Buffalo Turkey Meatloaf

My hubby and I have always loved buffalo wings, but what we really love is the hot sauce/blue cheese combination.  It has so much flavor!  I had previously made Buffalo Turkey Meatballs, but meatballs are so labor intensive, and I don't really want to spend my time rolling meat into balls.  So, I went ahead and modified the recipe and came up with this recipe for the meatloaf.  I also double it.  You can freeze the cooked meatloaf for another meal!  Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you don't want two.  :)

Buffalo Turkey Meatloaf

2-20 oz. packages of ground turkey (or chicken)
4 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cups chopped celery
1/3 cup crumbled low fat blue cheese
1 teaspoon pepper
6 oz. Frank's Red Hot + more for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well.  Form into two loaves and place into a 15x10 glass dish.  You can also use two smaller dishes if you don't have that size.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Coat with additional Frank's Red Hot sauce and bake for 15 more minutes, or until internal temperature registers 165 degrees.  Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing.

You will notice a lot of water bakes off the loaves.  That is normal.

We really liked this!  We tend to like things a little spicy, so we added even more hot sauce to the slices we put on our plate.  I served this with broccoli.  But it would be good with any hot veggie or a big salad!

Enjoy!

Greek-Style Turkey Burgers

I first made this recipe early this past year when Frank and I were following the 17 Day Diet eating plan.  Both Frank and I realized we loved eating less carbs, and we felt better while we were doing it.  So, several of the recipes have become ones I make often.

This recipe is a modification of a few recipes I came across.  I like to make the turkey burger patties in advance and freeze them so I can pull them out easily when I want to make this recipe.

Greek Style Turkey Burgers

Burgers:
small diced onion or dried onion
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon basil
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
20 package ground turkey
Baby Spinach leave
3 tomato slices

Sauce:
1/2 cup plain, non-fat greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced

In a mixing bowl, mix the burger ingredients (except for the spinach and tomato) together and shape into 4 patties.  Grill on outdoor grill or countertop grill until burgers are cooked to 165 -170 degrees.

In a blender or food processor, place the sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. 

Serve each burger by placing a tomato slice on the plate, top with a burger patty, then a handful of baby spinach, another tomato slice, then spoon sauce over top. 

These are great if you are looking for a no/low carb meal.  Yes, you have to eat it with a fork and knife, but they are still pretty delicious!

Turkey Meatballs

As many of you may know, we have been trying to eat healthier at our house, so I have been making some changes to things we like to eat. I was looking for a good meatball recipe to make with ground turkey, and after looking at several, I put together one of my own. Sorry there is no picture....we were hurrying to eat dinner to make it to basketball on time!

Turkey Meatballs

20 oz. package ground turkey

1 egg

1/4 cup Hodgson Mill Oat Bran cereal

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1.    Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

2.    Mix all ingredients in large bowl until well combined.

3.    Roll into balls using 1 tbsp. of meat for each. (I use a 1 tbsp. cookie dough scoop to measure and then formed with my hand)

4.    Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with non-stick foil or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 8 minutes, turn over.  Bake 8 more minutes, turn over.  Bake 8 more minutes, and remove from oven. Total bake time is 24 minutes.

5.    At this point you have meatballs to use in any recipe you want!  Either eat or freeze for later use.

Makes about 45 meatballs.

These were so good, I'm thinking I won't need to make them with beef ever again. My son was gobbling them up right out of the oven. And my husband even commented on their tasty flavor.  So, this is definitely a keeper recipe for us!!!

Hope you like them, too!!

Turkey/Chicken Pot Pie

I froze some of the leftover Thanksgiving turkey so I could make this Pot Pie. I have made it before with chicken and its very yummy and pretty easy. I have no idea where I got this recipe! It could have been from a friend, a magazine, a website or somewhere else. 

Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie

Crust
1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened at room temp for 15 minutes

Filling
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Set oven to 425 degrees. Place one of the pie crusts into a 9 inch pie dish.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook and stir until tender. Add flour, salt and pepper and stir well. Add broth and milk and cook until sauce is thickened and bubbly.
Mix in the chicken and the veggies and remove from heat. Carefully pour or spoon the mixture into the pie dish line with one of the crusts. Place the remaining crust on top and crimp the edge to seal. Cut a few slits in the top of the crust..
Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cover the crust edge with foil during the last 15 - 20 minutes of bake time. Let stand 15-20 minutes before serving.


This recipe is pretty easy and self explanatory. I will tell you that my biggest pet peeve with pot pie is transferring it neatly to a plate. Ours was just big jumbled blob of crust and saucy mixture on our plates. It tasted good, just didn't look pretty. The original recipe said let it sit for only 5 minutes, and I let it sit for 20....maybe 30 would be better!?!

We all enjoyed this! Good ol' comfort food!