Reduced Fat Meatloaf

Okay, most people don't exactly think of meatloaf as a "healthy" food- but it is oh so comforting and delicious that we eat it anyway, right? Most of the deliciousness of the traditional meatloaf comes from the beef fat soaking the bread crumbs and combining with egg yolks, not to mention of course a heaping dose of extra salt and corn syrup in the form of ketchup... But really, people- It doesn't have to be this way! When it comes to cooking, I try to follow one simple rule: Substitute fat for flavor! Instead of relying on fat, salt and sugar to make things taste good, I try to add plenty of flavorful vegetables, fresh herbs and seasonings. Most people would never never guess that most of what I put out on my table is good for you... 
 
Reduced Fat Meatloaf

1-1/2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef, ground turkey breast, or extra-lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped onions
3/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup unsweetened tomato sauce
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh parsley (or basil if you have it available!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well with wooden spoons or hands. Place on board or waxed paper and shape into loaf, then place in loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. Depending on the shape and thickness of the loaf, it may need to cook for slightly longer. Serves 6. If you need more "sauce" when serving, skip the ketchup and use unsweetened tomato sauce sprinkled with basil and oregano.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour


When I make this recipe I usually make at least double- one for now and one for later. To freeze for later, cook as above. Allow meatloaf to cool completely, remove from pan, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and heavy duty aluminum foil. Label and freeze up to 3 months. To serve: Allow to thaw in the refrigerator then cook covered in a 350 degree oven for 30-60 minutes or until fully heated.

Mellissa's Birthday Cake

I am an amateur cake artist. I like to bake. I like to draw.. so cake decorating should come naturally, right? *snort* Not so much... Here is an evolution of cakes:

Mellissa's 1st birthday

Savanna's 4th Birthday

Savanna's 6th birthday

Marsa's 2nd birthday

Yes I know there's a lot of gaps.. The missing cakes were SO terrible I didn't even take pictures! My favorite mishap was Savanna's 5th birthday cake. She wanted a Dora and Diego cake that was blue with purple frosting and chocolate... Sounds gorgeous right? Ugh!
And here is Mellissa's cake. My crown jewel to this point! It was a lot of fun to make and best of all people never guessed that I actually made it! lol Maybe some day I will look back on this cake and be embarrassed but for now I think it turned out great. :)

My favorite part of this cake was the teapot.. the one in the pictures is a plastic teapot.. but I actually made one out of white chocolate as well that I ended up not using. Last minute I decided that it looked a bit weird, plus I couldn't figure out how to let 14 4-year-olds divide it up... The plastic teapot is a bit big, I think, for the size of the cake but oh well, right?

To make the chocolate teapot, I melted 1 bag (12 oz.) of white chocolate chips that I got on sale over Christmas time. (They were $.89/bag.)
I then lightly sprayed two "balls" in a Wilton mini-ball pan and poured half the melted chocolate into each one.

I let it cool for about 5 minutes in the refrigerator. Then scooped the soft middle out of each half of the ball to make a hollow chocolate shell.

I then used the semi-soft chocolate that I'd scooped out to "glue" the two halves of the ball together. Then I formed a handle, spout, and lid with it and attached that as well. By this point the chocolate was getting pretty hard again, but I just let it warm up a bit in my hands so I could shape it and attach. The rest of the decorations on the teapot were made with tinted Royal icing.

If you're not impressed yet, then I'll tell you that I also made 14 tutus and wings for all the cute little guests as well. Did that do it? I sure hope so since that's why I do these sort of things anyway. To impress all of you folks out there! Seriously, all the hard work was so worth it just to see such a cute group of kids having so much fun!

Valentines Day Fun

I didn't make anything super extraordinary for Valentine's Day. But I made the day fun with heart shaped food all day! For the little kids anyway... My boys weren't too excited about a heart-shaped steak at dinnertime...

We had heart shaped pancakes. I even threw some strawberry gelatin into the batter for pink and flavored pancakes. But was too busy getting kids off to school to take a picture.

At lunchtime I let the kids choose what kind of sandwich they'd like and cut them all into heart shapes for them. I even cut the apples into hearts and served pink lemonade with heart-shaped strawberries.

 Then we had some non-food fun and made some Valentines. Kids love to glue things. They were entertained for MINUTES! (Seriously.. almost an hour which is amazing!)






For dessert, if I'd thought ahead a few more days, we would have had this cake. (I didn't end up actually making it until last night) So FUN!

Happy Late Valentine's Day everybody. Hope yours was as fun as mine!

Runzas

When I was growing up my dad used to take us to Cabella's in Nebraska once in a while. As a special treat we'd go across the street and grab some Runzas for lunch before the long drive home. Yum! I don't know if I would have appreciated them as much if I'd known how easy they were to cook..

I made these last week sometime (don't ask me to remember actual dates please). I didn't have cabbage, but I got two heads of salad savoy in my Bountiful Basket the week before so I used one of those instead. (A little bit milder tasting than cabbage but still excellent, in my opinion.)

Runzas

1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cups chopped cabbage
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 recipe bread dough of your choice (also works fine with frozen/defrosted rolls)
8 slices Swiss, Mozzarella or Provolone cheese

Brown beef and onion in skillet. Add cabbage and cover. Cook 5 minutes until cabbage is tender crisp. Drain off liquid. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Cool in refrigerator while making dough.

Roll dough out to form two *12x14-inch rectangles. Cut the rectangles into 8 squares each. Place about 1/4-1/2 cup of meat-cabbage mixture in the middle of 8 of the squares. Moisten edges of squares with water. Top with sliced cheese and remaining squares of dough. Press dough firmly around the edges.

Place on greased baking sheets. Cover lightly with a clean dish towel. Let rise about 30 minutes or until light. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

* the dough will be thin- if you like a thicker bread taste, roll just one rectangle about twice as thick for half as many finished runzas. Also, unless you've got somebody with OCD in your family.. don't worry if your Runzas are oddly shaped. I didn't! ;)

Cookie Dough Truffles

Honestly, I'm always trying to find new ways to eat cookies! I LOVE them- but I've never been one to eat raw cookie dough. It's the eggs... just thinking of putting raw eggs in my mouth makes me want to throw up! This little quirk has saved me thousands of calories over the years from not sampling the dough as I bake... but this makes up for it right here. Watch out- these are DANGEROUS!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup NF dry milk powder
2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat for mine and they tasted fine)
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
12 oz semisweet or milk chocolate chips
Mini chocolate chips (for garnish)

Directions:

Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, dry milk, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up enough to form balls. (My house is cool enough in the winter that I totally didn't have to refrigerate my dough at all. It was already the perfect consistency!)

Shape the chilled cookie dough mixture into 1-1½ inch balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Cover loosely, transfer the pan to the freezer and chill for about an hour.

When ready to dip the truffles, *melt the remaining chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Dip each chilled truffle, one at a time using a fork, coating in chocolate and shaking gently or tapping against the bowl to remove the excess. (If at any point during dipping, the cookie dough balls become too soft, return to the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.) Transfer to a wax-paper lined surface. If using mini chocolate chips for garnish, sprinkle on top quickly after dipping each truffle before the chocolate sets. Once all the truffles have been dipped, store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
*you can also melt the chocolate in the microwave. I microwave mine for 1 minute then stir. Then microwave an additional 30 seconds, stir- 15 seconds, stir until chocolate is smooth and melted. Don't do this if you're not familiar with your microwave though- they're all different and if you burn the chocolate it's useless!*

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup NF dry milk powder
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour (Again used whole wheat for mine with good results but if you're a texture snob use white flour)
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
12-24 oz peanut butter chips
Directions:

Combine the butter, water and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, dry milk, cocoa powder and salt. Mix well then add to sugar/butter mixture. Dough will be stiff so use your hands or a dough hook to fully mix.  Stir in the 3/4 cup peanut-butter chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up enough to form balls.
Shape the chilled cookie dough mixture into 1-1½ inch balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Cover loosely, transfer the pan to the freezer and chill for about an hour.

When ready to dip the truffles, melt the remaining peanut butter chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Dip each chilled truffle, one at a time using a fork, fully coating and shaking gently or tapping against the bowl to remove the excess. (If at any point during dipping, the cookie dough balls become too soft, return to the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.) Transfer to a wax-paper lined surface. Once all the truffles have been dipped, store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Apple German Pancakes

For the past several weeks Bountiful Baskets has been giving us 4-5 Granny Smith apples in our basket. I do love Granny Smiths- they're one of my favorites to just snack on. (I love slightly sour fruit!) The problem that I've run into though is that last month I bought an entire case of Honeycrisp apples and we've still been working on those. I feel like it's my duty to eat the older apples before the newer ones... So now we have an entire shelf in my refrigerator full of Granny Smith. I was browsing my friend's blog earlier today and
voilà Problem solved! Thanks Becca :)
It drives my dear hubby nuts, but I always mess with recipes. I can't help myself- so this is a modified version of the original from Cooking Light. I made two different versions: Healthy ... and not so much. To be completely honest- yes- the non-vegan version tasted better BUT the Vegan pancakes were still polished off by my very picky girls. So while I probably won't make the Vegan version on a regular basis, it's definitely going in my food storage recipe folder.

Vegan Apple German Pancake
Batter:
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp hot water
1 cup rice or almond milk
1 tsp almond extract (or vanilla if you prefer)
3 Tbsp olive oil
Apple Mixture:
1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
*2 cup peeled and thinly sliced granny smith apple (about 2 apples)
Remaining Ingredient:
powdered sugar to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 425. Coat bottom and sides of two 10" pie plates with cooking spray. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg; sprinkle evenly over bottom and sides of each pan. Arrange apple in an even spokelike layer in pans. Sprinkle with remaining sugar (1/4 cup sugar per pie dish). Cook apples for 8 minutes in pre-heated oven.
2.  While apples are cooking, prepare batter. Combine flour, baking powder, 1 T sugar, salt, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg in a medium bowl. In a seperate small bowl or (2 c.) liquid measuring cup dissolve gelatin into 3/4 cup cold water. When dissolved, stir in hot water and mix well. Add gelatin mixture, milk, oil, and extract to flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Slowly pour batter over the partially baked apples. Return to oven.
3.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375 (do not remove pancake from oven) and bake an additional 13 minutes or until center is set. Sift powdered sugar over the top, serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings.
**If using food storage to make this recipe, use re-hydrated dried apple slices in place of the Granny Smith.

Yummier Apple German Pancake

Batter:
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cup milk
1 tsp almond extract (or vanilla if you prefer)
3 Tbsp melted butter
Apple Mixture:
1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cup peeled and thinly sliced granny smith apple (about 2 apples)
Remaining Ingredient:
powdered sugar to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425. Coat bottom and sides of two 10" pie plates with cooking spray. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg; sprinkle evenly over bottom and sides of each pan. Arrange apple in an even spokelike layer in pans. Sprinkle with remaining sugar (1/4 cup sugar per pie dish). Cook apples for 8 minutes in pre-heated oven.

2. While apples are cooking, prepare batter. Combine flour, baking powder, 2 T sugar, salt, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs into flour mixture- it will be lumpy and thick. Add milk, butter and extract to flour mixture and whisk vigorously until smooth. Slowly pour batter over the partially baked apples. Return to oven.

3. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375 (do not remove pancake from oven) and bake an additional 13 minutes or until center is set. Sift powdered sugar over the top, serve immediately.

Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette & Tomato Cucumber Salad

Tomato Cucumber Salad

2 large cucumbers, diced
1 yellow crookneck squash, diced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 large tomatoes, diced
1 cup chopped black olives
1 red pepper, diced
6 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 cup Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

In a large salad bowl, mix together the cucumbers, zucchini, red onion, tomatoes, black olives, basil, and thyme. Drizzle dressing all over vegetables- you may not end up using the entire cup of dressing. Sprinkle cubed mozzarella onto each individual serving of salad.

Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette
 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
zest from one lemon
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, kosher salt, sugar, basil, thyme, and pepper until thoroughly combined. Pour the olive oil slowly into the dressing mixture, whisking to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad, and serve. Makes 1 cup.

Herbes De Provence

There's a lot of combinations of herbs that are used for Herbs De Provence. This is just what I've put together after trying a few variations.


Herbs De Provence

3 Tbsp thyme
3 Tbsp chervil
3 Tbsp rosemary
3 Tbsp summer savory
2 tsp lavendar
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp marjaram
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp mint
4 ground bay leaves