reads 165. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!




Homemade rub...






Turkey Tenderloin with spice rub....






Sliced and ready to eat...Enjoy!...

Mini BBQ Cheddar Meatloaves

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it is soooo good! I didn't use cubed cheese-just some shredded cheddar cheese and it worked out really well. The recipe says to shape the loaves into mounds and place on a cookie sheet to bake but I bought some mini loaf pans only because they hold the shape a lot better. I froze 2 of the loaves and ate the other 2 over the next several days. I'll definitely make these again!

Mini BBQ Cheddar Meatloaves (4 servings):

1 large sweet onion, cut in half, then each half cut into thin slices
1 tbsp butter
Salt
1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 egg, whisked
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c + 2 tbsp bbq sauce, divided
1/4 c panko
Pepper
2 oz low-fat cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4 cubes

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat, then add onion and a dash of salt. Cook, stirring every couple minutes, until onions are golden brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Turn heat down if onions start to burn. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 425. In large bowl combine ground beef, egg, Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp bbq sauce, panko bread crumbs, dash of pepper, cheese cubes and caramelized onions. Mix until combined. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions on a foil-lined baking sheet (or place in 4 mini loaf pans on a baking sheet). Spread 1 tbsp bbq sauce over each loaf. Bake 20 minutes or until no longer pink in the center.




Packed into the mini loaf pans...






BBQ Sauce spread on top...






Fresh from the oven...

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

I've been meaning to make this recipe for a while now and I had all the ingredients so I decided to make it tonight. Super easy to put together and it tasted amazing. The dipping sauce really gives the meatballs a lot of flavor. The author of the blog I found this on suggested pouring a little of the sauce on top of the meatballs instead of dipping it and I did that and yum! I'll definitely make this recipe again! I added 2 cloves of garlic instead of one because you can't just have one garlic clove!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce (4 servings):

*Meatballs

1/4 c panko
1 1/4 lb ground turkey
1 egg
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

*Dipping Sauce

4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp water
1 chopped fresh scallion

Preheat oven to 500. Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, ginger, cilantro, soy sauce and sesame oil with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 c meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

For dipping sauce, mix everything together. Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tbsp sauce. Serve meatballs with remaining sauce. Enjoy!




Ready to be baked...






Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce...






Fresh from the oven...






Enjoy!...

Cheesy Beef & Bow Ties

I'm not sure where I got this recipe from but I used to make it all the time. I made it again a couple weeks ago and I forgot how good it was! It reminds me of a homemade version of Hamburger Helper. You can use ground beef or turkey with it and it still tastes the same. I'll keep making this recipe again and again!

Cheesy Beef & Bow Ties (4 servings):

6 oz uncooked bow tie pasta
1 lb ground turkey or beef
1/2 c chopped green onions, 2 tbsp reserved for garnish
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 c Old El Paso Thick & Chunky Salsa
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar and american cheese

Cook the pasta according to the pkg directions; drain. Meanwhile, brown the meat in a skillet until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in the onions, the soup and the salsa into the ground meat. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta. Cook 3-5 minutes, or until thoroughly heated through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with the cheese; cook just until melted. Sprinkle with the reserved 2 tbsp green onions. Enjoy!




The ingredients...






Pasta added...






Ready to eat...






Enjoy!...

Turkey Florentine Skillet Lasagna

I found this recipe in a Weight Watcher's magazine. Instead of using a skillet, I used a 9x13-inch glass dish and I baked mine in the oven at 350. I also didn't have enough noodles so I used 3 for the first 2 layers and had 2 extra noodles, which I placed on top. Super easy to make and it had a lot of flavor. I'll definitely make this again!

Turkey Florentine Skillet Lasagna (8 servings) (8 points):

Cooking spray
1 c chopped onion
1/4 lb ground turkey bread
1 (16 oz) carton cottage cheese
4 c tomato-basil pasta sauce, divided
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
10 pkg precooked lasagna noodles
6 c shredded 6-Cheese Italian blend cheese

Heat large skillet over med-high. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and turkey to pan; cook 4 min or until turkey is browned and onion is tender, stirring frequently to crumble turkey. While turkey and onion cook, place cottage cheese in a food processor or blender; process until smooth.

Add 3 c pasta sauce and spinach to turkey mixture. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add 1 c pasta sauce to dish. Top with 5 (or 3) noodles, half of turkey mixture, half of cottage cheese and half of cheese blend. Repeat with remaining noodles, turkey mixture, cottage cheese and cheese blend. Cover and cook over med heat 8 minutes or until noodles are tender. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!




Meat filling...






Noodles on the sauce...






Filling and cheese...






From the oven...






Enjoy!...

Cheese-Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I did end up making the cheese-stuffed or Jucy Lucy's a couple days later. I had a recipe that called for 3/4 lb of ground turkey so I used the leftover ground turkey to make 2 cheeseburgers. Since I was using ground turkey, I added some garlic and ginger to give it a little more flavor. The first burger I made, I didn't put enough cheese in the middle and some of it ended up leaking out. The second burger, I made sure to add double amount compared to the first and it turned out much better! I don't normally eat my burgers on buns, which is why the last picture shows the burger sitting on some ketchup and mustard. Really yummy & I'll definitely make this again.

Cheese-Stuffed Burgers (2 servings:

1/4 lb ground turkey
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced ginger
Salt and pepper
4 slices of cheese, any kind (I used cheddar)

Mix all the ingredients except the cheese together with your hands. Form into 4 thin patties. Top with one slice of cheese, folded into 4 squares. Top each patty with another patty and crimp edges to seal in the cheese. Grill until done and juices run clear. Top the burger with a slice of cheese and cook until it just begins to melt. Enjoy!




Thin patties...






Cheese ready to be stuffed...






Enjoy!...

Blue Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with a Homemade Sauce

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner one night and my mind kept going back and forth between a Jucy Lucy or cheese stuffed meatballs. It probably didn't help that I saw a cooking show earlier in the day about the Jucy Lucy. In the end I decided to try to make stuffed meatballs. But I made a couple mistakes. I only had blue cheese, which was good but so rich and since it's such a soft cheese, a lot of it oozed out of the meatballs during cooking. I also used too much parsley. But other than that, the meatballs had really good flavor.

I also wanted to attempt another try at making a homemade sauce. I did't have a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes but I did have a 14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes and a 14 1/2 oz can of fire-roasted tomatoes so I used that. Apparently I've never used fire-roasted tomatoes before because I didn't realize how spicy they are! Not a big fan! I think if I would have used regular tomatoes it would have been okay though. All in all I was happy with the taste of the sauce, just not the spiciness of it. I think I'd try to make this again and try to correct the mistakes I made.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with a Homemade Sauce (4-6 servings):

1 lb ground turkey
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 c minced parsley
1 egg
1/2 c panko
Blue cheese, cut into chunks
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
14 1/2 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes (or 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes instead of the 2 cans)
1 c minced white onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c red wine
1 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. If not using a meatball pan, cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Combine the ground turkey, garlic, parsley, egg and panko in med bowl and mix well with your hands. Shape into a small disc, place a piece of blue cheese in the middle and add another small disc of meat over the cheese. Carefully seal the meat around the cheese and form into a med-size meatballs. Place meatballs on prepared pan or meatball rack. Cook in the oven about 25-30 min or until cooked in the center.

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the sauce. In a deep pan, heat oil until hot. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Once onion is soft, add the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until most of wine has evaporated, about 5-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer about 20 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, grate in about 1 tsp of fresh nutmeg. If you don't want your sauce chunky, use an immersion blender to blend it down to a smoother consistency. Once the sauce is cooked, add 1-2 tbsp of brown sugar, to taste. (The brown sugar brings down some of the acidity of the sauce.)

I made some pasta to serve with the meatballs and sauce. Enjoy!




Ready to be cooked...






Cooked meatballs...






Cheese oozing out...






Sauce...






Enjoy!...

Grilled Turkey

My parents started grilling their turkey a couple years ago and they loved it. I've had it a couple times when they've made it and the turkey is always so moist and the skin is always nice and crispy. When I hosted our girls' dinner last fall I decided to make the turkey on the grill. But for some reason I didn't post it on my blog then. The girls came up to my parents again in the beginning of August and I grilled up a turkey for all of us to snack off all weekend. This time I took pictures and wrote down the directions to add to my blog. Super super easy to make!

Grilled Turkey: 8-10 servings

Fresh or frozen turkey (thawed), any size, making sure to fit on the grill
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Any seasoning you prefer
Drip pan

Remove the turkey from the fridge 1 hour before grilling. Dry the turkey as much as possible inside and out with paper towels. Rub olive oil generously on the turkey. Season generously with salt and pepper. (When I made the turkey the first time, I only used salt and pepper. The second time, I used salt, pepper and a 15-seasoning blend my mom had on hand). You can use any type of seasoning you want. Make sure it generously coats the turkey.

Place the turkey on a rack-this is an important step as it will not cook properly if it is not on a rack. While the turkey is resting, prepare the grill.

Remove the grills and place a drip pan directly on the burners in the middle of the grill and replace the grills. The turkey has to cook by indirect eat so only turn on the outside burners to medium heat and preheat for 10 minutes.

When the grill is ready, place the turkey, with the rack it has been sitting on, on the grill in the middle of the drip pan. If you are cooking extra legs, place around the turkey anywhere they will fit and close the grill lid.

After about 1 hour, check the turkey. You want to cook the turkey 10 minutes per pound or until an internal temperature reaches 170. Take the turkey off the grill and let rest 15-30 minutes. Do not cover with foil or the skin won't be as crispy. You may need to remove the extra legs before the turkey is done so they cook faster. Enjoy!




Drip pan placed under the grill grates...






Ready to be seasoned...






Seasonings added...






Placed on the grill...






Ready to be taken off the grill...






Enjoy!...

Stuffed Zucchini

When I went to the farmer's market last weekend, I found some large zucchinis. I've been wanting to try some stuffed zucchini but I wanted to make it my own way. I looked on Pinterest to get a general idea of how long to cook it. I found several recipes with all sorts of ingredients in it so I decided to experiment a little bit and it turned out fabulous!!! I will definitely make this again and again and again! Once again, since I was experimenting, I didn't notice measurements so I'll try to guess how much I used. I had planned on making this dish last night so I made up the turkey mixture last night. I ended up staying at a friend's last night so I just reheated the turkey mixture with the zucchini pulp tonight. On a side note, expect some more zucchini recipes-I have 3 more zucchini to use!

Stuffed Zucchini: 2 servings

1 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp butter
1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion, diced
2 tbsp veggie oil
1-2 tbsp taco seasoning
1-2 tbsp pepper
2-3 tbsp cumin
2-3 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1-2 tbsp paprika
1-2 tbsp dried basil
1-2 tbsp dried parsley
1-2 tbsp dried oregano
1 heaping tbsp bottled minced garlic
1 heaping tbsp bottled minced ginger
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
2 c shredded cheese, your choice of blend

Scoop out the pulp of the zucchini with a spoon, dice the pulp and set aside. Sprinkle the zucchini halves with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Preheat oven to 350 and spread foil on a 9x13-in glass baking dish; place the zucchini in the prepared dish.

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the pulp; stir and cook for about 2-4 minutes, until heated through. In another skillet, add the veggie oil and heat to med-high. Add the ground turkey and onion. Add all the seasonings, ginger and garlic. Cook until the turkey is no longer pink; drain. Return the meat mixture to the skillet, add the zucchini pulp and soy sauce; stir to blend.

Spoon the meat mixture into the zucchini boats-don't press down, let the meat mixture sit naturally. Sprinkle the boats with cheese. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until the zucchini is tender. Slice each zucchini in half and serve.




Hollowed out zucchini...






Zucchini boats sprinkled with olive oil and paprika...






Zucchini pulp...






Zucchini heating in butter...






Filling heating up...






Filling in the zucchini...






Fresh from the oven...






Enjoy!...

Meatballs with Polenta

I have no idea where I got this book but I was looking through my recipe books a couple weeks ago and came across this recipe. I love meatballs and I'm starting to really like polenta so I thought I'd give it a try. I cut the meat in half and only used ground turkey-it called for 8 oz ground sirloin and 8 oz ground turkey-and it still made a lot of meatballs with just 8 oz ground turkey! So glad I decided not to include the sirloin as well. This recipe made more than the 4 servings it suggests. I added some ginger and garlic to the ground turkey since there wasn't a lot of spices that were involved. The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was the leftovers. The polenta hardened up and turned really thick and even after reheating it, it still remained chunky-not the smooth polenta I had originally made that night. I think I'd make this again, but I think I'd try to half it and only make up the polenta I would need for that meal at a time. I also added a lot of Parmesan cheese to this recipe and spiced up the polenta with garlic salt. I used panko instead of the soaked bread, mainly because soft bread makes me gag.

Meatballs with Polenta: 4 servings

8 oz ground sirloin
8 oz ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 c chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
1/4 c Parmesan, plus more for garnish
1/2 c tsp fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
1 slice whole bread, torn into small pieces and briefly soaked in milk (I used about 1/2 c panko)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 c dried polenta, prepared according to pkg directions

Preheat oven to 450. Combine sirloin, turkey, egg, parsley, Parmesan, fennel seeds, ginger, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt in large mixing bowl. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add it to the bowl (or use panko). Using your clean hands, gently mix the ingredients together. Form meatballs the size of golf balls, about 1" in diameter, being careful not to overwork the meat. Place the meatballs in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, until nicely browned all over.

While the meatballs bake, heat the oil in a a deep skillet/pot (the sauce will splatter as it simmers!) over med. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper flakes and cook for about 3 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, plus salt and pepper to taste, and simmer while the meatballs finish cooking.

Transfer the meatballs straight from the oven to the sauce. Cook for at least 10 minutes (but preferable 20-30 minutes), turning the meatballs so that all parts have a chance to simmer in the sauce. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the soft polenta, topped with a bit of chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.




Meatballs ready for the oven...






Cooked meatballs...






Cooked meatballs added to the sauce...






Polenta...






Polenta topped with Parmesan...






Meatballs simmering in the sauce...






Enjoy!...