What's for dinner? Turkey Pot Pie

This Thanksgiving I decided to put my big girl pants on and cook a turkey. I've never done that before because the "adults" usually cook it and us "kids" bring the sides. My turkey came out great but we had a ton leftover. Tonight I made turkey pot pie...something else I've never made before. ha ha! I have to say, it was really pretty easy and the hubby gives it a big thumbs up!!

Turkey Pot Pie

1 or 2 cups leftover turkey

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1/2 small onion, chopped

6 or so baby carrots or 2 momma carrots, chopped

1/3 cup flour

1 can chicken broth

1 cup milk

1 pie crust

butter

salt and pepper

Saute the celery, onion, and carrots in the butter until they are tender. Add the flour to the veggies and stir in the chicken broth and milk. Add turkey and salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into casserole dish. I used a medium size pyrex bowl. Lay pie crust on top and flute the edges...as good as you know how. :) Cut 2 or 3 slits in the crust to allow for ventilation. Trim any excess off and bake on a separate baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until the crust is done.

Enjoy!

Dessert Time

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 stick butter, melted

2 cups peanut butter

3 cups rice krispies

16 oz. semi sweet chocolate (I used Hersey's chocolate chips)

Mix powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter, and rice krispies together in a large bowl. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 pan and pour mixture into pan. Smooth out with the back of a spatula. Melt chocolate in your microwave for 15-20 seconds at a time until smooth and runny. Pour chocolate on top of the peanut butter layer and smooth out until every square inch is covered. Refrigerate for an hour or until chocolate hardens. Cut into bars and serve immediately.

You can thank me later. :)

Got Chaos?

If your family is anything like my family then you need all the short cuts and organization you can find. Between piano lessons on Monday, soccer practice on Tuesday, Bible class on Wednesday I'm looking anything that will make my life easy. My Food Saver has become a very good friend of mine. I buy 5 lbs. of ground beef at a time and set aside one day to cook it. I just eyeball a pound at a time and brown it then let it cool and package it up. Throw them in the freezer until the day comes when I realize at 4:30 that I have no clue what's for dinner. You can either defrost it in a pot of boiling water (like a bag of rice) or throw it in a skillet on low heat. At this point, you can add taco seasoning, spaghetti sauce, bbq and ketchup or put it in a casserole.

Also, if you're into buying your meat in bulk (which is usually wayyy cheaper) try different marinades and package your leftovers up for later in the week or month.

I love my Food Saver!!

What's for dinner? Quick and Easy Veggie Soup

Quick and Easy Vegetable Soup

1 lb. ground beef, browned

1 can sliced carrots, drained

1 can green beans, drained

1 can tomato sauce

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 cup water

dash of chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper

Put everything in a big stock pot and let simmer for 30-45 minutes. I told you it was quick and easy. :) Enjoy!

What's for dinner? Turkey Meatloaf

Body for Life Turkey Meatloaf

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

4 egg whites

1 cup salsa

3/4 cup quick oats, uncooked

1 sm. package italian seasoning

1/2 cup ketchup

In a large mixing bowl, combine everything except ketchup. Press mixture into 9 x 5 loaf pan and spread ketchup over the top. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. This serves 6 so once this is finished baking, go ahead and slice the whole thing. This will help with portion control. :)

You could make this up ahead of time and put in the fridge uncooked. When you get home from your crazy busy day just turn the oven on and it'll be done in no time.

I pair this with mashed red potatoes and green beans. I'll share my green bean recipe another day. YUM!

What's for dinner? Turkey Burgers

Ground turkey

1 onion

sliced cheddar cheese

Sandwich rounds

Everyone knows how to make a burger but too many people are putting way too many "extras" on them. Season with herbs and onions for a low fat/low calorie meal. I usually grate half the onion to put in the meat, 1 or 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, and onion powder. Then I saute the other half of the onion to put on my patty once it's cooked.

An adult should have 25g. of carbs per meal so if you choose to eat the bread - skip the chips. Or if you're like me and like a little crunch with your burger, just eat the meat and splurge on baked chips. Remember to not eat the whole bag and keep in mind that you'll be eating again in 3 hours. :)

What's for dinner? Taco Pasta

New start, New school, New YOU!

This is a Body for Life recipe and can be found in Eating for Life cookbook. It's one of our favs - the kids even ask for it.

8 oz. rotini pasta

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp. Taco seasoning mix

4 Tbsp. salsa

4 Tbsp. sour cream

4 Tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare pasta according to its package directions.

While pasta is cooking, brown beef until no longer pink. Add water and taco seasoning to beef. Simmer until it thickens, stirring occasionally.

You can either combine the sour cream and salsa or leave them separate. I leave them separate because the kids don't like salsa.

Once beef is ready and pasta is cooked, mix together in one pan.

This is 4 servings so divide it up in 4 bowls and top with sour cream, salsa, and cheese.

This is a balanced meal with a portion of carbs and a portion of protein. Enjoy!!

Tips and Tricks

If you're like me, it's easy to become overwhelmed by all the hype about nutrition. I'm not completely organic nor do I plan to be. Little changes and baby steps can make a big difference. Take for instance, Yoplait Yogurt. Yoplait now has a Simply GoGurt that is free from artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. Woo hoo!!!

Another yogurt tip, don't buy flavored yogurt because it is stacked with sugar. Buy plain yogurt and add vanilla flavoring, honey, or even a spoon full of sugar would be better than the 38 grams they have packed in per serving. Our favorite is plain yogurt, dash of cinnamon, sliced strawberries, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 packet of stevia.

Fruit Salad - a new twist

Fruit Flag Salad

2 cans (8oz. each) pineapple tidbits in juice

2 bananas, sliced

3 pints fresh strawberries

2 pints fresh blueberries

Cool Whip

Drain pineapple, reserving juice in small bowl. Pat the pineapple dry with paper towel. Toss bananas in pineapple juice; drain well. Reserve 15 - 20 strawberries for flag stripes and cut into quarters. Reserve a handful of blueberries for the stars.

Slice strawberries and mix with all the other fruit. Pour fruit in a 9 x 13 dish and cover with Cool Whip. Arrange blueberries and strawberries to resemble an American flag.

This is a variation of a Pillsbury recipe and since I forgot to take a picture of mine I'm using theirs. :)

What's for dinner?

Ladies and Gentlemen! This might be the easiest dinner I've ever made and maybe the yummiest BBQ I've ever had. This is slow cooker meal so go get it out!!

Barbecued Beef

3 pounds boneless chuck roast

1 1/2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 Tblp. Dijon-sytle mustard

1 Tblp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Sandwich buns if desired

Place chuck roast in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour BBQ sauce mixture over chuck roast. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or 4 to 5 hours on high. The meat will shred with a fork when done cooking.

Enjoy!!

Snack of the Day

Cinnamon Apples

1 Granny Smith apple

cinnamon

1 tsp. stevia or sugar

1 tsp. butter

Core, peal and slice the apple. Layer in a small microwavable dish and spread butter across the top layer. Sprinkle cinnamon and stevia or sugar. Microwave for 2 and half minutes or until tender.

Total calories: about 100

Lunch Break

Black Bean Chicken Salad

1 cup cooked, chopped chicken

2 large spoonfuls salsa

1/3 c. shredded Jack cheese

1/2 c. drained and rinsed black beans

For this recipe, I used Tyson frozen fajita chicken strips and Pace Picante sauce. I thawed the chicken in the microwave and tossed everything together. YUM!

I toasted 1 slice of Oroweat Sandwich Rounds and ate it open faced. This would be great with rice or crackers.

The recipe serves 2 and each serving is only 170 calories!! Can't beat that!

What's for dinner?

Salsa Chicken over Baked Potato

2 chicken breast

1/2 jar of salsa

2 russet potatoes

Put chicken in crock pot and pour salsa over it. Cook on low 5-6 hours.

Rub potatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook in oven at 350 for 2-3 hours.

When chicken is finished cooking, shred with a fork and serve over baked potato.

You could substitute rice or noodles for baked potato.

5 can Soup

5 Can Soup

3 cans Progresso Minestrone Soup (low sodium)

1 can Rotel

1 can Ranch Style Beans

Plus 1 can water

This is an open-it-up-and-dump-it-in kind of soup. By adding the ranch style beans and rotel you can't tell this was from a can. This easily feeds 6-8 people for way under $10. I usually take some out for my kids before I add the rotel...I don't want any excuses to not eat dinner!