Chipotle Turkey Mini Meat Loaves

Meatloaf? Yes please. Spicy? Even better ;) Meatloaf is very fall/winter staple type of meal that is often served with mashed potatoes....but honestly the typical version isn't very healthy. This one makes it easier to serve and portion control, plus low carb side vice the normal potatoes. Making mini meatloaves is easy and fun. Plus it makes plenty of leftovers that can be used for lunches for work and can be frozen for later meals. 

Sauteing the onions and garlic and boiling the rutabaga

Adding the peppers

Chopped chipotle pepper

All the ingredients ready to mix

Mixed together

Ready for the oven

No Salt Tomato sauce, chipotle and ketchup

Adding the chipotle ketchup topping

Ready for mashing

Mashed with the chives, onion powder, garlic powder, ground pepper and olive oil

Mini Turkey meatloaf with mashed rutabaga

They make perfect leftovers, some for lunch and some to freeze

Chipotle Turkey Mini Meat Loaves

Ingredients

For Turkey Muffins:
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup water
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1 tsp cumin
Cooking spray

For Adobo Ketchup:
1/2 cup no salt tomato sauce
2 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo)
1 tbsp ketchup (we used no high fructose corn syrup)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Preheat large non-stick skillet on medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic, saute for 5 minutes or until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add bell peppers and saute for another 4 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl along with turkey, oats, water, chipotle pepper, cumin, and mix with spatula until well combined. Fill 12 tins with meat mixture and bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together Adobo Ketchup Ingredients in a small bowl. Remove meatloaf muffins from the oven and top each with Adobo Ketchup. Serve with vegetable of choice. We chose mashed rutabaga (much like what we did for Shepherd's Pie) we seasoned with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, chives and ground pepper.

Smoky Black Bean and Beer Soup

It's another Sunday funday and we decided since it's also football season, a good soup with beer would be a hit. This was very tasty and was nice and spicy. We  added a bit of clean eating flair by adding avocado and topping it with fresh cilantro and shredded cheese hit the spot.

All our tasty ingredients

Remember to rinse the beans

Sauteing the onions in olive oil

Since we bought a large beer, we measured out the 12 oz in a normal beer

In it goes

Chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

Adding the black beans

Adding our home made chili powder and other seasonings

In goes the Ro-Tel

So good!

Smoky Beer and Black Bean Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bottle/can beer
2 (15 oz. each) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15 oz.) cans No Salt Ro-Tel
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
optional toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado, shredded cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oil in a large saucepan  over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onlon and saute for 5 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and continue sauteing for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the beer, black beans, Ro-tel, chipotle in adobo, cumin, chili powder, and oregano. Stir to combine.

Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm, garnished with optional toppings.

Low Carb Shepherd's Pie

We love Shepherd's Pie, but boy is that not the healthiest meal. Lots of carbs and salt in your typical shepherd's pie. This is a great cold weather day meal. We have fell in love with our potato replacement rutabaga. This meal may seem like it takes awhile, but it's worth it.

All the ingredients

Sauteing the onions and garlic

Peeling the rutabaga

Chopping them into pieces

Brown the turkey

Bring the rutabaga to a boil

Adding the no salt added tomato sauce

In goes the bay leaves

Boiling

Mashing the potatoes

Topping the meat mixture

Spread it

All done!

Low Carb Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1 sweet onion, diced

3 garlic gloves, minced

15 oz can no salt added tomato sauce

1 large rutabaga, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

2 packets of no sodium chicken bouillon

1 tsp hot sauce

olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add olive to pan, add garlic and onion, saute until brown. Add ground turkey and brown for about 10 minutes. While that browns, add rutabaga to large pot with water and one packet of bouillon, bring to boil and let it cook until soft, 20-30 minutes. 

Once the turkey is browned, add the tomato sauce, bay leaves, hot sauce and chicken bouillon. Let simmer until rutabaga is soft. Drain once soft, then mash with a bit of olive oil and ground pepper. Add turkey mixture to a greased 9x12 pan then top with mashed rutabaga. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Healthy Curry Chicken

Curry for dinner?! Heck yeah, this is an easy crock pot meal that is very tasty and very easy. Of course, low fat and low sodium. 

All the ingredients

Layer the vegetables in the crockpot 

Cube the chicken

Making the curry sauce

Looks just like red curry

Topping the chicken and vegetables 

Served with quinoa and a small Asian side salad

Healthy Curry Chicken

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 small onion, peeled and sliced into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into cubes
2.5 ounces tomato paste
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp garam masala

Instructions:

Begin by layering carrots and onions in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add garlic and peppers.
Layer chicken cubes on top of veggies.
In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato paste, coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder and garam masala.
Pour over chicken and veggies.
Place lid on slow cooker, and cook on high for 3 1/2 hours or low for 5 hours.

Server with quinoa or brown rice

Healthy Pea Soup

It was a nice cold October day and we decided to make a soup for dinner. We selected split pea soup as it is a high fiber meal, 16 g dietary fiber just for the split peas alone! Adding the carrots and celery give a couple more to make this a filling soup. If you buy ham from behind the deli counter, you'd be surprised by how low the sodium in the meat is compared to buy them in refrigerated section of the grocery store.

This is also the first pea soup we have ever added carrots and celery to...definitely makes the soup better.

All of our fresh ingredents

Rinsed and picked over the split peas and added them to the crock pot

All the vegetables chopped

Dicing the ham

Herbs, ham, vegetables and split peas added...now  comes the broth

Added the fresh ground pepper to taste

Ready to enjoy!

Healthy Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb dry split peas

1/2 lb Boar's Head Low Sodium Ham, diced

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 cup celery, chopped

2 cups carrots, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 bay leaves

32 oz of chicken broth

2 cups water

fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients into crock pot. Cover and and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

Roasted Cranberry Pork with Butternut Squash

Keeping with our fall theme, we decided to use the leftover cranberries and butternut squash in a meal. Since we had pork from our Costco trip, just seemed like a perfect fit. I made my own cranberry sauce using the leftover cranberries. Turned out to be a great meal!

1/2 bag of frozen cranberries, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup sugar and a bit of orange peel

All the yummy ingredients, including the homemade cranberry sauce

Browning the pork

Sauteing the onion

Low sodium chicken broth

Everything together in the pan

Adding the pork and butternut squash to the roasting pan

Adding the cranberry sauce to the top and into the oven it goes

Tasty dinner

Roasted Cranberry Pork with Butternut Squash

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb.) or pork chops
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 lb cut up butternut squash

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Season pork with pepper; brown lightly all over, about 5 minutes.
2. Transfer pork to a foil-lined 9- by 13-in. baking pan. Then add the butternut squash around pork in baking pan. Add remaining 1 tbsp. oil to frying pan, reduce heat to medium, and add onion. Cook, stirring, until softened, 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, then pour in chicken broth, cranberry sauce, rosemary, and vinegar. Cook 2 minutes.
3. Pour hot cranberry sauce over pork and bake, uncovered, about 35 minutes. Let pork rest 10 minutes (if using tenderloin), then slice and serve with sauce.