The Most Amazing Barbeque Meatloaf

Happy Friday Everyone!

One of my favorite recipes is BBQ Meatloaf. This recipe originated via Paula Deen....I made some adjustments to fit my 'diet' and tastes. I swear it is the BEST meatloaf EVER. (Okay, that is MY opinion...but you know I think a LOT of my opinions! ;)) I have made this recipe quite a few times now, but Wednesday night's meatloaf turned out the absolute best!

Betsy's Barbeque Meatloaf Muffins
Serving Size: 2 Muffins
Servings Per Recipe: 7

1.5 lbs ground chuck (20% fat) - DO NOT use 7% fat - TRUST me. It will be dry (at least mine was)!
1 onion chopped (I cooked these in the microwave for ~2 min or until soft)
1 cup italian bread crumbs
1 egg - lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 15 oz canned tomato sauce
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons splenda brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wisk together the tomato sauce, vinegar, splenda brown sugar, and dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce. (I pre-mix the homemade bbq sauce the night before to make for a quick assembly the next day!) Mix together the beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and homemade barbeque sauce. Put the beef mixture into muffin tins (I get 14 'muffins' per batch). Pour this sauce over the meatloaf muffins. (I normally put a 'hole' using my finger in each muffin prior to pouring the sauce. Bake for ~45 minutes or until cooked through.

Doesn't this look AMAZING?

I served these with a slice of corn bread and fresh green beans sauteed with garlic, salt and pepper, and some 'butter' spread.

These have some pretty impressive stats and are filling (not to mention amazingly delicious)!

Barbeque Meatloaf, 1 serving of 2 Muffins

Calories 372 Carbs 20 Fat 21 Protein 22 Sodium  745 Fiber 2

What are some of your favorite takes on meatloaf?

Tortellini and Spinach Salad

Okay, so I got the inspiration from this on Pinterest. (I know I'm not the only addict out there!) I love this 'recipe' because you can really make it your own! I went to the Dekalb Farmers Market here in Atlanta and stocked up on loads of fresh vegetables and decided that this would be a quick, easy, and LOW calorie lunch option!

Tortellini and Spinach Salad
Servings: 4

1 lb refrigerated fresh tortellini (or frozen)
1 large green pepper
1 small head broccoli
2 medium carrots
1/2 container grape tomatoes
1 yellow squash
1/2 bottle Wishbone Fat Free Italian Dressing
1/8 cup reduced fat Parmesan Cheese (I used Great Value/Wal-Mart brand)

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Let cool. Meanwhile, chop all vegetables into bite sized pieces (I left mine chunky). Put in a bowl.

I forgot to add the carrot in the picture! I LOVE the colors in this salad!

Top with the italian dressing and the parmesan cheese. Add in tortellini and mix. I used a Rubbermaid Lock-It container and did a quick shimmy shake to mix mine!  Let chill and 'marinate' overnight! Serve over raw spinach.

YUMMO!

This turned out FABULOUS! You could 'beefen' this up using garbanzo beans, ham, turkey, chicken, etc! The possibilties are ENDLESS! You could also use your favorite dressing or even make your own! (I was lazy so I used store bought!)
What are some of YOUR favorite lunches?
Here are the stats for my version!

Tortellini Spinach Salad, 1 serving

Calories 279

Carbs 44

Fat 7

Protein 11

Sodium 878 Fiber

4

Happy New Year!

It has been over a month since I posted last! Sorry for the delay, but between traveling home to NC and enjoying my vacation I have been LAZY! One of my good friends Katie and I have been doing My Fitness Pal (MFP) for a few weeks now (with a slight hiatus for the holidays). We have had some really good successes from MFP and were both eagar to start back this new year! I forgot to mention: MY FITNESS PAL IS FREEEEE!!! (It also has a cool mobile app that allows you to 'scan' nutrition via barcodes on products straight to your diary for the day!)

For me, that means COOKING healthy foods and EXERCISING at least 4 times a week! Last night, I was craving mexican foods and went to target on the hunt for frozen green pepper blend. I found them, but they were not on sale. :( Right below them was my new favorite thing (of the moment)! It was an Archer Farms brand "Southwest-Inspired Corn & Black Bean" blend. This blend ROCKS! It was on sale this week for $1.66 for the bag! The blend included black beans, corn, green pepper, red pepper, onion, and south west spices! I simply sauteed these on the stove in some cooking spray and waited to assemble my "Mexican Pizza." This meal was quick, healthy, easy, and budget friendly!

Finished Product! Mexican "Pizza" and Spanish Rice!

Mexican "Pizza"

1 Low Carb Tortilla (I like Mission Low Carb Taco Sized)
1 Wedge Laughing Cow Queso Fresco & Chipotle

1/2 Bag of Southwest Inspired Corn and Black Bean (I seasoned extra with just a little Mrs. Dash Chipotle Blend)
2 Tbsp Sour Cream (Light)

Toast tortilla in small pan then spread cheese on tortilla. Next, top with black bean mix and sour cream! Enjoy!

Meanwhile, I prepared a super easy LOW FAT Spanish rice to go with my "pizza"!

Spanish Rice
Serves: 4

2 Bags Boil in Bag Basmati Rice (or 2 cups cooked rice)
1 (14 oz) Can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
1 cup Onion
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 cup Diced Green Chilies
1/2 cup tomato juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute onion and diced green chilies in a pan with cooking spray. Once cooked, add in diced tomatoes, tomato juice, spices, and rice.Let simmer until all liquid is absorbed.

Spanish rice, 1 serving

Calories 186

Carbs 41

Fat 0

Protein 4

Sodium 311

Fiber 0

Homemade (NOT FRIED) Chips and Dip! :)

So, this recipe came about since I have a few extra potatoes that have started to go bad. I went online and looked up 'microwave' chips and got some ideas. I did not want to use any oil (not even for coating) so I simply modified a couple of recipes and merged into one. Here we go!

1 russet potato (I'm sure whatever potato you have on hand would work fine!)
Cooking Spray
Seasoning (I prefer garlic salt! GET CREATIVE!)
Microwaveable Plate

I used my mandolin (THANKS MAMA!) to cut the potato into ultra thin slices. This could be done with a knife just as easily. Liberally spray the plate with cooking spray. Next, lay the slices in a single layer in the plate. Like this:

Cook in the microwave for 5 minutes. Take out the plate and flip the 'chips' - Careful, they are HOT. Cook for another 5 minutes. *Microwave times vary - watch them closely* Once the chips are browned and crisp on both sides remove from microwave.

Meanwhile, in a small dipping cup combine 1 tablespoon sour cream (reduced fat is my favorite) with a pinch of each of the following: minced onion, garlic salt, and chives! VOILA - Sour Cream and Onion Dip! :)

This was a PERFECT snack! Who doesn't chips and dip?!?!

This is a great way to get creative and use up those extra potatoes! My next adventure will be this method using sweet potatoes! :)

What are your favorite flavors of chips?

Betsy's Chicken Pot Pie

So, I LOVE my mama's chicken pot pie. However, I do not love the nutrition facts - no matter HOW yummy. I set my sights on trying to tweak her recipe to be a little healthier! I succeeded. Most of the fat and such came from the butter laden pie crusts. I chose to substitute reduced fat crescent rolls instead! This took off a lot of calories and fat! :) My boyfriend commented after eating the pie (which I made as more of a casserole): "You should open a restaurant!" Needless to say, it passed the taste test! :) I will post the way that I made it, followed by some ways to get creative! I put this in the recipe builder and got 9 P+ (6 Servings)

Betsy's Chicken Pot Pie

1 roll reduced fat crescent rolls 
10 oz rotisserie chicken (I had this in the freezer)
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
2 small cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 potato (I diced and cooked this the night before in salted boiling water)
1 tablespoon onion powder
Garlic Powder - to taste
Mrs. Dash Table Blend - to taste - optional
Salt and Pepper - to taste


In a 9X12 baking dish, mix the chicken, vegetables, potato, seasonings and soup. On a large cutting board unroll the crescent rolls into one large sheet (I find using a pastry roller is the easiest way). Place the cresecent roll sheet on top of the chicken mixture. Spray with butter flavored cooking spray. Bake for ~45 min on 350 degrees. (or until the top is golden brown) ENJOY!

The finished product!

I served with steamed broccoli!

Here are some ways you could get creative!:

• Use Simply Potatoes with Onion instead of cooking the potato yourself
• Only bake 1/2 of the crescent rolls at a time (they get soggy)
• Peel off the soggy rolls (if you are like me and didn't realize this until it was time to eat leftovers) and top with small biscuits!

This turned out delicious! (It is just as good heated up!)

What are some of your ways you get creative with your pot pie recipes?

Black Bean and Corn Salad/Salsa

I'm not sure if you all experience what I experience, but EVERY TIME I buy cilantro it goes bad before I can use it all. Last night, I was craving some sort of corn and black bean salad/salsa. I went to my fridge and got creative! I absolutely LOVE the flavor of cilantro so mine has extra, but feel free to add to your taste level! Thanks to Katie for the onion powder suggestion since I was out of red onion and felt yellow would be too strong! Feel free to add/delete items to your taste buds - GET CREATIVE!

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup frozen corn (thawed) - or 1 can corn
1 Roma tomato (seeded and diced) - or 1/2 cup canned diced tomato
1 red pepper (diced)
2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
2 tbsp chopped green chilies
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tbsp crushed garlic
1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all items in a bowl. Stir and let chill! You can also serve immediately if you are impatient like me! ;)

I got 4 portions (1 cup per serving) clocking in at 4P+ each!

Serve with some Spanish rice, on top of a black-bean burger, with tortilla chips, on salad....ENDLESS possibilities!


Isn't it GREAT when you can 'use what you have' on hand to get a filling and delicious result?


What are some of your 'use what you have' recipes?

Mama's Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

If anyone knows my mama (Kathy) you will likely agree that she is an AMAZING cook. She loves to cook for people - it gives her joy (and we all love to eat her food)! I was craving a 'homecooked' meal and decided to take a stab at her 'famous' roast with potatoes and carrots! I have made this recipe before, but it has been a few years. This turned out FABULOUS! What is even better is that it cooked all day so when I got home dinner was READY! :) This makes a LOT and will make a nice addition to the soup I plan on whipping up this weekend with the leftovers!

Kathy’s Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

1 Small Chuck Roast (mine was 2.5 lbs), trimmed

1 pkg. of Onion Soup

1 can of Beef Consommé

1 can of Golden Mushroom Soup

5 – 6 Idaho Potatoes (or whatever you have on hand/prefer)

Handful of carrots (or more if you like!)

Put all ingredients in crock pot on low. Cook all day.

**You might need to add a can of beef broth or water to cover the meat. - I added both!

Everything was set/prepped/etc. was ready to go the night before!

Quick assembly in the morning!

Finished (DELICIOUS) product!