Summer eats!

I love summer food...fresh vegetables and fruit galore!  Farmers Market has been so much fun to browse every Saturday. This week we've had lots of yummy stuff....cantelope, watermelon, peaches, sweet corn, zucchini, squash, peppers, tomatoes, and more. I've made Honey Chicken Kabobs, Baked Tilapia and a new one...Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps, although I didn't grill them...I heated them in my pancake pan! :-) They were good...a "low-cal" version of a cheeseburger. Nobody complained-everyone ate it and said it was good. It was quick and easy and did not require turning on the oven, which is a requirement when its 100 degrees outside!

Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps

from Skinny Mom's Kitchen

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (I used ground venison)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I used a little more to taste)

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

 

1 teaspoon garlic salt (original recipe does not call for this, but I felt it desperately needed it)

pepper and salt (if needed) to taste

5 flour tortillas (the larger ones)

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced tomatoes

yellow mustard

Instructions
Brown ground beef in large skillet and drain.

Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, dried onion, garlic salt and pepper to the beef and simmer for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle shredded cheese down center of each tortilla. Add a few heaping tablespoons of the beef mixture on top of the cheese. Spread some mustard on top of the beef along with some slices of tomato.

Roll up tortilla burrito-style and place wraps on preheated grill.
Grill wraps for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Cut on a diagonal and serve immediately.

 

 

I've lost 2 of the 4 lbs I gained on vacation.  Its very important for me to lose them because this is usually where I fail...not losing vacation weight. Hopefully by the end of next week, I'll be good to go!

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken is on the menu tonight and Breakfast for dinner tomorrow night. I LOOOVE B'fast for dinner, as do the kids, so its another easy, no oven required dinner! Stay cool!

 

Comfort Food-Pot Roast

Ok, so Pot Roast is not exactly "diet" food or even low fat, but its been in my freezer forever and the roast NEEDED cooking!  :-)   So today its in the crockpot. I expect it will feed us for a week! I've had this recipe forever and a day and now I'm seeing it more and more online, on Pinterest, on food blogs, etc. I think I got it from a recipe message board like 8 years ago. Here is just ONE of the thousands of Pinterest pins on it. And there is a reason you see this recipe everywhere- its EASY and YUMMY!  VERY good!  However, if you are sensitive to a lot of salt, you may want to look for a low-sodium version of at least one of the below mentioned mixes or use less of the packet. (And as I type this, I realize I forgot the 1/2 cup of water! Oops - I'll add it at lunch time!)  I added a ton of baby carrots, onions and a few little potatoes. To keep it "healthy", I'll just watch my portion size...that is about all I can do. But sometimes you just need some comfort food. Its probably a better fall or winter "cold weather" recipe, but like I said, the roast needed to be cooked and SOON. I only make pot roast 2-3 times a year, anyway.

And FYI - I've already lost 1 of those 4 pesky pounds! Yeah!

To Die For Crock-Pot Roast

1 beef roast, any kind
1 package dried brown gravy mix
1 package dried Italian salad dressing mix (use ½ packet for less salty taste)
1 package dried ranch dressing mix (use ½ packet for less salty taste)
1/2 cup water

Place beef roast in Crock-Pot.

Mix together the dried mixes in a bowl and sprinkle over roast.

Pour the water around the roast.

Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Down 20 lbs & 5 point Mexican Meatball Subs

I'VE OFFICIALLY LOST 20 POUNDS!!! WOOT!! WOOT!!

So, I FINALLY got around to acutally cooking the Mexican Meatball Subs. I made the meatballs a few weeks ago and stuck them in my freezer, so I thawed 'em out and last night the meal was made.
I calculated each individual meatball to be about 1 point. I used 2 point buns, so 3 meatballs on a bun = 5 points. I sprinkled cheese on mine and used a tiny amount of sour cream. Those 2 items together probably didn't equal 1 point, but I gave myself 6 total points for the sandwich. I didn't like the salsa on it at all - I think I would have preferred it like I do my tacos = with a REAL tomato, diced small. I will make these again BECAUSE MY KIDS ATE THEM!!!   They didn't eat it sandwich style, but they ate the meatballs. My oldest even requested them for lunch today! SCORE!!!!!  I served this with peas (at the request of my youngest), steamed broccoli and a fruit salad with fresh mango and straight-from-Alabama strawberries! I'd also like to note that I made these with ground venison, which is basically 1 point per ounce, and taste VERY similar to 96% Lean ground beef. I'm sure you could easily make them with ground turkey, as well. (and again, I'd like to note that the picture is NOT mine. Its a photo from cullyskitchen.com)

Mexican Meatball Subs

 

1 Lb. 96% Lean Ground Beef (or ground turkey or ground venison)
1 Large Egg, beaten
3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning Mix
5 Hot Dog Bun, low calorie, 2 points each
5 Tablespoons Shredded Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese (I used Colby Jack)
5 Tablespoons Salsa
5 Tablespoons Sour Cream, light (I used fat free)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the ground beef, egg and taco seasoning mix by hand. Divide into 15 meatballs (a little over 1 1/2 tablespoons each).
3. Spray a 9 inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the meatballs in the baking dish so that they aren't touching. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle. If they start to brown too fast on top, you can lay a piece of foil on top of the dish.
4. Once complete, place 3 meatballs inside each hotdog bun. Top each with 1 tablespoon of cheese, 1 tablespoon of salsa and 1 tablespoon of sour cream. You can also top with shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes if desired.

Serves: 5
Per Serving: 254 Calories; 8g Fat (28.2% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 103mg Cholesterol; 496mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates. WWP: 5-6  (depending on bun)((www.AimeesAdventures.com)

NOTE - Step 2 can be done ahead of time and frozen for later use!

Comfort Food - Meatloaf

Comfort foods....we all love them. I think about Cracker Barrell when I think of comfort foods...chicken-n-dumplins, hashbrown casserole, breakfast foods, roast beef and meat loaf.

Meatloaf is a love it or hate it item. I really like meatloaf, just not very often. And its certainly NOT a healthy option with 2-3 lbs of ground round, eggs, breadcrumbs, ketchup and other sinful things. 

MANY years ago (I think on round #1 with WW), I found this recipe for meatloaf and instantly fell in love. I've made it countless times over the years, but NEVER have I made it the way I made them Saturday night. I made Meatloaf Muffins.  As far as portion control, this couldn't be more perfect. Each "muffin" is 4 pts. (as opposed to making it in a loaf shape - 8 slices- each slice is 5 pts and tend to fall apart easily).

Manhandler Meatloaf

Approx. 20-30 minute prep time.

Recipe makes 2 Loaves - 8 servings per loaf

Or 22 Meatloaf Muffins- 4 pts per muffin

SERVING SIZE:  4 oz serving (8 slices per loaf) or 1 muffin

POINTS:  5 pts per slice (or 4 pts per muffin)

 

Ingredients

1 (6 oz) box pork-flavored Stove Top stuffing mix
1 (8 oz) carton egg substitute - (Egg Beaters)
1 cup mild thick n' chunky salsa
1/2 cup honey barbeque sauce
1 (14 oz) pkg fat-free smoked sausage
2 lbs lean ground beef (I use ground venison - my hubby is a deer hunter and I have a freezer full)

 

Glaze

1/4 cup grape jelly
1/2 cup honey barbeque sauce
2 tbsp salsa

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

With a blender or food processor, grind up the  stuffing mix bread crumbs into fine bread crumbs.  

In a large bowl, combine  egg substitute, salsa, BBQ sauce, bread crumbs, and seasoning packet from stuffing mix.  Stir well until combined.  

Cut sausage lengths into 1 inch pieces  and grind in blender.  Combine ground sausage, ground meat with the bread crumb mixture.  Use your hands.  

This makes TWO (2) meatloaves.  (or 22 muffins)

Bake meatloaf in oven for 50 minutes (freeze the other one to bake later)...then spread on glaze and bake another 10 minutes.

 

OR

 

Fill 11 of the 12 muffin spots in a muffin tin with the meatloaf mixture. Using your finger or thumb, put a small indent in the top of each one. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and using a paper towel, soak up the "liquid fat" on top of each muffin. Add about a spoonful of glaze on the top of each muffin and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Let cool. Serve.

 

 

 

 

I made 22 muffins. 12 of the muffins I let completely cool and then I wrapped them INDIVIDUALLY and froze them. I can grab one out of the freezer- microwave for 1-2 minutes and have a yummy homemade meatloaf for lunch some day! Or dinner in a pinch!

 

I served our meatloaf muffins with a sweet potato, broccoli and fruit salad. The entire meal for me, with 2 meatloaf muffins was around 11 points, as my sweet potato was small...but still 3 points! I had the points to use, so it was okay. And a very good, comfort food dinner! (FYI- my kids and husband all had a "white" baked potato with theirs).