Turkey Meatloaf

I've been told it gets easier as you develop a routine.  With that said I have been back to work full-time for 1 month now and I still don't feel like I have our routine down to envelope all the 'wants' and 'needs' it should.
  
As a planner I do need something, so for now I have tasks I aim to accomplish with some sense of regularity and they look something like this... 
  
I will strive for at least 1 blog post a week.
I will wash The Kiddo as needed, but at minimum 2 days a week.

I will make it a priority to workout 3 days a week.

I will make home cooked meals at least 4 days a week.

I will eat salad for lunch at work 5 days a week.

I will crawl out of bed at 4am to pump at least 6 days a week.
And for my favorite  - 

I will cuddle, snuggle and love The Kiddo 7 days a week :)

Everything is in the mouth these days!

Prior to The Kiddo, we had routine...along with flexibility and times that we reserved for absolute nothingness.  
It's not with much shock that I say our world (well my world entirely and Hubs' partially) has been taken over, flipped upside down and turned inside out since the arrival of our son.  
BUT I can honestly say, there is nothing better in this upside down, inside out world than having a little one of our own.

A Friday afternoon at the office

Our meals have slowly been evolving.  I've learned I no longer have an hour to prepare multi-step dinners that require constant attention.  Rather we now enjoy meals I can prep in 30 minutes or less and can be finished under the supervision of Hubs.

One such meal we love is Turkey Meatloaf.  So good in fact you'll never miss the beef!

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Turkey

1 diced Red Onion

2 tbls Minced Garlic

1 tbls Double Concentrate Tomato Paste

1 tbls Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Thyme

Olive Oil

Salt/Pepper

Ketchup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Begin by sauteing the Red Onion and Garlic in Olive Oil, season with Salt/Pepper and Thyme.

Once the Onions begin to soften add Tomato Paste and Worcestershire sauce, cook until combined and onions are completely softened.

Once the Onion mixture is cooled, combine in large mixing bowl with Ground Turkey.
  

Shape Turkey into a loaf shape on a baking sheet.

Cover the top with Ketchup and bake for 50 minutes or until done.

This recipe makes enough for dinner with leftovers for lunch.

Quick-n-Easy, Chicken & Kale Dinner

Adjusted from Food and Wine Recipe Online (based on what I already had at home) this dinner was just one pan and minimal effort for a new DELICIOUS OUTCOME.  

    

The Kiddo at 15 Weeks for this one  :)

Perfect for any busy Mommy 

  
Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Kale
Ingredients
1 bunch of kale, stems and inner ribs removed
1 large (or 2 smaller) Yukon Gold Potato
1 medium sweet onion
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Paprika
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Lemon wedges, for serving
  
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  
In large/deep roasting pan, toss kale, potatoes and onion with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Arrange in an even layer along the bottom of the pan.
  
Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika.  Set on top of kale mix in pan.
  

Cover pan with foil and roast for 20 minutes in the upper third of the oven.
  

Remove foil and roast for another 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
  

Plate chicken and vegetables, serve with lemon wedges to squeeze along top before eating.  Delicious, health, quick and a will do again!  
  
The potatoes softened, the kale was soft with scrumptious crisp edges, the onion was just the prefect flavor enhancer and the chicken was lovely.  
  
Note, the original recipe called for leg quarters, which you then separate to thigh and drumstick before cooking.  I know the bone-in and skin on would make this even that much more delicious...but for convenience sake the boneless, skinless chicken thighs worked just perfect for us!

Are you READY?!?! Return of Grilled Pizzas :)

Believe it or not, Hubs still had not tried Grilled Pizzas!

Hubs' April deployment last year meant he missed a number of things...

He missed the rainy mud season indicative of a New England Spring.  He missed the beautiful shades of green and blossoming flowers of June.  He missed the family BBQs and beach time with friends in July.  He missed the sunsets and s'mores of August.  He missed the VT fall, returning to cool November and making it home just in time for the snow.

Although he was in 100+ degree weather in the middle of a desert, those 7 months away from the beautiful changing seasons must have felt like hibernation.

With the official start of summer just around the corner, Hubs has already begun to take in and indulge in all that he missed last year while overseas.  He has taken back the duty of mowing our lawn, trimming our trees, working on the garden, etc...it's pretty great to have a man around the house again :)

Can you believe I've been so absent minded to forget Hubs had not experienced the ease, versatility and tastiness of the grilled pizza?!?!

Pizza 1:  Tomato, Basil, Olive Oil

 

Big Pizza 2:  Spinach and Garlic Chicken Sausage, Mushrooms, Bell Peppers and Red Onion

Pizza 3:  Leftovers from Pizza 1 and Big Pizza 2 with Turkey Pepperoni...'The Supreme'

(btw did you know Turkey Pepperoni has 70% less fat than the regular stuff and still tastes pretty darn good?!?!)

 

Fresh Mozzarella for all 3 Grilled Pizza Creations

Homemade pizza sauce for Big Pizza 2 and Pizza 3.

The sauce was a simmered combo of Canned Roma Tomatoes (2010 garden), tomato paste, fresh thyme (2011 garden), garlic, red pepper flake and salt/pepper. 

This sauce was super concentrated flavor with a spicy bite!

 

Over by the Naan in our grocery store, I noticed this new round Flatbread Pizza Crust, so thought we'd give it a whirl!

All the toppings were piled on and they hit the grill.

(In case you need a quick refresher...before piling on, I brush the bottoms of the crust with a bit of canola oil, and then the tops with some olive oil.  The goodies are piled on and the pizzas are grilled over indirect heat)

 

Big Pizza 2 on top of the new Flatbread Crust (which I will buy again).

 

Pizza 1 and Pizza 3 on Garlic Naan, yum!

Fresh Basil was added to finish off Pizza 1 and...

 

and Pizza 3

 

Big Pizza 2 all melty and done

After spending years in search of a good pizza joint for us, we thought we had found 'The One' just a couple months ago.  Let me tell you...these grilled beauties tasted so good, Hubs said they were the best pizzas we'd had in a long time...and better than pizza from 'The One'!

While it's nice to hear such positive remarks on the grilled pizza creations...'The One' is still going to be our go-to when even grilled pizzas are too much and I simply need a night off from the kitchen  ;)

Spring Veg-e-ta-bles

I finally made it to the Farmers Market!

I knew there wouldn't be much outside of garden starters this early in the season, but I was hopeful I'd at least be able to pick up salad greens for the week...and well, to be honest - the Tibetan Lady's Dumplings and Hot Sauce :)

Luckily for me my pal Blue Light agreed to accompany me!!

Once there I was delightfully reminded of spring vegetables...there was an abundance of fresh cut asparagus.

I payed $5.50 lb for this stuff...seems pretty outrageous to me, yet so Btown  :P

So much for Farm Prices at the farmer's market this trip! 

This is once again another reminder that I really need to commit to a CSA next year.

So as not to ruin or cover up the bare flavors of the asparagus, I used just a touch of oil, salt and pepper and then hit the grill.

Rotating every so often until softened.

I also whipped up some great turkey burgers.

I used fresh parsley (from our garden!), garlic, salt and pepper. 

For grilling I used a brush of canola oil on the burgs to prevent them from sticking to the grates.

Bunless grilled turkey burgers and grilled farmers market asparagus.

We did have some store bought Taziki Dip leftover from the weekend, so used that as a condiment for our burgers.

Easy, fresh and healthy dinner  :)

Incidentally, I was reminded of this post due to some awful asparagus I picked up at the grocery store for dinner last night.  Now that I've been treated to the farm fresh bundles of this stuff...it's hard to go back.

Skew it on the BBQ - Pizza for One, #2

More Grilled Pizza...
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As I've mentioned previously, B&A were headed off on a European Vacation. As gardeners and CSA members, they had a bounty of freshness to share with me as they packed their bags, harvested and cleaned out the fridge.
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For this pizza I utilized the fresh sage and microgreens they gifted me...
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Prosciutto was also about 40% off at the deli, so I had to buy some. Otherwise I had everything else lying around...
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The naan comes in packs of two, so here I used up the last one.
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There were some extra tomatoes as well.
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OK, so I am not sure if it is a VT thing, a SoVT thing, or just a girl thing...but I ALWAYS have cheese in the house. Actually I usually have at least 3+ kinds in the house just cause I LOVE CHEESE and am NOT afraid to eat it haha!! This time around I went with a drier shredded mozzarella.
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As I did before I oiled the naan (canola underneath, garlic olive oil on top), layered on the goods and grilled at 350 degrees.
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Just as I had hoped, the prosciutto took on a wonderful crisp!

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The microgreens were piled on and yes, some more of that delicious Balsamic Glaze drizzled over the top (really a wonderful discovery!!).

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The sage went PREFECT with the salty prosciutto and mozzarella...actually everything melded together amazingly well =o)

There will be more Grilled Pizza creations coming...it's just so darn easy, tasty and the combinations are endless!!

Skew it on the BBQ - Pizza for one, #1

Summer is here! Being the end of what is a wonderful long 4th of July weekend, the grills have been working hard all around the country :o)

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As my first 4th of July weekend without Hubs here, I was motivated to get out and be around people. Friday afternoon began with a wonderful round of golf with my redneck BFF...

Saturday was spent lounging with my in-laws at their camp on the lake...

* and Sunday a trip to my hometown for my family's annual 4th of July Party.

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All in all it's been a great balance of R&R

(and chance to get back to the blog)!

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Any who, other than the grilled turkey burger I made on Saturday, I've not done much cooking myself. I've been fortunate enough to be the guest at others' meals. Below is not something I did this weekend, but is one of my newest addictions and does involve the Grill.

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It's an efficient meal that is oh-so flexible, easy to cook for one...and most importantly, absolutely delicious!!
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Inspired by my Sister in Law, here is my recent (and first) attempt at Grilled Pizzas!

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Fresh basil from my garden, fresh mozzarella (which one day I will make myself) and tomatoes.
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A recent find at Costco...an affordable, ready to-go balsamic reduction.
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Beginning with store bought garlic naan, the underside was brushed with canola oil and garlic olive oil over the top...

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...then the tomatoes, grilled sweet Italian turkey sausage, mozzarella and basil were layered on.

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With the grill heated to 350 degrees, the pizza was placed about midway up the grates, so as not to be directly over the flames. Please note, do put the pizza straight on the grates...no pan, foil, etc are necessary.

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Really a no fuss meal, the lid was closed and only opened to rotate the pizza halfway through cooking.

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Once the bottom was toasty looking and cheese melted, my newest pick up of Balsamic Glaze was drizzled on.

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YUM!

Pizza for One, #1 - so quick, easy and tasty!!

Happy Friday Mini Sox!

Fridays are like holidays and they are definitely worth celebrating!

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The conclusion of Mama Sox's semester has come and my pre-arranged duties of caring for Mini Sox expired. Last Friday was our final hoorah...well at least for now :o)

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With it being Friday, Mini Sox's schedule is a bit more flexible and he was able to come over to my house for dinner and hanging out. We began our evening with a trip to the grocery store, where Mini Sox pushed around a pint-sized shopping cart assisting Auntie Gullible with picking up ingredients for a special feast.

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Once home, Mini Sox was allowed 30 minutes of tv...yup, that's right! I finally know the truth about how much tv he is allowed to watch. His pick and recent obsession...Scooby Doo!!!

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As he watched tv, I got to work in the kitchen with first cleaning the mussels and cutting broccoli. Following a Giada recipe, this is super simple -

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Add 1 pound of pasta to boiling water and cook for 6 minutes. Add broccoli florets and cook until pasta is al dente. Meanwhile in a large pan heat some olive oil and add garlic. Then to the pan add wine, salt, pepper, red pepper flake and finally the mussels. Cook until all of the mussels have opened, discarding those remaining closed. Combine drained pasta/broccoli and mussel mix in a large bowl and you're done!

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Mini Sox LOVES mussels, so it was a hit!

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At the start of dinner, with his sparking grape drink (which yes, he picked out for himself) and my glass of wine, we toasted to 'Happy Friday!'
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We also enjoyed a scrumptious seeded baguette...with butter!! Like any good food lover, Mini Sox was super excited about the butter haha!
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Auntie Gullible wanted to make sure this meal was all it could be for Mini Sox, so we each picked out a delicious dessert from the pastry cooler. His choice was this super dense flourless chocolate cake...
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The worrisome part was he took a couple bites, looked at me and said: yum, coffee! Uh-oh!!! I tried a bite, but couldn't tell if it was just a dark chocolate bitterness or if there was coffee...who knows maybe it was both haha!
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He did admit to me that he has tried Papa Sox's coffee before and I know he has eaten the Hubs-fav Coffee Banana Cream Pie on occasion...I just hope Mama Sox did not have a restless boy later that night...and if she did, I will take all the blame!! Sorry and yes, I've learned that I need to ask the nice grocery store folks first what it is I am buying (or rather what is in it) for such a wee little one.
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I chose this coconut pastry...it was awesome and I know something Hubs would just have LOVED!
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Mama Sox came over after her final class and we visited for a bit. It was a Happy Friday!!
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All in all it was a successful semester and the perfect taste of what everyday could be like when Hubs and I have one (or two) little ones of our own :oD