Turkey Meatballs (bulk cooking)

(1/4 batch of meatballs)

Turkey Meatballs
Source: Open-faced Meatball Sandwiches

1 cup egg substitute (or 4 eggs, whisked)
2 cups soft Italian bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. dry minced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon dried basil
5 pounds lean ground turkey

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Shape into meatballs using a small cookie scoop, and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (Yes, I learned this lesson the HARD way.) Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool and separate into four batches of meatballs. Freeze the batches you don't plan to use in the immediate future.

Makes four batches of meatballs (using the small cookie scoop, it comes out to about 36-40 meatballs per batch). One batch equals one meal's worth of meatballs for a recipe.

*This recipe is also great for making turkey burgers, turkey meatloaf, etc.

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas
Source: I was given this recipe by my sister a few years ago after having this for dinner at her house once. I have no idea where she got the recipe from, but I assume it was a friend. This is how I now make this recipe.

Flour tortillas (Fajita size)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2-3 tsp. ground cumin
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese
6 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1-1/2 to 2 cups salsa
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped black olives (I use 1/2 of a small can of diced olives)
2 large cans enchilada sauce (Use your favorite, red or green. I don't like the taste of red, so we always use green. I also use a smaller amount of sauce)

1. If your flour tortillas are not already cooked (not the most common type), heat oven to 350ºF. Wrap the tortillas into a foil packet and heat in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Turn the oven off and kept the tortillas in the oven until ready to use. (I don't ever do this step, because I buy the normal flour tortillas found with the bread.)
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in the chili powder, garlic powder and cumin. Add the cream cheese and cook over low heat, breaking up the cheese with a wooden spoon until melted. Add the chicken and salsa. Cook over medium heat, stirring often for 2-3 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat. Stir in 2 cups of the cheddar cheese and olives.
4. Remove the flour tortillas from the oven. Spread about 1/4 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of two 9x13-inch baking dishes (or four 8x8 pans).
5. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture slightly below the center of each tortilla. Roll up from the bottom and arrange seam side down in the baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350ºF or until hot and bubbly. Serve right away.

I make my recipe into four 8x8 pans since we aren't big on eating enchilada leftovers for days. I can fit six in each pan (five side by side, and one at the top of the pan). I bake one pan and freeze the other three. For a serving, two enchiladas per adult is plenty and one for a child. I eat mine with sour cream. Yum, yum, yum!

To freeze: Prepare as directed, but do not bake. Cover with a double foil layer and freeze. To bake from frozen, heat oven to 350 degrees and bake covered for about 60 to 90 minutes. Checking after 60 minutes to see if warmed throughout. Can be thawed in the refrigerator overnight and then baked for about 30 minutes (covered).

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
Source: Once A Month Mom

12 oz. box jumbo shell pasta
2.5 cups marinara sauce
0.5 cup buffalo wing sauce (more or less depending on heat preference)
2 cups cooked and shredded boneless, skinless chicken breast
16 oz. nonfat cottage cheese
0.5 cup egg substitute
1 cup shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta shells according to package in boiling, salted water, until al dente. Drain water and allow to cool to the touch. Combine marinara and buffalo wing sauce in a bowl. In another bowl, combine shredded chicken, egg substitute, and cottage cheese until well-combined.

Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom of two 8×8 baking dishes. Stuff shells with chicken mixture, about 1 Tablespoon per shell. Place in sauce-covered dish. Cover shells with remaining sauce and sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella. Bake at 350F about 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. IF desired, sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles (calories extra).

Freezing Directions:
Prepare as above, except DO NOT bake. Instead, cover with foil, label, and freeze. To serve: Thaw in fridge. Bake at 350F about 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. IF desired, sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles (calories extra).

Servings: 12 (3 stuffed shells per serving)

Nutritional Information: Servings: 12 • Calories: 267 • Fat: 6.6 • Carbs: 29.7 • Protein: 20.1 • Fiber: 2.4 • Weight Watcher Points Plus: 7

My thoughts: I made this recipe as-is to try it out (but didn't use any blue cheese crumbles since we aren't fans of blue cheese). The verdict from the family was as follows. Husband loved it and said it was perfect. Toddler (30 months old) gobbled it up despite the bit of kick to it. Daughter (age 11) said that it was a bit too spicy (which is odd since she's had spicier foods) but still really liked it. I'm the oddball out. I liked the taste of the buffalo marinara sauce, but I didn't like the stuffing in the shells at all. I practically gutted my shells to eat them. This is not to say that someone who normally loves stuffed shells wouldn't love this, because I don't normally love stuffed shells. It's more like I just kind of tolerate them. Lol. We have another 8x8 square pan of this premade in the freezer for another day, since this recipe makes two 8x8 (or one 9x13) pans worth of stuffed shells. This is definitely a keeper recipe for my family.

***
January 2013
Updated thoughts on this dish: I was three months pregnant when I first had this dish, and I now blame that for my issues that I had in the beginning. I made it, and had it as-is without any issues recently. No texture issues, no gutting the shells, etc. It was very yummy and will definitely be a more regularly served dish around here now.

Pepperoni Rolls

This recipe has LOTS of room for modification and still turn out great.

Pepperoni Roll/Log

Bread/pizza dough (enough for 1 loaf of bread or 1 pizza per roll)
Pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Any other favorite pizza toppings

Roll out dough into a square/rectangle around 11 inches wide. I used a premade canned pizza dough and just rolled it out and then made it into an even layer - mine ended up a rectangle. Then you are going to cover the dough completely (don't leave an edge) with your meat and other pizza topppings. Top with a light layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning (don't go too heavy on this) and garlic powder. Then you're going to roll up your pizza into a log. Start at one end (the narrow end if it's in a rectangle), and tightly (and carefully when you're starting to roll) it up into a log. Once done, place on your baking sheet and cook in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and when you flick it, it will make a thump - similar to testing cooked bread. Now here is the really important step: Do not cut into the log/plan to eat it, until it cools. This give the dough that's all the way in the center the ability to cook completely. It also makes it much easier to cut into slices. This can be served cooled with warmed pizza sauce to dip in and it still tastes absolutely yummy. It only takes about an hour for it to cool.

Ok, now on to my notes. I cut my log in half and separated it before cooking since I wanted to leave no room for error on the dough cooking all the way through. It was perfect the way it was. Also, most people brush melted butter or an egg wash on the top on the rolls before baking but I skipped this step and I think it wasn't necessary anyways. Might be if you use bread dough, but I'm not sure. Some people slice their roll into slices (kind of like you would for cinnamon buns) before baking and have great results. I might try that another time.

3-2-1 Cake for One

There's a cake recipe that I've seen a lot lately that almost sounded too good to be true because it was extremely simple to make, extremely simple in ingredients AND low calorie too! This recipe allows you to make a single serving of just about any type of cake that is really low in calories.

3-2-1 Cake for One

1 box Angel Food cake mix*
1 box cake mix, any flavor

Mix the two dry cake mixes together in a gallon size zip lock bag (or a sealable container). Do not add anything else to it.

When you're ready to make your personal cake, place 3 tablespoons dry cake mix in a bowl, mix with 2 tablespoons water. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Voila! Your personal cake is ready!

The cake (once cooled) is very fluffy and yummy. I topped mine with a small amount of low-fat whipped cream. I figured everybody who tries this is probably going to go the route of making a chocolate cake of some sort, so I tried a lemon cake mix. It was great.

*The key to this recipe working (from what I understand) is that you MUST use an Angel Food cake mix as 1/2 of the recipe. I don't know what would happen if you don't, but it works absolutely great so I'm not messing with it.

UPDATE: I've since tried this with a chocolate cake mix. I had my doubts as to how it would taste because it didn't mix up quite like the lemon mix did, and it didn't smell as yummy when it cooked. Once it cooled (I don't like warm cake), I ate it plain and it was very yummy. Definitely took care of my chocolate craving.

Beef & Black Bean Tostizzas

For the second night in a row, Semi Homemade Mom was the source of our dinner tonight.

Beef & Black Bean Tostizzas

1.5 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
15oz can black beans
1 cup salsa
2 cans Pillsbury Grands rolls (Southern Style)
Shredded monterey jack or cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef and drain off fat. Return to pan and add taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water. Cook over medium heat until liquid is absorbed. Cool slightly. Add salsa and drained black beans, mix well.

On ungreased cookie sheets (I used parchment paper for easier clean up) press out each Grands roll to an approx. 4.5 inch circle. I fit four on each cookie sheet, and cooked them in two batches (two cookie sheets at a time).

Top each flattened roll with two heaping tablespoonfuls of the beef filling leaving 1/4 in. edge around. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until rolls are brown on the edges and cheese is melted.

Place on wire racks to cool completely while you assemble 2nd batch of tostizzas and bake. Once cool, wrap each individually in foil and place 4 at a time in a freezer bag.

My thoughts:
My family really liked this recipe. I loved the ease of making it, and it tasted great. My daughter, who is the "Don't mess with my tacos!" type, loved it and requested it to be added to her recipe book. The toddler didn't eat his, but he wasn't hungry at all. Even the husband, who is sick with a cold, really enjoyed it. We all ate ours differently. I topped mine with chopped tomatoes, diced jalapenos and a small amount of sour cream. The husband topped his with guacamole, and the daughter ate hers as-is.

The recipe made eight (oops, I can't count) sixteen tostizzas and three large burritos. Yum, yum, yum!

Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps

What sold me on trying this recipe, was the picture that I saw on Semi Homemade Mom.

(Image borrowed from Semi Homemade Mom because her picture was the key to making my mouth water!)

Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps

1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I used a little more to taste)
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
pepper and salt to taste
5 flour tortillas (the larger ones)
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced tomatoes
yellow mustard

Brown ground beef in large skillet and drain. Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, dried onion, and 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 indoor grill (I used my George Foreman).

Grill wraps for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Cut on a diagonal and serve immediately.

My verdict:
I ended up making only four wraps with ours since I went a little heavy on the meat in the two that I made for my husband. His verdict on this recipe was that he liked it. My two year old son ate half of one pretty quickly. My daughter (who doesn't eat burgers) took a couple of bites to try it out and then declared that she didn't like it. No big surprise there since she won't eat a burger, ever. I thought it was pretty good, but I think I'll use ground turkey next time, since I rarely eat a burger that's not a turkey burger. Another option is to cook your normal burgers, and then cut it in half and proceed with the rest of the recipe (layering in the tortilla). I do think I'll try using sliced American cheese next time too. This recipe was really easy to make, and was pretty yummy.

We topped ours depending upon our personal tastes. I didn't use any lettuce on any wraps since I never eat lettuce on sandwiches, and lettuce hasn't been agreeing with me lately either. I put ketchup and mustard on the one for the kids, and the same for mine, but I also added tomato and pickles on my wrap and served it with a little mayonnaise on my plate. For the hubs, I made one like mine and one with his choice of "sauce" along with tomato. All were quite yummy.

*The meat for this recipe can be cooked in bulk and frozen for quick prep in the future.