You put WHAT in the meatloaf?!?

Have you seen those Chef Boyardee commercials where the father is reading the can on the counter while the mother is washing the dishes and their son is eating a bowl of heated canned pasta? The father starts to ask his wife if she knows that the can o' noodles has hidden inside a whole serving of vegetables and the wife quickly hushes his astonished declaration as she averts her eyes to her son--who is too busy devouring the pasta to even hear a bomb being dropped let alone the father stating he is eating vegetables. I hate that ad. I hate the implication that there is nutrition rammed inside this $.89 can of junk food and that parents should be encouraged to purchase such a wholesome meal for their kids. Remember that sage expression "If it seems to good to be true it probably is?" Well, count that when you are purchasing a small canned pasta "dish" that claims is has a whole serving of vegetables and protein in it. That is called, playing with words. However, that did get me thinking about how much you could hide in a meal--nutrition wise. Of course Squeaky Gourmet is all about comfort foods with nutrition packed inside of it--real whole foods that you can buy in the store and create at home--not packed into a bar or soup can or frozen dinner. Well--this recipe is one of my favorite ones because in this meatloaf that serves 8 I have 1lb of mushrooms, 2 bell peppers, 1 whole tomato and 1 onion and of course a whole avocado. Yeah--I slammed a damn garden in this dish and your kids will ask for seconds!

Garden Meatloaf
serves 8 (or 4 hungry individuals!)
16 ounces ground turkey breast
16 ounces whole mushrooms
1 large avocado seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups sweet bell peppers diced fine
1 large red tomato sliced thin
1/2 cup onion chopped fine
1/2 cup raw oatmeal ground into oat flour
1 large egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large colander wash the mushrooms. You want to use your hands to wipe these mushrooms off as you gently run water on them--these are like sponges so do not soak them in water. The longer the water runs on them the soggier they will become in the meatloaf itself.


Next you want to add these mushrooms to a large bowl and using your hand blender--kill them all. Smash these little vegetables that are loaded with nutrients from earth into a messy dirty pulp like mixture. It will look and smell like wet earth--which is a very good thing. (Take that Martha!)

Add to the 'mashedrooms' your oat flour, avocado, peppers, onions and egg and blend well. Look how full the bowl is before we even add the meat! Next you of course want to add the turkey meat, have your kids wash their hands and allow them to fully blend this miracle into the raw meatloaf.


Then using a non stick pan of your choice--we like to use the angel food cake pan for our load--add half the mixture to the pan and half the tomato neatly to the top, cover with the remaining meat mixture and add a final covering of the tomato.


Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes. We served this with sesame roasted Brussels sprouts because--vegetables do not come from a can! We did not even use any added spices because this dish is really loaded with such good flavor and really, even if your kids did know how much you are hiding in this they won't care--they will love it!

Calories Per Serving- 187
Fat- 5 grams
Carbohydrates- 11 grams
Fiber- 4 grams
Protein- 21 grams

Qunioa and Roasted Butternut Stuffing --gluten free

We eat chicken a lot in our home--it is affordable, it is lower in calories than other meats and it is very versatile. We also are a stuffing kinda household but now with the recent emergence of Celiac disease in the family I am looking for gluten free answers to all of our life dilemmas. Well, OK only the food dilemmas because no matter how hard you try, gluten free cookie dough will not find missing socks.

Recently I was staring at a raw chicken, some raw quinoa and a freshly picked butter nut squash and thinking--I will mash you all together in harmony! So I did and it was a big hit (figuratively of course).

Quinoa Stuffing w/ Roasted Squash
2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
1 large butter nut squash peeled and chunked
1 fresh onion
1 bunch of fresh sage chopped finely.
1 tb. Olive Oil
1 large clove fresh garlic minced


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and prepare bird for stuffing. In a bowl add all the ingredients together aside from the quinoa and mix well. Add to a baking pan, cover and roast for about 20-25 minutes, you want to just stick a fork into the squash but not have it fall apart under pressure(it has a job to do and now is not the time to crumble!)

Remove from oven and place in a cool dish and set in the fridge to chill out.

When the vegetables have cooled enough to handle mix the quinoa in and blend well. Return to the ice box to let the flavors get to know one another, hope for marriage here! This will only take about 30 minutes--during all this cool down time you can bake some potatoes in the already heated oven to save for double stuffed taters later in the week.

Stuff the bird with the cooled stuffing and bake until the bird is done. The time will vary depending on the size of the bird. This stuffing was so delicious, I loved the outside of the stuffing that had browned in the oven by my husband preferred the softer stuffing from inside the bird. I prefer this now over bread stuffing, the texture is more rewarding and the aroma and taste far fresher than stale bread!

Other good ideas:
--bake stuffing in a baking pan and use to serve with a meal if you prefer out of the bird stuffing
--stuff peppers or even squash with this stuffing
--add dried cranberries and walnuts for a more seasonal stuffing

Quinoa Cakes With Fresh Salsa

I was thrilled with how this recipe turned out. The cakes are very versatile and could be seasoned with most anything. The cakes are very fresh tasting due to the wonderful salsa and have a nice satisfying crunch. Enjoy.

Quinoa Cakes With Fresh Salsa
Serves 4 ( 8 cakes total)

CAKES

½ c quinoa rinsed and drained (red or white varieties work)
1 c water
1 egg beaten
½ c corn kernels
2 scallions finely chopped
¼ c cheddar (Mexican) shredded cheese or any cheese you like
¼ c whole wheat flour
2 T 1% milk
¼ t sea salt
3 shakes hot sauce
1/8 t pepper
2 T canola oil

In a medium sauce pan bring water to a boil then add the quinoa, reduce heat and simmer for 15mins. Allow to cool when done. Combine quinoa and the rest of the cake ingredients except the oil. Set aside while you prepare the salsa.

Use a ¼ c measuring cup to scoop the mix into the oil. (I could make 4 cakes at a time) Flatten with a spatula. Cook approximately 3-5 minutes per side making sure it is browned before flipping. If you are using a red quinoa, it doesn’t change color much when it browns. The color just deepens a little bit

SALSA

1 c pinto or black beans or substitute 1 diced avocado
1 c chopped tomato
2 T green chilies (hot or mild, you pick)or a fresh jalapeno is great too
3 T finely chopped basil or parsley
4 scallions finely chopped
1 T olive oil
½ lemon- juice only
1 T white wine vinegar
Dash garlic powder
1 t honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. While it is marrying flavors you can cook the quinoa cakes. Heat canola oil in a large skillet on medium heat.

Serve cakes topped with salsa YUM!

Other good ideas:

--add slice avocado

-- cook cakes a head of time and use all week

The Good or Pork Stew

Several years ago while at a county fair here in NH my son and I were looking at a large pig that was being auctioned off. My son, who is now almost 19, was a young child learning about life and death had asked me if we could try and win the pig. I told him that winning the pig meant food not pet--I showed him the diagram by the pig that explained the cuts of meat you would win if you were the lucky number holder. My son was shocked and saddened--he knelt next to the large animals pen and looked through the wires with tears in his eyes. He then stood up and declared himself a "porkatarian" His denial of pork lasted maybe a month--or at least till we had pork for dinner.

Pork--the other white meat. It is so rich in flavor and texture--honestly overlooked for the beef, fish and chicken meal options. Recently our local market had pork loin at an astonishing price of $0.79 a pound. My husband, thrilled with his find and insistent that the price was a mistake loaded the cart with several roasts. So--we have pork!

I was looking over the foods in my pantry and fridge to see what I could do with one of the roasts, as we have already had it marinated, BBQ'd , smoked etc. So, I took out all the vegetables that I purchased at a local farm, added them along with thew pork to a large stew pan and boiled it all day yesterday. I served it in large bowls with large spoons and it was delish! I asked my former porkatarian what we should call this dish and his response was "Good!" So here it is, the Good!
The Good
3lb pork loin still on the bone.
6 large tomatoes
1 pound carrots chunked-I used white carrots
1 large onion-chunked
2 small head cabbage, chunked
1 cup Mung Beans
Paprika
Cumin
In a large stew pot place all the ingredients aside from the cabbage and beans, cook covered on medium heat for about 3 hours. You can cook this even longer if you like. About an hour before dinner, add the cabbage and beans to the pot. Serve warm. I added some chili powder to a few bowls for those of us who like it hot.
This really was an easy, wonderful dish that uses all the inexpensive ingredients that you can find this time of year at Farmer's markets.

3 ounces of pork loin has about 178 calories, 8 grams fat and 24 grams protein. The vegetables are a bonus :)

Enjoy!

You can have a CLEAN BBQ Sauce now! (no more dirty meat)

Warm days spent outside chasing rays of sunshine and drinking ice tea--ahh, summer. The smell of the grill cooking up your favorite BBQ treats is something to look forward to--unless you are eating clean. Have you seen the calories in those BBQ sauces? WOW! Sugar laden empty calories just to add a different flavor to your meal is ridiculous. Granted when you look at the portion size they seem like a low affordable number but who do you know who measures out 1 tablespoon of sauce onto their grilled chicken? So-let Squeaky Gourmet share with you the Sweet and Tangy BBQ sauce which you can slather onto your chicken without it laying fat layers to your ribs!

Sweet Apricot BBQ Sauce
serves approximately 20
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup water
3 raw garlic cloves diced
2 tbls soy sauce
2 tbls dark molasses
1 tsp dried cumin
1 tsp liquid smoke

In a sauce pan combine apricots, water and molasses cooking on medium heat for about 10 minutes. (apricots should be very tender) In a blender blend raw garlic with the liquid smoke, soy sauce and cumin. Slowly add in cooled apricot mix and blend on high speed until it becomes the consistency you like for BBQ sauce. Brush over grilled meat and serve.

Serving Size-4 tbls
Calories-16
Carbohydrates-4
Protein-0
Fat-0

"I want chicken nuggests and french fries Mom!"

Ah, yes--familiar words to any mother in this era of fast food and happy meals. I can't think of one child who does not like french fries or those golden deep fried chicken parts. Remember the commercial about chicken parts back when people were wondering just what the heck IS a chicken nugget? Now they advertise they are made of white meat and we have forgotten the importance of asking--how much white meat?

Well, here is a squeaky clean version of the fast food meal we seem to be unable to escape. These are very easy to make ahead and reheat later as well! Oh and yeah we did not forget the french fries either!

Chicken Nuggets-Squeakified!
serves 12
1/4 cup GF flour mix
5 Egg whites
2lbs chicken breast-trimmed of all visible fat
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Ice water

Soak chicken breast in ice water and salt for 1 hour. Chunk up the chicken into "nugget' size pieces (2 lbs makes about 48 nuggets each about the size of a half dollar) . Mix flour with egg whites and garlic powder to make a batter. Heat a non stick skillet on medium high heat. Toss the chicken nuggets with the batter to fully coat the chicken. Place chicken into skillet heating on each side for about 6 minutes or until deep golden brown. The trick here is getting the pan hot enough to really cook it without burning it. You will need a good pan for this as well as being free from distractions so you can keep checking the chicken to ensure even cooking.

Calories Per 4 piece Serving-167
Carbohydrates- 8 grams
Protein- 25 grams
Fats- 3 grams

Easy French Fries
serves 8
4 Clean potatoes about 3" in diameter or 7.5 ounces each
1 egg white
1 tbls Olive Oil
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
Ice Water

Heat Oven to 375 degrees. Place non stick baking sheet in the oven while it preheats. Slice each potato into french fry chunks and soak in ice water for 1 hour, replacing the water each time it becomes cloudy. Mix oil, liquid smoke, egg white and salt and garlic together and coat the potatoes with the mixture. Place the fries on the hot baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stir the fries and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until they are soft.
The key here for the flavor we find is the liquid smoke, it gives the fry a taste that you cannot match without it.

Calories per Serving- 100
Carbohydrates- 18 grams
Proteins- 3 grams
Fats-2 grams

The average nugget and french fry meal is 420 calories with 23 grams of fat. Our meal is under 270 calories with only 5 grams of fat-- you can see how easy this was to clean up and I know my kids devoured it!

Hope you enjoy it!

Orange Beef Stir-Fry

This dish is so full of flavor and color! I enjoyed the contrast of the sweet orange and soy sauce-a healthy Asian dish to share!
While eating red meat is not condoned by a lot of health professionals, lean cuts of beef are a great source of vitamins and minerals.



Orange Beef Stir-Fry
serves 4

1/2 lb boneless lean sirloin steak cut into strips
2 cups fresh broccoli heads trimmed of stems and leaves
zest of 1 orange
2 large garlic gloves minced
2 tbls minced fresh ginger
2 tbls low sodium soy sauce
2 tbls sesame oil
2 tbls cornstarch mixed with 1 tbls warm water

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add in garlic, ginger and orange zest and stir quickly. Cook for 60 seconds then add the beef strips. Brown the beef on all sides and add the broccoli florets. Cook for about 2 minutes then add the soy sauce and cornstarch and allow to boil. Remove from heat and let stand for a minute or two, allowing the liquid to set.

Serve with soy sauce and fresh oranges.

Calories Per Serving- 176
Carbohydrates- 9 grams
Fats- 6 grams
Protein- 21 grams

What's for dinner tonight? House Goulash was a HIT!

We all see the new commercials out now with Choof Boyardoodle extolling the virtues of his canned meat and pasta dish. Twisting reality to meet the marketing claims of its wholesome goodness of vegetables and meat and magic in each serving. I ask you--who buys canned meat products and then actually thinks it is wholesome goodness?
With our creamy pasta dish--House Goulash-- you will be delighted to know it IS wholesome and the kids DO love it. My pickiest eater even asked for a second helping when we prepared this dish. The recipe I am about to share is a different version of the House Goulash we have in our book, Squeaky Gourmet.

House Goulash II
Serves 12
2lbs ground chicken or turkey breast
2 28-ounce cans low sodium crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup of low fat sour cream
2 tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp each dried oregano, basil, marjoram
2 tsp garlic powder
1 pound box of large pasta shells-cooked

Cook the ground chicken breast with the Worcestershire sauce and half the garlic powder in a non-stick skillet until browned. Add in all the spices,the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and the sour cream stirring until well blended and heated throughout. Add in the cooked shells and serve with love.

Calories Per Serving -299
Carbohydrates- 35 grams
Fats- 4 grams
Protein- 28 grams

Burger king WHAT?

Burger King says..who needs friends and family or real connections when you can have 670 calories with 41 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbs and 30 grams of protein slither down your throat and into your arteries? Real love is pressure on the arteries not that warm fuzzy feeling you get when someone comments on your facebook photo! Join burger king and ditch 10 people on your facebook friend list for fat saturated death! Maybe if we ditch 30 they will help us pay for the angioplasty!

Click the beef to read the article.



This seems very aggressive and counter productive in the whole SAVE AMERICAN FROM OBESITY that we need to be on. Not sure how encouraging even sublte disconnection with people and replacing it with food is going to make mankind better but I guess when we have a need for the almighty dollar so high....something has to give. So, what we give up is humanity, right? "Sorry casual acquaintance, I appreciate your supportive comments on my pages. I loved the jokes you shared that made me laugh....but i am going to have to let you go. " While laughter and human companionship has been shown in studies to even increase our life expectancy nothing is more important than saving $1.99....right?

Perhaps if they offered to give a free whopper for adding 10 people of common interest there would be a bit more love for the King from me. However, to me this is an obvious ploy to target sales back to the fast food industry when everyone right now is lining up at the gym hoping to finally stick to their new year resolutions. Hhhmm..I wonder how many will drop entire diet groups in order to get that free 670 calorie burden into their belly.....

As for me, I will keep my facebook friends..maybe I will send them all a note today thanking them for being on my friends list in fact......

how about a real burger recipe that you will be OK with serving to all your friends?

Mexican Burgers W/ Onions and Peppers
Servings 7

1 Pound lean ground beef
1 Pound lean ground turkey
5 shakes Worcestershire sauce
5 shakes hot sauce
1 T garlic powder
½ T onion powder
2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
pinch salt
pepper to taste
1 onion sliced thinly
1 red pepper sliced
1 T olive oil
½ t cumin

Mix all ingredients together well in a large bowl. Form 6 patties and season outsides with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat in a large skillet approximately 15 minutes or until they reach the level of doneness you prefer. Or you can grill the burgers outside. While the burgers are cooking, heat the olive oil in another skillet over med heat and sauté the onion, pepper and the cumin until tender approximately 5 minutes.
Serve the burgers with the veggies piled on top.

Other Good Ideas:
-Smooth on some avocado butter for a really special burger
-Serve with some sweet potato oven fries for an excellent meal
Per Serving
Calories- 289
Fat –17 g
Protein – 30 g
Carbohydrates –3 g

Chicken Flu Soup

Are you kidding me? The flu and cold season is already here!?!? COME ON!!! Well, one true recipe to fight the flu is honestly chicken soup. We have tweaked the traditional to give you a more holistic recipe to warm you deep into your bones and help the body fight that flu virus hard!

Set up that crock pot and let this simmer day and night. You can add more broth and vegetables as the pot diminishes. You can also make up a batch for a sick friend. I am sure once the soup works it's magic they will be thanking you! Just remember it is a bit spicy but the spice is for a purpose!

3 pounds of skinless chicken breast that had been roasted on the bone.
1 large onion (about 5 ounces) chunked not chopped
3 large carrots sliced into bite size pieces.
3 cups chicken stock or low sodium canned broth
3 ounces Japanese seaweed sliced thin (think noodles)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves raw garlic diced fine

Add all ingredients aside from the garlic to the crock pot to simmer. Allow to cook for several hours. Directly before serving add a half of a clove of diced garlic to the bowl.

300 calories per serving
6 grams fat
8 grams carbohydrate
2 grams fiber
51 grams protein

Buffalo Tenders

From this to DELISH!!!

Recipe Serves 12

3/4 cup white vinegar

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup hot sauce (vinegar based)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 dry Italian dressing packet

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup water with vinegar, oil, hot sauce, and garlic. Add the packet of salad dressing and black pepper. Whisk or stir with a fork until well combined and set aside.

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch strips and place in large, gallon sized, zipper bag. Pour half of the dressing mixture over meat and lightly toss, reserving remaining sauce. Seal well and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Overnight works best.

Place meat strips onto hot grill*, being careful not to drip excess marinade as it will flare up. Cook over medium-high heat, turning often, until internal temperature of the thickest part of the strips reads 170 degrees.

Remove from grill and serve in a baking dish or crock-style warming dish. Drizzle the reserved dressing mixture over meat and lightly toss until coated.

Serve with Cool Cucumber dressing and celery sticks.

* Alternately, arrange in one layer in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees, turning once, for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

Per serving:

Calories - 132

Fat - 4.5g

Carbohydrates: 2g

Protein - 20g