Emeril's Turkey Meatloaf

We haven't had meatloaf in such a long time!! I've been craving meatloaf. This is one of those recipes I cut out & have had sitting around. I finally got around to it. It's a winner! Even Ben ~ who was making faces at turkey meat, turkey bacon, etc etc ~~ really liked it! I am thinking leftovers will be great as well.

Emeril's Turkey Meatloaf
Source: Emeril

Ingredients
1 tsp vegetable oil
4 oz. turkey bacon, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped - about 1 cup
1 small green pepper, chopped - about 3/4 cup
course salt & pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 rolled oats, not instant
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (85% lean)
1 1/4 cups chili sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook bacon stirring until almost crisp, about 4 minutes. Add onion & pepper, season to taste with salt & pepper and cook until vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and add oats and evaporated milk. Let cool.

Add turkey, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 2 TBSP chili sauce. Stir well to combine. Transfer mixture to a 5X9 loaf pan and smooth top - spray the pan with Pam. Spread remaining chili sauce over the top. Bake until meatloaf is cooked through (an meat thermometer should read 165 in the center) about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let cool in the pan 20 minutes before slicing.

Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies

My mom used to make these for us. I had forgotten about them until I found a bag of butterscotch chips in the closet. As easy as these cookies are - they are good. Rich but good! This is another good recipe to add to a simplified baking strategy! Try 'em out!



Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies

Ingredients
1 11oz bag butterscotch chips
1 c. peanut butter
5 c. corn flakes ~ crushed a little bit

Melt morsels and peanut butter over low heat. Stir in corn flakes; mix until flakes are well coated. Drop by rounded serving spoons onto a parchment or wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place in refrigerator until solid.

Congo Bars

Two weeks past baby I got the urge to bake. Realizing baking should be different - no mixer & bar cookies sounded like the right idea. A quick search dug up this recipe. Super easy & good! As the little one gets older, I feel so much better with homemade goods for him - hope I can keep it up!!



Congo Bars
Source: Bakerella

Ingredients
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar (Oh my and thank you!)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears. You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together.
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.
Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake.

Note from the recipe:
If the bars aren’t done at 30 minutes and the tops feel like they are getting too brown, then place a sheet of aluminum foil on top and bake a little longer. Use a toothpick to insert and check for doneness before removing from the oven. Also make sure you sifted the dry ingredients and used room temp butter, not melted.

S'mores Stuffed Brownies

AHH~~ s'mores! Who doesn't love them. Friends were passing around this recipe - I had to try them. They didn't disappoint! I've already made them twice! Thanks to the Picky Palate blog for such great instructions and pictures! So easy and SO good!

S'mores Stuffed Brownies
Source: Picky Palate

Ingredients
Batch Prepared in 8×8 inch baking pan
1 box of your favorite brownie mix
4 1/2 full Graham Crackers
3 1/2 Full size Hershey’s Bars
16 large marshmallows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Line foil into an 8×8 inch baking pan and spray generously with cooking spray. Pour half the brownie batter into lined pan. Layer graham crackers over brownies following Hershey Bars and marshmallows. Pour remaining brownie batter over marshmallows. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes mostly clean from center. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Carefully remove foil and brownies from pan. Peel any foil from away from edges and cut into squares.
12 brownies

Note: Be sure to bake long enough ~ they first time I made these I didn't bake them the full 45 minutes & they didn't set as well.

Broccoli Slaw

Thanks to my healthy friends, Wendell & Katie, for this recipe! I hope to make more often as it takes really good but is also really low cal & low fat. I want to continue to find ways to spruce up Broccoli Slaw. Even Ben will eat it - who proclaims he doesn't like broccoli!



Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients
1 Bag of Broccoli Slaw
3 Stalks of Celery (chopped)
1 Garlic Clove (chopped)
½ Red Bell Pepper

Dressing
¼ Cup of Splenda
½ tsp of Celery Seed
¼ Cup of Lemon Juice
¼ Cup of White Vinegar

Orzo Salad

I've become a big fan of orzo! I have an orzo salad I make all the time - I wanted to get another one into the mix. This one fit the bill. I was able to use some of the herbs I've grown & you can pack it full of fresh summer vegetables. Next time I'd probably add some kind of cheese - feta, maybe?? The dressing is good and can be used for a variety of other things.

Orzo Salad
Source:The Kitchen Sink Blog

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 1/2 cups red, yellow, green peppers
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo. Cover partially and cook until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Drain the orzo through a strainer. Transfer the orzo to a large wide bowl and toss until the orzo cools slightly. Set aside to cool completely.
Toss the orzo with the peppers, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.
Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Finally an update! Not too much cooking going on around here lately ~~ except for the baby abrewin'! But with morning company coming and my love for all berries, I needed to get back to it!! I found a very simple to throw together recipe for blueberry coffee cake. It turned out great!



Blueberry Coffee Cake
Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (MORE!)
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar (i used brown sugar)
1 tablespoon cold butter

Directions
For batter, in a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Combine 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Toss blueberries with remaining flour. Stir blueberries and cream cheese into creamed mixture (batter will be thick). Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.