Gourmet Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp hot sauce (I used Tabasco)
• 1-1/2 tsp fresh marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled
• 1-1/2 tsp fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled
• salt and ground pepper
• 1-1/2 lb chuck (ground beef)
• 1-1/2 lb (ground pork)
• 1-1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced (not dried - makes a difference)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1-1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 In a skillet over moderate heat, add the oil. Heat the oil until hot, but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

3 In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, and hot sauce together. Add marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper.In a large mixing bowl, combine the meats, egg-milk mixture, bread crumbs, parsley, and the cooked onion mixture.

4 In a small bowl stir together ketchup, sugar, and vinegar. Set aside.

5 Time to transfer the meat mixture.  Take a large baking sheet and line it with foil.  Place a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet.  Cut a piece of foil to be larger than a the individual meatloaves.  Using a metal skewer, poke holes along the foil…usually every other hole.  This helps the juices to drain away from the meat.  The below picture shows a whole-large meatloaf, but you get the idea:

Brush each meatloaf with ketchup glaze.Bake in oven for about 45 minutes, until glaze has set.

6 Brush meat loaf with remaining glaze and bake for 15 minutes more; glaze again.

My oven took about 1 hour and 15 minutes, but times will vary, so allow for that! You want to make sure the internal temperature of each loaf is 160 degrees F.

Homemade Fajita Seasoning & Homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowl

Got hooked on the Chipotle Burrito Bowl recently.  I thought it would be fun to make a homemade version of this for my family, so I went in search of a recipe on-line.  I found the below recipe, along with a homemade recipe for the fajita seasoning that is used.  Hope you enjoy!

First - the homemade fajita seasoning.  This is much healthier than store-bought seasoning - most of these ingredients should already be in your cupboard:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon crushed chicken bouillon cube (optional)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Now for the homemade chipotle burrito bowl recipe:

For the Cilantro-Lime Rice:

2 Cups of organic Jasmine Rice
4 Cups of water
1 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons of low-fat butter
1/2 to 1 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup of onion, chopped
1 lime, squeeze out fresh juice
dash of cumin
1/2 tsp of pepper

For the Chicken:

1 package fajita seasoning mix (2 Tbsp of homemade seasoning equals one store-bought packet)
3 cups of lean chicken, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion

Other ingredients that go into the burrito bowl:

2 cups frozen Corn
1 can black beans, low sodium
a bag of low-fat shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
Salsa, if desired
Pico de gallo, if desired
baked tortilla chips, highly recommended
lettuce, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
1 small container of low-fat sour cream
guacamole (see recipe for homemade below)

For the Guacamole:

1 avocado
1 lime
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup of onion
1 tablespoon of salsa or tomato
pepper to taste

Directions:

For Rice:

1. Start by making the rice first (be sure to follow the directions on the bag of any jasmine rice you’re using).


2. The only difference will be that you’re adding salt, butter, lime juice, onion, cumin and cilantro. Add these after the boiling stage but before the simmering stage. Mix well and keep covered. Keep in mind one of the key ingredients to making this like the rice at Chipotle is the lime and cilantro, that flavor is important!


3. While the rice is cooking… steam the corn in a separate pot and keep warming on the side. Also put entire can of black beans into separate pot and heat on low, stirring often, until hot.

To Make the Chicken:

1. Add some oil of chose to a frying pan and toss chicken in. Heat chicken on medium heat, stirring often to get chicken cooking evenly.
2. Add 1/4 cup of water and entire package of fajita seasoning (you can also just follow the directions on that packet). Add more water if necessary.
3. Toss and stir chicken until evenly coated, turn heat to low-med and simmer for another 5 to 8 minutes.

For the Guacamole:

1. Remove peel and core from avocado and chop up into pieces. Add to a medium bowl.
2. Chop and blend avocado until it’s the desired texture.
3. Add chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup of onions, lime juice, salsa or tomatoes and mix well.
4. Add pepper to taste.

Now that everything’s complete you can get large bowls for each person eating. Follow the below order of things if you want it to resemble Chipotle the most:

1. First add rice to bowl
2. Then add black beans
3. Then add chicken (remember I used chicken but you could substitute for pork, beef or go veggie!)
4. Add desired amount of corn.
5. Add toppings (like cheese, then add salsa or pico de gallo, tomatoes, add sour cream and guacamole).
6. Finally top that off with desired amount of chopped lettuce.

I hope you all enjoyed my little restaurant copycat cooking adventure! If you make your own attempt be sure to let me know how it goes with comments below.

Homemade Bourbon Chicken Recipe

2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons no sugar added ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken. Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well mixed and dissolved. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over hot rice and ENJOY

Bulgolgi Recipe

I have a wonderful friend, Sukay, who prepared an authentic Korean dish for a bunch of us ladies at her get-together just a couple weeks ago.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I could not stop eating it.  I have been craving it since her party and asked her for the recipe.  This is just a fabulous, tasty and pretty simple authentic Korean dish to make.  Thanks Sukay for the recipe and I hope all of you enjoy it.



1 lb. Lean Beef (like sirloin)
2 Tbsp Sugar
4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Ground Sesame Seeds
4 Tbsp Green Onion (white & green)
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
White Rice

Optional Ingredients:
Shredded Carrots, Extra Onion, Extra Garlic

Combine all the ingredients except the meat into a large Ziploc bag.  Slice the beef very thin and add it to the marinade.  Marinate the mixture for at least 24 hours (I did mine for 48-72 hours).  Cook your rice just before you're ready to prepare the meat.

Add a little coconut oil to your frying pan.  Cook on med/high heat until the meat is done to your liking and it caramelizes a little.   Serve hot over the rice.

Note: If you slice the beef partially thawed, it's easier to cut into thin slices.  Cut the beef against the grain.

Note: I multiplied my recipe x4 so I had lots of it for leftovers.  I just don't think a pound would go very far with the four of us (me especially - I love this stuff).

Marinade for Flank Steak

Ingredients:

3lbs of flank steak (Costco sells them with two steaks in a package, generally 3-4 lbs).  Adjust marinade if you have more or less meat.
Season with coarse Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Marinade for Flank Steak

Juice of 6 limes
Juice of 3 tangerines/clementines
3T Balsamic Vinegar
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Manuka Honey
1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation:

Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Place steaks and marinade in a zip top bag and let marinate for at least an hour or up to 3 if you have the time.

Let meat come to room temperature by removing from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to grill it. Start your grill for high heat. You will cook the meat over direct heat.

Cook meat until your desired temperature (best if it's medium-rare for this cut of meat). Remove from grill and let rest for about 10 minutes, transfer to a cutting board and cut AGAINST THE GRAIN of the meat and on a bias in thin strips. This is critical for a flank steak. It is not that tender on its own. Cutting against the grain helps break down the muscle fibers and makes chew time a lot less.

Clean Eating Pumpkin Bread

Clean Eating Pumpkin Bread

1 whole pumpkin, cut in half

1-1/2 cups almond meal/flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
Pinch sea salt
1 tsp vanilla paste
3 Tbsps ground flax seeds
2 Tbsp molasses
3 Tbsps coconut oil
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs, whisked
¼ cup raw honey
¾ cup pumpkin flesh
1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)

What to do:

·         Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

·         Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

·         Cut pumpkin in half.  Bake pumpkin in oven until soft – approx. 45 minutes

·         Scoop out the seeds of the pumpkin and discard (or bake).

·         Measure out ¾ cups of pumpkin flesh for this recipe

·         Grease a loaf pan (or two or four based on the size of your loaf pans) with coconut oil & dust with almond four

·         Place all ingredients in the food processor and mix until well combined

·         Scoop out mixture into the loaf pans

·         Bake for 35-45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick into the center comes out clean.

·         Let cook for 30 minutes & enjoy.

NOTE: if you are using the pumpkin seeds as garnish, be sure to layer them on the bread ten minutes before removing from the oven.

Maple Balsamic Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries (TIP: Look for unsweetened or naturally sweetened varieties.)
• 1 cup raw unsalted chopped pecans
• 4 to 5 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp sea salt, plus additional to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare dressing: In a small bowl, whisk oil, vinegar and maple syrup.
3. Add 3/4 cup dressing to quinoa. Stir in cranberries, pecans, scallions and salt. Refrigerate overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature; just before serving, stir in remaining 1/4 cup dressing and season with salt.