Turkey Meatloaf

EASY!!!!

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cups dry oatmeal
2 egg whites
1/2 cup salsa (I use the homemade salsa - previous post)

1. Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Spray a 9x9 dish with olive oil cooking spray. I use a casserole dish because I don't have a loaf pan and it doesn't take as long to cook it.
3. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cooked through. The juices on the top of the meatloaf should be clear.
4. Top with ketchup or steak sauce. I serve this with 1/2 a baked sweet potato and whatever frozen vegetable I happen to have in the freezer.

Someone asked me today if I really feed 2 people on 50 dollars a week, including eating out. The answer, yes, and sometimes toilet paper and laundry detergent have to be bought. I count those things as part of the grocery budget. Eating out is an extra, something special - only when we have money to spare and even then, we share a plate. The servings are too big anyway and the nutrition facts are atrocious. Eating on 50 a week (for 2) is possible, I promise, but it takes time and thought. If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle and I mean truly healthy as close to what God made as possible, you will make the time. Manager's specials are your best friend. Eating clean means longer cooking times.. Sorry, but think of it this way... cook a little longer to live longer. :) Your energy will improve and you will feel better.

Making Something from Nothing

I was prepared.. or so I thought. I didn't have the ingredients I needed for what was planned on menu, but I had a back-up plan for baked chicken. Unfortunately, when I got home, the chicken didn't smell so good. I don't mess with weird smelling meat so I was stressing about what in the world we were going to eat. No rice, no beans, no chicken, all my ground turkey is frozen and I'm down to 2 bags of frozen veggies. I did have a package of turkey link sausage... and whole wheat pasta... and a bag of frozen mixed veggies... Something I left off my staple list - marinades. They are super cheap and a great for adding flavor to a quick stir fry.

Turkey Pasta Something

Turkey Link Sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
Whole wheat pasta, cooked
1 bag of frozen veggies (stir fry mix is best)
Olive oil cooking spray
A flavored marinade

Put all ingredients, except the marinade, in a skillet. Heat through. Add marinade.**

Note about marinades - VERY high in sodium. They also tend to have MSG. If you have an allergy to MSG just find a marinade that doesn't have it or make your own with olive oil and spices. I also use only half of the serving size. What's great about them is the variety of flavor and, if you like one marinade and your husband likes another, then you can add the flavor you like after you put the pasta in your bowl.

What to buy

I just realized that there are several things I keep in my kitchen that are inexpensive staples. I use them all the time because making things from scratch is cheaper and healthier than buying items that are bagged or canned. When I write out these recipes, I assume you have them but I realize now that you may not. On my shopping list every week (or when I run out) are the following items.

Flour (whole wheat and white)
Yeast
Sugar - use sparingly
Eggs
Cornmeal
Boxed Milk (this is WAY cheaper than cooking with galloned milk and there is no difference in taste)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Vinegar (Balsamic, white, apple cider) - very inexpensive and has LOTS of handy uses
Spices - I keep a a big variety like basil, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, rosemary, salt./pepper, red pepper, chile powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt free lemon pepper, etc
whole wheat pastas
Potatoes - sweet and white. Most are so big you can share them between two people. And I don't buy into not eating white potatoes - GOD made them and he wouldn't have made them edible if they weren't good for me. Don't even get me started on glycemic index.
Brown Rice
Dried beans - lots of various kinds

Having these items on hand means I always have something to fix, even if it is just beans and cornbread. There is always something I can make from those items.

Happy Shopping - blah.. I hate it too

Using leftovers

Due to poor planning on my part, I woke up this morning with no clue what we were going to eat for lunch. I had sandwiches planned, but no sandwich meat or bread... Lovely. I did, however, have a pound of ground turkey, leftover mashed pinto beans, and salsa from the mexican pizza this past weekend. So I thought, Burrito! Only I didn't have tortillas. Grrr. . . So burrito bowl became the plan.

Burrito Bowl - fast and easy

Ground tukey, browned and seasoned with chili powder
Mashed pinto beans
Bell Peppers and Onion, sauteed
Salsa
Optional -  rice. (Brown rice is one of things I cook a lot of and use throughout the week)
            Note - Brown rice can easily become spanish rice with some chili powder, salt, and Mrs. Dash
            Southwest seasoning.

Step 1: Dump it all in a bowl. Serve

I pair this with an avocado if I have it. Avocados are great source of healthy fats. I buy them green and keep them in the fridge until 1 day before I want to use them. I leave in the pantry for 24 hours and they are ready to use.

What I would have done if my turkey was frozen?? No idea. I think I will make it a point to always have 1 lb of thawed something (turkey or chicken)

Mexican Pizza

This recipe came from my sister, Somer Rodriguez. She taught me everything I know about eating healthy on a budget. Thanks sis :)

Eating clean and cheap often requires a lot of planning ahead. I HATE grocery shopping, so I plan a two week menu - every meal, including snacks - and shop for 2 hours on one day. I am really stingy with my money so I end up going to 2 or 3 stores - Aldi for almost everything, wal-mart for what I can't get at Aldi, and Tom Thumb because they have the best meat prices. My routine is awful and I hate it, but at lease I only have to do it twice a month. I really advocate planning a menu, because it takes the stress out of trying to figure out what to buy and what to eat for supper that night. Whenever Kyle and I go out, it is usually due to poor planning or no prep. By the way, have you ever checked out the nutrition info for your favorite place to eat? Be warned, IT IS BAD.... REALLY BAD.... It's kinda scary really.. check it out... I dare you.

Mexican Pizza is a lot like regular pizza except you use a couple of replacement ingredients. I make everything from scratch because I keep items like wheat flour, yeast, and dried beans on hand. If you have no prep time, you can buy canned items, but remember canned is higher in sodium and most of the time I can't pronounce the preservatives written on the can.

Crust -  this is the whole wheat recipe I use to make crust. It makes enough for 2 small/medium pizzas. I usually freeze half for another time.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=389326

Pizza Sauce - see my lasagna sauce recipe minus the mustard. (previous post)

Homemade Salsa

In a food processor, combine diced tomatoes, onion, jalepenos (or green chiles for the wimps..ha!), garlic salt, red pepper (optional), cilantro, and cumin. This salsa gets better the longer it sits, but using it fresh is good too. Again, I base it all on taste. I don't know how much I add of each spice. Pulse until it resembles salsa.

Ingredients on Pizza

Pinto beans (I crockpot dried beans and then mash them when I get home, but canned refried beans work)
Ground Turkey
Onion
Chile Powder
2% cheese, shredded or Mexican blend cheese
Homemade Salsa**

1. Spread mashed pinto beans on dough
2. Brown turkey with the onion. You can either use chile powder or packaged taco seasoning to flavor the meat. Sometimes I throw in a clove of chopped garlic.
3. Put turkey on top of the beans.
4. Cover with cheese.
5. Bake according to the pizza crust recipe. (around 10 minutes)
6. Top with salsa and serve.

Get creative. You can add black beans, spinach, corn, red peppers.. the list goes on.

Even though I am not sure anyone reads this, it's kinda nice just to type these out and send them into cyberspace. Thanks, y'all (if y'all exist) and I hope you enjoy.

Lasagna for Po' Folks

Lasagna is one of my favorite comfort foods. I use this recipe a lot because it is EASY, cheap, and one of Kyle's favorites.

Lasagna for Po' Folks

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 gloves of garlic, diced
1 1/2 cans of homemade tomato sauce **
1 can petite diced tomatoes (optional - we like it saucy)
1 container fat free cottage cheese (you probably won't use all of it)
2% cheese, shredded

The tomato sauce tastes a little different every time I make it because I don't measure the herbs, I just add until I think it tastes good. The ingredient that really adds flavor is a small squirt of yellow mustard.

1 1/2 cans No Salt Added tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, drained, if desired
Yellow mustard, a squirt - go light on this, you can always add more.
Herbs - parsley, basil, and oregano. I'm light on the oregano and heavy on the basil. All depends on what you like.
Stir it all together until you taste it and like it. If something is missing, try garlic salt or more basil.

1. Brown the ground turkey with onion and garlic
2. Stir in homemade tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes
3. Line a 13 x9 dish with olive oil cooking spray.
4. The layers go like this (starting at the bottom)
        Noodles (cooked)
        Cottage cheese ( I don't spread a whole lot)
        Turkey mixture
        Sprinkle of cheese (add as much as you want, but keep in mind cheese is 50% fat)

With 9 lasagna noodles, this should give you three total layers. Bake a 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with a Spinach salad. The salad can be full of variety or as simple as cucumber and tomato. For dressing, try balsamic vinegar and a touch of extra virgin olive oil.

BTW, I do not claim to be a cook. I make the meals in this family because I enjoy doing it. If Kyle likes it, I will pass it on to you, but be warned... Kyle is NOT picky. He will eat anything he knows is good for him. Props to his mother, Donna Taylor :)  

Natalia, if you read this, this is what we made at your place this past summer.

Recipe: Stuffed Taco Shells

In case you didn't read my profile, I created this blog to share recipes, mostly with my family. These recipes are clean, meaning they are truly healthy. I hardly ever use butter, salt, or sugar. Sugar, people, is the real enemy. You can drink a smoothie for less than 300 calories that has 68 grams of processed sugar. That's two times your daily recommended amount. I feed a family of two on $50 or less a week. We eat lots of chicken, ground turkey, beans, and frozen veggies. My goal is variety and flavor.

Stuffed Taco Shells

1/2 a 12 ounce package (about 18) dried jumbo shell macaroni (really search for wheat. White pasta should really be avoided)
1 lb of ground turkey (its cheaper than ground beef where I live, but gb is cheaper for you, drain and rinse the meat after you cook it)
3 oz of fat free sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp chili powder
1 jar of salsa (we make our own, less sodium, more flavor - that recipe later)
1/2 cup 2% cheese, shredded. You may find that you can use less. I hardly ever measure anything so that's really just a guess.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water.
2. Brown ground turkey in skillet. Rinse and drain.
3. Add chile powder and sour cream to drained turkey. Stir will.
4. Stuff cooked shells with meat mixture.
5. Cover and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove and sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese melts. Serve with a bag of frozen stir veggies, heated in a skillet.

I ate 5 shells and Kyle ate 6. Enough left over for a good snack at work tomorrow.

This recipe was taken and adapted from Fast, Fix, One Dish Meals (2009).