What a night--Family-Style Turkey Loaf

Family-Style Turkey Loaf
The Everything Gluten-Free Cookbook Copyright 2006

1 pound mixed ground turkey
1 cup ground popcorn or gluten-free cornbread crumbs I used regular cornbread crumbs
2/3 cup milk
¼ cup chili sauce
3 eggs I used 2 extra large eggs
1 teaspoon thyme
½ cup chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 strips bacon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put all but the bacon into your food processor and whirl until well-blended. I just blended it all by hand.
3. Pout into a 9”x5” bread pan and put that pan into a much larger one (such as an 11”x 13” pan). Place in the oven and add boiling water to the larger pan. Cut the bacon into halves and arrange across the top of the loaf. Bake for 1 hour. Mine took much longer.

Serves 4 to 6.
___________________________

This meatloaf was very soupy before I baked it - I never thought I would be able to slice it. I left it in the pan overnight and then sliced it and reheated it the next day. The slices were very tender after they were reheated but they held together (I had to be very careful with them.)

I usually like a topping on my meatloaf (tomato sauce, ketchup and brown sugar, etc), but I thought this was very flavorful with just the bacon. You could definitely taste the thyme and I used crumbs from the Sour Cream Corn Cake that I had leftover in the freezer. That corn bread was flavored with some rosemary.

So I would have really enjoyed this but my son was having some redness around his mouth which always sets me on edge and made me lose my appetite. He has a cold and I think they played outside yesterday and we were having unseasonably cold weather so that was probably all it was (redness from his dripping nose). Food allergies make you paranoid though, and all three of us have been suffering from colds and congestion so he sounded a little wheezy too, making me even more paranoid. He was acting absolutely fine and he turned out fine but my stomach was in knots for a few hours.

Then to top it all off, my dishwasher died again. Same problem I paid almost $100 to fix just a few months ago. It's just not worth it to put any more money into that piece of garbage. The old dishwasher was 20 years old and still working (something busted underneath and I thought it would be a good time to replace the dishwasher). The new one lasted less than 3 years??? Appliance manufacturers should be ashamed of themselves.

I bought this cookbook with the intention of doing a gluten-free experiment at some point in the future. I'm not sure when I'll get around to that. I'll need more than just this one cookbook. It's a decent cookbook but I'm guessing that there are better gluten-free cookbooks out there.

Blast From The Past: Brown Sugar Meat Loaf from October 2005. That's a good meat loaf recipe too but I think that ground turkey makes a much more tender meat loaf than ground beef.

Question of the Day: What are your plans for Easter?

This recipe's a keeper--Tangy Pork Chops

Tangy Pork Chops
The Carbohydrate Addict’s Cookbook Copyright 2000

¼ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons prepared mustard I used a mild Dijon
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
4 boneless center-cut rib chops, 1 inch thick I used loin chops

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except pork, blending well. Place pork in plastic bag and add contents of the bowl. Turning to coat the meat well. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Turn occasionally to assure uniform marinating.

Preheat the broiler. Remove chops from plastic bag and discard marinade. Place pork chops on aluminum foil-covered baking sheet approximately 3 to 5 inches from heat. Broil chops 8 to 10 minutes per side. Serve warm.
_____________________________

This was a simple recipe that I'll probably make again many times. While I wouldn't say that the finished product was tangy, these chops were very tender and flavorful. Even my husband, the self-alleged pork hater, commented that these were very good (hours after he had eaten them). I loved the way the onions crisped up under the broiler. Yum! I can't wait for lunch (leftovers!)

This is a rather plain and unexciting cookbook but after this success, I'm anxious to try other recipes from it. Some low-carb cookbooks are loaded with fat but this one isn't too bad, although many of the recipes do use high-fat products. There are enough that don't to make this book worth my while. They don't give nutritional information and I think strict low-carbers would probably balk at some of their recipes but since I picked it up off a discount rack, I can't complain too much.

Blast From The Past: Easy Spicy Apple Sauce Muffins from April 2006.

Question of the Day: How many different types of mustard do you have on hand right now?

Not exotic, but delicious --Greek-Seasoned Chicken with Orzo

Greek-Seasoned Chicken with Orzo
501 Delicious Diabetic Recipes For You And Your Family Copyright 2000

¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon Greek-style seasoning
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 (6-ounce) skinned chicken breast halves
1 cup orzo, uncooked I made more
¼ cup sliced ripe olives
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh chives I used some dried
1 tablespoon reduced-calorie margarine, melted
¾ teaspoon Greek-style seasoning Oops! I forgot to add this to the orzo
vegetable cooking spray
fresh oregano sprigs (optional)

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag, and shake until chicken is well-coated. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally.
2. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Combine orzo, olives, and next 3 ingredients, tossing gently. Set aside, and keep warm.
3. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Bring marinade to a boil in a small saucepan; reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes.
4. Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place on grill over medium-hot coals (350 – 400 degrees). Place chicken on rack; grill, covered, 10 minutes on each side or until chicken is done, basting occasionally with marinade. I cooked this on the GF grill. Serve over orzo mixture. Garnish with oregano sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings Per serving: 364 cal, 38.6 g carbs, 33.4 g pro, 7.8 g fat, 74 mg chol, 1.6 g fiber, 451 mg sodium
____________________________

This was one of those simple yet satisfying recipes. I think it would have been even better if I had fired up the grill outside but it's just easier to use the GF grill when you have other things going on in the kitchen. My husband was impressed with the orzo. I explained to him that it's just pasta but he seemed to think it was something exotic.

This is a pictureless cookbook but I can forgive that when over 500 recipes are packed into a cookbook. I think I'll be using this cookbook quite often. The recipes aren't unusual yet they're not all the same everyday recipes you see over and over.

Last night I was trying to plan recipes using 'unused' cookbooks again but not many of my cookbooks fall into that category. I'm proud to say that I have tried recipes from most of them. The majority of the unused books are baking books and there just isn't that much room in our diet for sweets and pastries.

Blast From The Past: Mini Cocoa Swirl Cheesecakes from October 2006. I have to make another batch of these - I really liked them.

Question of the Day: Have you ever made orzo?

Just your basic stir-fry-- Spicy Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Spicy Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry
The Pampered Chef Main Dishes, Recipes At The Heart of Every Meal Copyright 2000

¼ cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 boneless beef top sirloin steak ( 1 ¼ pounds), trimmed
3 cups broccoli flowerets
1 medium onion
1 medium red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon peeled fresh ginger root, finely chopped I used jarred
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup beef broth I used low-sodium

1. In Classic Batter Bowl, whisk together soy sauce, cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the oil with Stainless Steel Whisk. Cut steak lengthwise in half and then crosswise into ¼-inch-thick strips with Chef’s Knife. Add beef to soy sauce mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes to marinate.
2. Meanwhile, cut broccoli into flowerets and onion into thin wedges. Cut bell pepper into thin strips, 2 inches long. Set vegetables aside. Press garlic with Garlic Press. Finely chop ginger root with Food Chopper.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon of the remaining oil in Stir-Fry Skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add half each of beef, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to skillet. Using Bamboo Spoon, stir-fry 1-2 minutes or until outside surface of beef is no longer pink. (Do not overcook.) Remove from skillet; keep warm. Repeat with 1 teaspoon of the remaining oil and remaining beef, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Remove from skillet.
4. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in same skillet until hot. Add broccoli, onion and bell pepper; stri-fry 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Return beef to skillet; add broth. Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring gently, until sauce is slightly thickened.

Yield: 4 servings
____________________________

This is actually a real Pampered Chef cookbook - not one of the seasonal pamphlet-style ones. It's a well-constructed cookbook with a spiral binding and color photographs on every page. I don't think I would pay what they ask for their cookbooks but I'm cheap. The recipes all look very good. They helpfully bold all of the Pampered Chef products you should be using when making their recipes. In the above recipe, I did use the bamboo spoon. Wait, no, I used a bamboo spatula.

This was a standard stir-fry. I tend to love the meat in a stir-fry while just tolerating the vegetables. The vegetable portion usually tastes a lot better when I eat the leftovers, but straight out of the pan, they're usually a little bit bland since they're cooked so quickly, they don't absorb a lot of flavor.

I just realized that it's Tuesday and this recipe is perfect for Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday.

In other news, the winner of the March Cookbook giveaway is .................... Mommy Prof! I don't have a cookbook lined up for April yet. Maybe this weekend I'll come up with one. I can't believe we're three days into April already.

Blast From The Past: Spicy Orange Beef from July 2006. I love this stir-fry because it's just about all meat.

Question of the Day: Do you own any Pampered Chef products?

A recipe from Patti LaBelle-- Blueberry Cake

Blueberry Cake
Patti LaBelle’s Lite Cuisine Copyright 2003

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
4 tablespoons margarine, softened I used butter
1 ¼ cups sugar substitute such as DiabetiSweet or Splenda
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon butter-flavor extract
I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract instead of the lemon and butter-flavor
1 cup 1 percent low-fat buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-cup or 10-cup nonstick tube pan with fat-free cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Transfer ½ cup of the flour mixture to another medium bowl. Add the blueberries and toss to coat with flour mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the margarine until light, about 1 minute. Beat in the sugar substitute and sugar until fluffy, 1 minute. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Beat in the lemon extract and butter-flavor extract. Beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.

In a clean medium bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Fold into the batter. Fold in the blueberries. Scrape into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a rack and cool completely.

Option: In a medium bowl, melt 1 ½ tablespoons reduced-calorie margarine in the microwave oven, about 30 seconds on medium. Whisk in 1 ½ tablespoons fat-free half-and-half and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Then whisk in ¾ cup sugar substitute such as DiabetiSweet or Splenda, and 1/3 cup powdered sugar. Drizzle evenly over the cooled cake. (I used butter, superSkim and vanilla)

Makes 14 servings. Per serving: 120 calories, 3 g pro, 18 g carbs, 4.5 g fat, 35 mg chol, less than 1 g fiber, 150 mg sodium
_______________________________

There's no method to my madness. Whenever it's time to plan recipes, I just start pulling out cookbooks. It helps if I have something to focus on, such as a particular list of meats or ingredients that I already I have on hand. Last week, when it was time to select this week's recipes, I decided to focus on cookbooks that I haven't cooked from yet.

I've owned this cookbook for about a year. I'm not sure why I'm just now getting around to trying one of it's recipes. The recipes are pretty standard, but lightened up. Have you seen Patti LaBelle lately? She looks great. She must be doing something right.

The texture of this cake was excellent and the taste wasn't bad either but there's no gettting around the Splenda aftertaste. I wasn't in the mood for lemon so I left it out but that might have helped cut some of the aftertaste. It's something I'm getting used to but I only make something with Splenda every once and a while, so I don't think I'll ever get totally used to it.

Blast From The Past: Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake from July 2006. That's a another very good cake with the same flavors (and a larger cake - today's cake was quite small.)

Question of the Day: Do you have many cookbooks that you have never cooked from?