Super Easy Turkey Meatloaf

I really dislike meatloaf....my mom never made it growing up, and I think it is kind of an acquired taste!  But I've found some alternative meatloaf recipes over the years, and this is my favorite.  I use turkey instead of the traditional ground beef and it does save calories (although make sure you are getting really lean turkey, some ground turkey is mixed with dark meat and is higher in fat and calories).  The comparison is a serving of 97% lean ground beef has 162 calories and 5.4 grams of fat, and a serving of 99% lean ground turkey has 98 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.  And at least where I live, even the most lean ground turkey is always cheaper than ground beef.

So here's the recipe, it only has 4 ingredients so it is easy to grab a few things from the store for a last minute meal!  The cooking time is an hour, so be prepared to throw it in with enough time before dinner!

2 lbs. ground turkey, thawed
1 package of Stove Top Stuffing (chicken flavor works well, but the cornbread kind is yummy too!)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of barbecue sauce (I like slightly sweeter sauce in this, not the super smoky kind)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put the turkey, dry stuffing mix, eggs, water and half of the bbq sauce in a bowl.  Mix it together with your hands (you could use a spoon, but where's the fun in that?).  :)
3. Mold it into a bread loaf shape and put it in a glass baking dish (I use an 8" x 8" pan typically, it makes a short fat loaf).
4. Pour remaining bbq sauce on top and bake for about an hour.


Enjoy!!

Ground Turkey with Thai Peanut Sauce

This is seriously my favorite recipe ever.  We eat it monthly.  Its fast, and I never have to buy the ingredients for the sauce.  I only have to grab yakisoba noodles, a can of pineapple and some snow peas at the store, and I'm good!  It is not the healthiest of my recipes, but it is very filling and by using turkey, it is a little healthier.  Here's the recipe, seriously its super good! (I think I say that about all of these recipes!) :D 

Ground Turkey with Thai Peanut Sauce:
1 (or 2) packages (or 5 to 6 oz.) of yakisoba noodles (I get the precooked ones in the refrigerated section of Winco, this recipe also works with dried noodles, Chinese egg noodles or even linguine, you just have to precook the noodles before adding them to the pan)
1 1/2 cups snow peas with the tips trimmed
1/2 pound of ground turkey
1 can of pineapple chunks, drained
Sauce:
1/2 cup of chicken broth
4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauc
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (you can use ground red pepper too)
3 cloves garlic, minced


1.  Put ground turkey into a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook for a few minutes, then drop heat to medium and add snow peas.  Gently saute for a few minutes until tender, then add pineapple and noodles.
2. While the turkey is cooking, take a microwavable cup (you can do this over the stove, but its much faster for me to microwave the sauce) and put chicken broth, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, red pepper and garlic into it and stir.  Heat in microwave until peanut butter is melted (about 2-3 minutes) and whisk until everything is combined.
3. Once the sauce is warmed and smooth, add to saucepan and stir with turkey and ingredients until evenly coated.  Serve! :D

Crispy Oven-Baked Fish

I got this recipe from this amazing cookbook.  I got the "Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary Edition" cookbook as a gift a few years ago, and I've made a ton of great meals from it!  The cool thing too is they have their recipes online, so you can print them out easily!

The website is www.bhg.com/recipes and its awesome!  The link to this specific recipe is www.bhg.com/recipe/seafood/crispy-oven-fried-fish/.


This oven-baked fish recipe is awesome if you find a great deal on cod or tilipia or halibut.  It is cheap, fast and only has 9 grams of fat per serving.  It is definitely a nice alternative to fish and chips!  Enjoy!


Crispy Oven-Baked Fish

1  pound fresh or frozen skinless fish fillets, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
1/4  cup milk
1/3  cup all-purpose flour
1/3  cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2  teaspoon dried dillweed
1/8  teaspoon black pepper
2  tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1. Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Cut into four serving-size pieces, if necessary. Measure thickness of fish; set aside. Place milk in a shallow dish. Place flour in another shallow dish. In a third shallow dish combine bread crumbs, cheese, dillweed, and pepper. Add melted butter; stir until combined.
2. Dip fish in milk; coat with flour. Dip again in milk, then in crumb mixture to coat all sides. Place fish on a greased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 4 to 6 minutes per 1/2-inch thickness or until fish begins to flake when tested with a fork.
3. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 242, Total Fat (g) 9, Saturated Fat (g) 5, Cholesterol (mg) 71, Sodium (mg) 423, Carbohydrate (g) 13, Fiber (g) 1, Protein (g) 24, Vitamin C (DV%) 2, Calcium (DV%) 14, Iron (DV%) 8

Amazing Green Enchiladas

I actually had these this weekend and they made wonderful leftovers for work the next day.  This is a great, fast, easy dish and everytime I make it, people love it!  The whole thing takes maybe 20-30 minutes.

Here goes:
1/2 pound ground turkey (turkey makes it a little healthier, make sure you get lean ground turkey)
1 big can green enchilada sauce
1/4 block of cream cheese (neuftachel is better since its lower-fat)
Assorted veggies (whatever's on hand) - 1/2 cup frozen corn, can of chopped olives, 1/2 small chopped onion, one can of black or white beans, one small can of green chiles (for a little punch)
Shredded cheddar cheese (about a 1/2 cup)
7-8 Small tortillas (I use flour) *makes enough for about 3-4 people, double everything to make a bigger pan


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Take a rectangle glass pan (I think mine's 8" x 11.5") and pour a little bit of green enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan, enough to coat it thinly.
2. Heat up a pan to med-high heat and throw the 1/2 pound of ground turkey in.  I have really non-stick pans, so I don't put any liquid to heat it in (turkey leaks enough oil to cook itself), but if you have not-great pans, use a little cooking spray or tiny bit of oil.  Throw in the onions about 2 or 3 minutes later (so there's enough grease to cook them as well).  Saute until turkey and onions are cooked.
3. Turn stove down to medium heat.  Pour in most of can of enchilada sauce into pan with turkey and onions (leave a little bit in can, maybe a 1/3 or 1/2 cup for top of enchiladas).  Put in frozen corn, diced green chiles, chopped olives, and can of black or white beans.  Heat those up.
4.  Take 1/4 block of cream cheese (I use the neuftachel cheese because its lower fat) and chop into small pieces.  Throw into pan and stir until it melts (this creates a slightly creamy texture).
5. Once cream cheese is melted and everything's heated, spoon filling into small tortillas (about maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons, I usually make sure its enough to fill the tortilla but not so much that its dripped out the sides).  Roll tortillas up, place in pan (on top of green sauce you put in earlier).  I can normally fit about 7-8 in my pan.
6. Take remaining green enchilada sauce and pour over enchiladas.  Try to evenly spread it over all parts of tortillas (or the exposed "dry" parts get really crunchy).  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake for about 10 minutes (you're basically just heating the sauce and melting the cheese since everything's pre-cooked).  I typically throw the oven on "broil" for the last minute to crisp up the cheese a little.
7.  Pull out of oven and serve!  Yum!

This is healthier because you use lots of veggies to make it more filling, the turkey has less fat than ground beef (and its cheaper!), and you only use a small amount of cheese to save fat.