Category Archives: Recipes

Ground Turkey Meatloaf

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Friday night, I put some meat from the freezer into the fridge to thaw so I would have something to cook this weekend (and not have an excuse to not cook and go out instead!). I had a 2.5 lb package of ground turkey breast that I knew I would be able to use…I just didn’t know how or when. 🙂 Sunday late morning rolled around, and I was craving meatloaf!

I haven’t made a meatloaf since before I moved out of my old apartment in April, so this recipe was long-overdue. Like any smart lady, I jumped on Pinterest to find the easiest recipe possible for ground turkey meatloaf! Not surprisingly, recipes from the Six Sisters’ Stuff popped up first in my search. I immediately found this meatloaf recipe and knew I would be able to make it fit the ingredients I actually had on hand!

After baking for an hour, I had 3 slices of the meatloaf with a spinach mix salad for my Sunday lunch. It was filling and super healthy. Win-win!

photo(74)Don’t you like how I dotted the ketchup all over? Makes it look extremely appetizing, I know. 😛  Here’s how I put it all together…

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup plus 2 TB Ketchup
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 TB minced onions
  • 1.25 lb 99% lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • salt/pepper to taste

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a loaf baking pan to reduce sticking. (I use Pam Olive Oil spray and love it!)

Mix together the ground turkey, minced onion, breadcrumbs, egg, 1/4 cup ketchup, garlic salt, onion powder, and salt/pepper. Once this is well combined, spread it into the loaf pan.

Mix together the extra 2 tbsp ketchup with the Worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl. Add a few more minced onions to this mix if you want! Spread this sauce evenly on top of the meatloaf.

Bake uncovered for around 1 hour/60 minutes. The meat should brown up nicely and start to pull away from the edges of the pan slightly. Let it cool a little before slicing!

photo(74)meatI failed to take anymore pictures of the finished product because Nick actually took this out of the oven for me while I was grocery shopping on Sunday. So by the time I got to it, half of the meatloaf was demolished. 🙂

This loaf was fairly small which is great for the 2 of us. I hate having days and days of leftover meat. It made about 3-4 adult portions – if I had to guess! It also only took around 5 minutes to put together and get into the oven. It would be a great mid-week dinner for busy moms!

I followed the original recipe fairly closely and only altered because I didn’t have a few things on hand. It still turned out great! I’m going to try it again soon with BBQ sauce in place of the ketchup. This is how my mom always makes her meatloaves, so it should bring back some memories!

Happy baking!

Tangy Cucumber Salad Recipe

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Recipes, ,

Happy Saturday to ya! Hope your weekend is off to a great start! Mine has been good so far. But someone did not want to get out of bed this morning…

Grumpy Mac
Grumpy Mac

I had a grumpy boy on my hands this AM. But I checked the weather, and it was perfect conditions outside for a chilly walk before heading off to teach Jazzercise. So I pulled out my fleece jacket and Mac’s sweater for the first time this season!

IMG_1835It was a brisk walk with temps in the 50’s this morning, so we were both happy to be bundled up a bit.

IMG_1836When we got home, I warmed up with a cup of hot coffee with pumpkin spice creamer before having some Greek yogurt and half a bagel. This was great fuel for my 8 AM Jazzercise class! I had a fairly full room of sleepy-eyed students. But the pumpkin spice was pumping through my veins to keep my energy high!

After I was home, I walked Mac a bit more because the weather was just too amazing here in Springfield this morning! By the time we returned home again, and I had a long shower, it was time to think about some lunch. I was given 3 large cucumbers from my wonderful Jazzercise student, so I thought I should whip up a quick salad to use them up!

Tangy Cucumber Salad

Typical cucumber salads incorporate fresh onions and tomatoes. But I was fresh out of both of these veggies today. So I opted to add some baby carrots to my salad for extra color!

Ingredients

  • 1 large cucumber, or 2 small
  • About 15 baby carrots, chopped
  • 3 TB zesty Italian dressing
  • 2 TB Apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 TB minced onions
  • 1/2 TB dill weed
  • Drizzle of honey (optional)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Chop up the cucumber into bite-size chunks. I chose to cute my large cucumber length-wise twice before more finely chopping.

IMG_1837
From this…
To this!
To this!

Woohoo! Okay, now add in your carrots (or veggies of choice) that have already been chopped.

IMG_1839Next add the remaining ingredients, stirring thoroughly and taste-testing to determine if you need more salt, honey, etc. This salad is all about seasoning proportions and your taste preferences. I like mine a little more sweet, so I added a good drizzling of honey. If you like it more tangy, add a touch more Italian dressing.

Cover and refrigerate an hour or so before tossing once more and serving! This salad is fresh and super low-cal. Use up those last summer cucumbers while you can!

For the rest of my lunch, I made a low-carb wrap with some fresh spring mix spinach and turkey with mustard.

IMG_1841I made my wrap a little too full, so I just folded it in half and ate it like a taco. It works!

Now Nick and I are just lounging around while I snack on some carbs before my Glow Run 5K tonight! Nick is not running with me since me and my girlfriend decided it would just for ‘us girls’, but he may come cheer us on! The race begins at 8 PM. It should be dark and chilly by then – perfect running weather! I hope to snap some great photos of all the glowing runners to share with you all tomorrow.

Get outside and enjoy this weather! See you all after my race!

Green Beany Evening

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It was another scorcher today in Springfield! Highs almost hitting 100 degrees led to quicker than normal walks for Mac and a sweaty mama. Jazzercise was especially tough tonight. The insane heat just makes me lethargic by the end of a workout! Luckily, I had a few more students than normal tonight, and it brought extra energy to the room!

Lunch

Lunch was veggie-filled and nutritious today! I’ve been in the salad mood lately, as you know if you’ve read any of my posts!, and today was no different. I quickly threw together a spring mix salad with carrots, snap peas, and the very last of my sweet peppers!

photo(55)I love when my lunch salad is full of colors! But bye bye peppers. So long until I can make it back to the Sam’s produce section again.

I was wanting more veggies, so I heated up the leftover sauteed broccoli slaw I made last night. I was just as good the 2nd time around!

photo(54)While I polished off the last of the slaw, I started hunting for protein options to finish off my meal. Bagelthins have been another theme lately, so I started with my last whole wheat Bagelthin and topped one side with low fat cottage cheese. I cooked up a quick egg in the microwave to go into the bagel sandwich along with a little mustard.

photo(53)I know, it looks gross. But it was completely delicious! I put 1 egg into a coffee mug with a splash of unsweetened almond milk and salt and pepper. I whipped it all together and let it cook on high for about 1 minute. It became a poofy little eggy ball, so the shape wasn’t perfect for my sandwich. But it was delicious regardless! The hot egg melted the cottage cheese a little, making for an extra savory and messy lunch.

photo(52)Mmmmm messy, gooey goodness!!

This hot sandwich hit the spot! My recent bagel sandwiches have been an awesome part of my midday meals lately. I tend to go through food trends a lot though. If I love something, expect to see it everyday for about 2 weeks before I move onto something else that I’ve discovered I like. Creature of habit….but what can I say?

Balsamic Roasted Green Beans

Dinner tonight was extra green beany! I bought a package of fresh beans this weekend, and they were already looking a little sad. So I knew they needed to be on the menu tonight!

I combined:

  • 1 package fresh green beans
  • 2 TB balsamic vinegar
  • A sprinkling of minced onions
  • Salt and pepper

I tossed the above in a large bowl until the beans were well coated. I then spread them out on an aluminum foil lined  baking sheet that had also been sprayed with Pam Olive Oil.

photo(56)I sprinkled a little more salt and pepper on the beans, and then put the pan in the oven to cook for around 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Around the 15 minute mark, I pulled out the pan and mixed them around a bit before finishing cooking. Cool and enjoy! The balsamic vinegar will make your house smell amazing!

And FYI, Nick recommends that you sprinkle the mixture with Parmesan cheese before baking. But this lactose-intolerant girl didn’t want to push it tonight 🙂 The green beans by themselves were amazing, even without the smelly cheese! Green beany evening was a win!

Have a great night!