Chicken Meatloaf with Spinach and Feta Cheese

Christmas season is fast approaching and I am dreading the shipping portion of the holiday. While many women love to go to the store and shop, I am missing that gene. Don't get me wrong I like going and buying shoes and the occasional birthday gift, but there is something about Christmas shopping that makes me feel like a deer caught in the headlights. The crowds are always large, patience is at a minimum, and parking lots turn into madhouses. The whole situation just stresses me out. I end up drinking too much coffee to cope, making me even more agitated and cranky. I wish the holidays would have less importance placed on gifts and a little more focus on just enjoying the company of loved ones.

My family absolutely loves meatloaf. They would eat it multiple times a week if I let them. Since I can't eat gluten I am always looking for recipes that I can modify to fit my needs. The following is a recipe for Chicken Meatloaf with Spinach and Feta Cheese that works with both regular and gluten free panko breadcrumbs.

Recipe adapted from Redbook Magazine and Heather Cristo.

Chicken Meatloaf with Spinach and Feta Cheese

Yield: 8 servings

Calories per serving: 252
Fat per serving: 10 grams

Ingredients

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 lbs ground chicken
• 1 small onion, shredded
• 1/4 cup rough chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Greek seasoning
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Combine together panko breadcrumbs and whole milk in a small bowl.
2. Let stand until milk has been completely absorbed into breadcrumbs.
3. In another bowl combine chicken, onion, parsley, dried oregano, spinach, cheese, eggs, Greek seasoning and ground pepper.
4. Stir in panko/milk mixture.
5. Form meatloaf into a football shape and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons grainy mustard, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar.
7. Brush the top of the meatloaf with the glaze.
8. Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven.
9. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tips: 

• This recipe works very well with gluten free panko breadcrumbs. If you eat gluten free and have never tried gluten free panko breadcrumbs, they are great in meatloaf and meat dishes. 
• If you don't have Greek seasoning you can just add salt or another variety of seasoning salt. 
• Make sure to completely squeeze your spinach dry. If the spinach stays too wet the meatloaf will be soggy after baking. 

Cilantro Lime Marinated Chicken

Cilantro Lime Marinate Chicken

I had a weird relationship with chicken dishes growing up. I would love to say that I ate chicken and loved it, but I didn't. My mother was a great cook, but she favored beef, pork and seafood. She only made a few chicken dishes and most of the chicken that we ate was fried. I'm not taking about great homemade fried chicken, shaked in a brown paper bag, with delicious crispy skin. What I'm taking about is the fried chicken from the grocery store counter. It always had a slightly off flavor (I am sure they reused their oil) and my parents loved it. I couldn't stand it. When I met my husband I almost didn't marry him when he told me that he loved fried chicken. Yuck, I couldn't handle even looking at it, much less eating it. I have tried a lot of great fried chicken over the years and many people have tried to convert me, but I am sorry to say that I still can't stomach it. The grease does me in the same way that pancakes at a greasy spoon do, my stomach just says no thanks. Since I married a man that is big on any type of chicken and my two boys will eat chicken dishes before much of anything else I have learned to compromise. I make a lot of chicken dishes, just not fried. Every couple of months my family (without me) goes out and has fried chicken, they are happy and I am too.

Tonight was a chicken night in my household. I love using marinades on chicken. It keeps the meat moist and adds flavor without being over powering. Tonight I tried a new recipe for Cilantro Lime Chicken from Redbook Magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 1 hour of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First I used a yellow onion. I already had a bag and didn't see the need to buy another bag of white onions when I would only use one. For the honey I am lucky enough that my husband's cousin raises bees and gave us a jar of homemade honey. If you have never had homemade honey, it is so much better than the honey from the grocery store. Plus if you have allergies local honey is supposed to help you be more resistant to pollen issues. I found that I needed to flip my chicken approximately once every ten minutes, so four times total during the baking time. The chicken tended to start to burn and stick to the foil without this step (I had used canola spray and it still stuck from the honey).

The flavor on this chicken was delicious. I would suggest a couple of changes. The skin didn't crisp as much as I would prefer. In order to change this I would either take off the skin (which would also save a significant amount of fat) or broil the chicken the last 5 minutes. This way the skin would have a crisp outside while maintaining the delicious cilantro-lime flavor. My kids loved this recipe and my youngest ate two legs all by himself (which is a ton for a 4 year old!). It is definitely kid friendly and a good way to introduce your kids to cilantro and jalapeño.

For the recipe go to Cilantro Lime Chicken.

Cilantro Lime Marinated Chicken

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A simple roasted chicken recipe with a Cilantro Lime Marinade. Can be made more or less spicy by seeding or leaving the seeds in the jalapeño.

Preparation Time: 0h, 10m

Total Time: 1h, 0m

Yield: Serves 4

Summer Grilling Time: Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

It is finally raining after a very hot week. Some people love the heat and humidity, I am not one of them. Having grown up in Seattle even when summer was at it hottest it was nowhere like it is where I live now. My mother was determined before she came out for my wedding that according to the weather channel the humidity wouldn't be that bad. It was 95 and very humid the day of my wedding. My mother never said another word about the weather. It didn't help anything that our wedding was outside, the rose garden was beautiful where we were married, but it was hot! Even my tomatoes are unhappy with the near 100 degree, hot and humid weather this week. They are not happy at all and I have lost a number of leaves to heat scorch. So let it rain as much as it want. There is something great about southern summer storms. Since the heat has been high I have been using the oven as little as possible. Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Jamaican Jerk Chicken from Redbook magazine.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 22 minutes of total time (plus marinating), all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes o the original recipe. First I used a seeded jalapeno. Since my kids were eating it I wanted to cut down on the spiciness. I used my indoor electric grill, with this heat I had no desire to go outside. I left out the time, because honestly I forgot. I was too busy doing other things that I failed to read it in the ingredient list. I served the finished chicken with basmati rice.

The sauce on this chicken is deliciuos. It is a nice combination of spicy and sweet. Seeding the jalapenos was perfect, it really cut down on the heat, which was perfect for my kids. This dish was even better the next day after the flavors had sat on the chicken over night. Plus it re-heated very well.

This recipe is currently not available online (Redbook's decision - not mine). You can find it in the August issue of Redbook magazine. (I think that is the issue, but for whatever reason they don't put the month on the bottom of the recipe pages - hint, hint Redbook). 

Recipe for Tuscan Turkey Burgers with Fresh Basil

Tuscan Turkey Burgers with Fresh Basil and Tomatoes

I was so happy that tonight I was able to use fresh herbs from my herb garden for my dinner recipe. My herbs are doing better than I expected and will save me so much money this summer. Growing my own basil is one way that I know that I will save money since I use basil at least once a week for dinner. The herbs available at the grocery store are over priced and start to brown by the time I am able to use them. Being able to just go out and cut the amount that I need is so nice. Plus the flavor is noticeably better than store bought. One food I love adding fresh basil to is burgers. It can take a regular burger from ordinary to something memorable. Last week I tried a new recipe for Tuscan Turkey Burgers from Redbook magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I made gluten free biscuits and then made bread crumbs in my food processor. I also used my indoor grill to cook the burgers, which helped to reduce the fat without reducing the flavor. For my serving I ate the burger between two gluten free biscuits, for the rest of my family I made homemade hamburger buns.

These burgers have a tendency to crumble when you try to flip them over so be careful. I actually waited until the next day to take the photo. After sitting in the fridge the burgers were much firmer and easier to deal with. It might be a good idea to place the burgers in the fridge to firm before cooking them. I thought these burgers were great without lettuce so if you are unable to find Boston lettuce you can leave it out. Overall these burgers turned out very moist and were enjoyed by my whole family.

For the recipe go to Tuscan Turkey Burgers.

Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions and Homemade Bread

Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onion and Homemade Bread

Today the weather was mild and it made me think about spring. I love spring and I am so ready to start my garden and enjoy the warmer weather. One of the other things i love about spring are the vegetables. In my house spring vegetables means one thing, ramps. Haven grown-up in Seattle I had never heard of a ramp before moving to West Virginia. Then I happened to marry someone from the edge of the Monongahela National Forest and the heart of ramp country. The first year we were married his mom brought us a large bag of dirty roots, I thought she was crazy. Then my husband explained that they had to be cleaned first and then could be used the same way as a onion or leek. I feel in love with them. Now every March I start asking my mother-in-law if the ramps have started to appear. With the warmer weather and start of March I am busy thinking about all the dishes that I will make this spring. Onions in general are a big spring item in my household and this week I tried a new recipe for Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions from Redbook Magazine.

Gluten Free Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 33 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 sandwiches. I made two versions of this sandwich, one for my husband and two boys and one for me. For my version I used gluten free bread, which I made from scratch and for the version for my family I made homemade crusty bread using the Dutch oven. For the cheese I followed the suggestion and used Gruyere and Sharp Cheddar. Instead of grilling the sandwiches on the stove I used my indoor electric griddle. I love using my griddle, it reduces the chance of burning and the crust always comes out even.

I served the sandwiches with tomato soup and the combination was delicious. The recipe for the tomato soup will be up on my blog tomorrow night. My boys ate their servings without the onions. They aren't fans of onions, but love grilled cheese sandwiches so they loved them none the less. My husband absolutely loved the sandwiches with the homemade bread and ate three for dinner. This recipe was definitely a hit and can be modified to use whatever type of cheese you prefer.

For the recipe go to Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions.

Easy Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries

I love making breakfast from scratch. There is something so great about making up a big batch of pancakes or waffles and then enjoying them with butter and maple syrup. My love of breakfast foods comes from my father. Growing-up my father could only make one dish, fried potatoes. So every Sunday he would wake up early and make a huge breakfast. My mom would help with making the pancakes and I would make the scrambled eggs. It was one of my favorite things about my family growing up. I have never lost this love of breakfast and my two boys have followed on the tradition. My youngest son especially loves pancakes. He somehow managed to eat an entire batch of pancakes all by himself this morning. I don't know how he can eat so much, but never gain an ounce. Since everyone in my house loves breakfast I try new breakfast recipes frequently. Today I tried a new recipe for Basic Buttermilk Pancakes from Redbook Magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 16 4-inch pancakes. Since I eat gluten-free I used brown rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. Additionally I substituted canola oil for the unsalted butter and decreased the amount to two tablespoons. Since my youngest loves blueberries I added 1 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries to the batter. The best way that I have found to make great pancakes is to use a griddle. They always turn out nicely browned and never under or over done. After the pancakes were done I topped them with maple syrup. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These pancakes turned out perfect. They weren't too sweet and the blueberries blended perfect with the maple syrup topping. I had to make an additional batch since my youngest ate the entire first batch. He really loved them, especially the blueberries. These pancakes are also a great base for making a number of changes such as adding chocolate chips, bananas etc.

For the recipe go to Easy Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries.

Sweet and Spicy Greek Meatballs

There is something about the smell of cinnamon that I find intriguing. It is one of my favorite spices to cook and bake with both for the great flavor and the delicious smell. However, since I have two currently very picky young boys they can be hit or miss with eating dishes heavy on the cinnamon. If a dish is sweet such as raisin bread or coffee cake, they love cinnamon, but meat dishes can be another story entirely. The last time I made cabbage rolls they told me that they were spicy (as in a strong cinnamon taste), so I stopped making dishes with large amounts of cinnamon. In the last couple of months though, I have been politely encouraging my sons to broaden their bacon oriented horizons to new foods. I really don't know how they stay in the 5th percentile for weight since they are always eating, thank you to my dad for his great genetics! I was happy to find a recipe for Sweet and Spicy Greek Meatballs in a recent issue of Redbook Magazine, which looked full of flavor from a number of spices including cinnamon.

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of prep and 18 minutes of cooking time and makes 4-6 servings. I did make a few ingredient modifications. Thanks to my kids helping my memory I completely forgot to buy parsley, so I left it out of the recipe completely. Additionally, I still haven't bought more oregano so I substituted Italian seasoning (I will actually buy oregano one of these days, I promise!). For the meat I chose to buy lamb and grind it myself. Grinding your own meat is very easy and the texture and taste is so much better than pre-ground. The cooking times in this recipe were pretty spot on and I followed the instructions as written. I ended up with 15 meatballs total.

My husband and oldest son really enjoyed this recipe. I was worried that my sons would turn up their noses at this dish since it uses a large amount of spice, but my 6-year-old ate his entire serving. I thought that the mint flavor was a little strong. I think if I make this recipe again I would reduce the amount of mint to a teaspoon and a half. As written the tablespoon of mint made the meatballs a little strong on the mint taste. I thought that the meatballs tasted like the inside of a cabbage roll, which I love. It was nice to try a different type of meatball other than the regular pork and beef varieties. Overall, a dish full of flavor and only takes a little over a half an hour to prepare. 

For the recipe go to Sweet and Spicy Meatballs.

Redbook Tagliatelle with Pesto, Asparagus, and Shrimp

Growing up I was always the kid asking for seconds of asparagus at the Easter table. I love asparagus and have passed on the feelings to my two boys. In the spring when the prices on asparagus go down and they are readily available I buy them at least once a week. For a number of years I made steamed asparagus and added various sauces. Then about 5 years ago I discovered that asparagus is delicious when cooked in pasta dishes or roasted. The great flavor remains without the outside becoming slimy and unappetizing. Recently, Redbook magazine had a recipe for Tagliatelle with Pesto, Asparagus, and Shrimp which looked easy with only 6 ingredients and full of one of my favorite vegetables asparagus.

This recipe has 6 ingredients. It takes 5 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of cooking and makes 4 servings. I used fresh fettuccine since it is the only fresh pasta that was available. To save time during dinner prep I shelled and de-veined the shrimp in the morning. Additionally, I cut the asparagus in the morning, so my dinner prep was minimal. I did notice that the cooking time for the pasta in the recipe is off. My pasta only took a total time of 3 minutes so I added the asparagus at the same time since it needed to be cooked 2-3 minutes. Finally, it took a little longer than the suggested 3 minutes for the wine to reduce. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I made this dish after a very long day visiting family over the weekend. I was able to make everything in 15 minutes, which was great! My two boys loved the shrimp and ate their servings quickly. Using fresh pasta saves a lot of time, especially when making dinner at the last minute. Best of all the recipe has 46 grams of protein. Overall, a very quick recipe using fresh vegetables and child friendly.

For the recipe go to Tagliatelle with Pesto, Asparagus, and Shrimp.

Redbook Cauliflower and Tomatoes

My two kids were great about eating their vegetables until about a year ago. Now they love fruit and will eat whole bags of apples a week, but getting them to eat the vegetables on their plate can be hit or miss. My husband on the other hand is the opposite, he love vegetables and will eat as many as I put in front of him, but it's like pulling teeth to get him to eat a piece of fruit. I fall somewhere in the middle, I love both fruit and vegetables and eat large servings of each everyday. One of my favorite ways to get everyone in my household to eat their vegetables is to roast them. Roasted vegetables have a delicious nutty flavor and are very popular in my house. Combining fresh herbs and roasted vegetables is easy and flavorful and Redbook magazine recently had a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Tomatoes which looked perfect for my family dinner table.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of prep and cooking time and makes approximately 4-6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and made no substitutions. There were a few things with the recipe that I had to change. The temp was too high and the roasting time too long. I ended up roasting the recipe at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I also made sure to toss the cauliflower twice during the cooking time or they would have otherwise burned. Granted I did make my cauliflower heads small, so if you keep the heads on the larger side than the original temp and time might work more sufficiently. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Roasted vegetables are a great way to get people who hate boiled or steamed vegetables to eat a recipe. I liked that this recipe was simple and the combination of the cauliflower and rosemary worked well together. The tomatoes created a nice sweet flavor and the garlic brought everything together. Overall, a great, easy and flavorful vegetable side dish recipe.

For the recipe go to Cauliflower and Tomatoes.

Redbook Sweet and Spicy Cashews

The last few months have been up and down with my health. I realized after being in the hospital for the second time a couple of weeks ago that I needed to start taking better care of myself. I always try to cook from scratch, but I tended to grab the baked goods that I made rather than protein snacks. So in the last couple of weeks I have re-done my snack routine. Gone are the cookies and sweets that I would love to be able to enjoy all the time. I've realized that I've finally got my potassium back up and I would like to keep it that way. Therefore I have started eating more fruit and having protein with all my snacks. It has been a learning curve for sure, I would love to say that I enjoy bananas and milk, but it's a struggle. I do love nuts, peanut butter, and cheese, so increasing my protein has been relatively easy. Recently, Redbook Magazine had a recipe for Sweet and Spicy Cashews, which looked easy and full of flavor.

This recipe has 5 ingredients. It takes 10 minutes of prep and 40 minutes of cook time and makes 3 cups of nuts. With only 5 ingredients I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no modifications. I did find that I had to turn the nuts more than the once suggested by the recipe, otherwise they would have burned. Additionally, I found that the temp was too high to put the nuts in for 40 minutes. I either suggest turning the oven down to 275 degrees or lessening the cooking time. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Nuts are a great source of protein, but plain roasted nuts can get boring. This recipe was a great break from my normal roasted almonds routine I liked that the Chinese-five-spice and cayenne gave the recipe a slightly spicy taste, while the sugar made the cashews sweet. Overall, a very simple nut recipe that's full of flavor.

For the recipe go to Sweet and Spicy Cashews.

Redbook Lemon-Caper Chicken

Growing up I remember eating a lot of chicken. My mother was a great cook, but when it came to chicken it was either fried or oven baked and not much else. When I got married to my husband I was lacking in the chicken recipe department and mostly made oven baked chicken with store bought BBQ sauce. My pan fried chicken was downright horrible and it took me many years before it became anywhere near great. Luckily today I have a variety of chicken dishes that I prefer and chicken is one of my children's favorite foods. Recently, Redbook magazine had a recipe for Lemon-Caper Chicken, which looked delicious and easy for a busy weeknight meal.

This recipe has 11 ingredients (plus 4 additional for the master chicken recipe). The total time is approximately 10 minutes of prep and 8 minutes of cooking time. The recipe makes four servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store, and many I already had in my fridge and pantry. I am not a fan of chicken breast. I have tried many times to make it with tons of different recipes and I just don't have the taste for it even though it's healthier. Instead, I substitute thighs, which I did in this recipe. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

The sauce for this chicken was delicious. At first my two sons turned their noses up at the sauce, but after tasting the dish, ate their whole servings. My five-year-old was particularly fond of the capers and tried picking them off his brother's plate. I loved how easy this recipe was and how I had dinner done in less than twenty minutes. Overall, a great, fast weeknight meal.

For the recipe got to Lemon-Caper Chicken.

Redbook Oat-rageous Chocolate-Chip Pancakes

I've been struggling with getting my two growing boys to eat breakfast. Some weeks they love eggs, the next they hate them, and so on and so forth. I have tried just about every breakfast recipe I can find, with no luck in getting them to eat anything more than a bite or two. The one breakfast food that they have been pretty good about eating at least a little of, is pancakes. I love pancakes also, but most of the time I prepare them with white flour, sometimes with fruit, but overall they are lacking in the nutrition department. I have been trying to find a healthier pancake recipe and was pleased when the July issue of Redbook magazine had a recipe for Oat-rageous Chocolate-Chip Pancakes.

This recipe has 10 ingredients including salt. I used regular egg whites, rather than liquid egg whites and tripled the recipe, so I used 3 egg whites total. I made the rest of the recipe as stated with no modifications. I did notice that even when tripled, the recipe made far fewer pancakes than the 5 suggested per serving. In total my tripled recipe made about 10 pancakes.

My two boys really enjoyed these pancakes. They only noticed that the pancakes had chocolate chips, not that they also included whole-wheat flour and old-fashioned oats. I liked that since only egg whites were used that the fat is lower and that there are whole grains, which Im trying to incorporate more in my kid's diet. I would recommend using two eggs whites per serving. I felt that the pancakes were a little thick and increasing the egg whites would make for fluffier pancakes. Overall,  a great nutritious way to get healthy grains into my family's diet.

For the recipe go to Redbook Oat-rageous Chocolate-chip Pancakes.

Redbook Thai Salmon Stir-Fry

In the last few months I have been making an effort to cook more fish and white meat for my family. I waited until my youngest was over two to introduce fish into his diet, and he has loved it ever since. My older son is also a huge seafood fan and I have been trying to introduce him to a number of different types of fish. So far their favorite has been salmon. Having grown up in the pacific northwest I love salmon and try to eat it at least once every couple of week. This month Redbook magazine had a recipe for Thai Salmon Stir-Fry which looked delicious and simple.

This stir-fry goes together in less than ten minutes. Cutting the salmon and peppers takes the longest amount of prep, which is still under five minutes. I was unable to find madras curry paste, so I substituted tikka masala paste which was available at my local store. I served the recipe over long grain rice since that was what I had in my pantry cupboard. Wild caught copper river sockeye was the type of salmon that I was able to find at the nice grocery store in my area, which I was very happy with and the taste was delicious. Make sure that the salmon does not get overcooked or it will detract from the taste.

Thai salmon stir-fry was a huge hit in my family. I thought that the taste was delicious and I loved the combination of the curry and salmon. The recipe held up well the next day when my husband took it to work and re-heated it. This is a great, quick recipe, which would be great for a busy weeknight meal.

For the recipe go to Redbook Thai Salmon Stir-Fry.