Turkey Spinach Roll

There are recipes that I have printed out and saved but for some reason have no memory of whether it was liked, needed to be tweeked, horrible, or just ok. I came across a recipe called Turkey- Spinach roll that I vaguely remember making over a year ago, but for the life of me the results are more than vague. So being the ground turkey and spinach loving household that we are, I figured it was definitely worth a try. The results were so yummy. I used a monteray jack cheese because that's what we had. I will probably use egg whites next time (guessing about 3 eggs worth), reduce the bread crumbs to 3/4 cups, and add chopped mushrooms. Other than that, here's the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Prep Time: 25 Min
Cook Time: 50 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr 15 Min

6 servings

Ingredients
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup soft whole wheat bread crumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 pound lean ground turkey
3 cups of fresh spinach -I put in microwave for about 30 seconds to wilt it

4-5 slices or 2 cups of preferred
Directions

1.In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce, eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, basil, oregano and mustard. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well.

2.On a sheet of waxed paper, pat turkey mixture into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with spinach and cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side and peeling waxed paper away while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Place seam side down in a baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Coat roll with a thin layer of tomato sauce.

3.Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Heat remaining spaghetti sauce; serve over turkey.

Let me know if you make any modifications that you really like!

Chili...kind of

It's always fun when you make up your own recipes and they don't fail, especially when you don't do it on purpose. :-)  Last week I went to make chili. Originally the recipe was for a white turkey chili but as you'll see the results were nowhere near that haha. I had chicken instead of turkey, no big deal. Never cook after a really hard spinning class if you want the recipe to come out exact.

In my post workout daze I grabbed curry powder instead of chili powder....yeah opps. It ended up like a curry chicken soup and we loved it! Below is the recipe and I hope you can enjoy as well.

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 30 Min
Ready In: 45 Min

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
about 5 chicken breasts chopped
1 (4 ounce) can canned green chile peppers chopped
1 tablespoon ground curry powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
ground cayenne pepper to taste
ground white pepper to taste
3 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
5 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic and ground turkey and saute for 10 minutes, or until turkey is well browned. Add the chile peppers, curry powder, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne pepper to taste and white pepper to taste and saute for 5 more minutes.

Add two cans of the beans and the chicken broth to the pot. Take the third can of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor. Add this to the pot along with the cheese. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.
 
 
Enjoy!

Super Easy and healthy baked chicken

You have chicken, don't want to take time to cook but need dinner. That happens a lot in our house so we often turn to baked chicken. Throw the chicken in a casserole dish (we usually use chicken cutlets in a glass or stone baking dish) and put your favorite marinade on the chicken. I use just enough to cover but not soak the chicken. *Last night's marinade was a ginger soy dressing.

I bake (covered with foil) for 45 minutes at 400 degrees.

Cook up some spinach or your favorite veggie and there you have a quick and healthy dinner option.

Week 2 of planning

The first week of menu planning was somewhat successful. Things had to be moved around and 2 of the meals didn't get made because of our busy schedules. We have another busy week ahead of us so I have created a plan so that we hopefully can get the most of our evenings. 


Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: baked chicken leftovers
Wednesday: smoothies
Thursday: slow-cooker Moroccan chicken
Friday: Date night 
Saturday: leftovers and a concert
Sunday: slow-cooker corned beef


I hope everyone had a great weekend!


Till next time...

Ragu: stolen recipe :-)

This recipe is stolen from a blog written by Kate. I claim no originality only modifications. Here is a link to her original. 

http://www.ifyoucanmakethatyoucanmakethis.com/core-recipes-savoury/pasta-with-things-you-can-buy-at-the-deli/ragu

I used it with spaghetti and the fiancée and I loved it! We didn't actually use any cheese on top but it was still so yummy and it made the kitchen smell amazing. This recipe is perfect for an afternoon when you are busy but staying in the house. 

1 large onion

1 stick of celery

1 carrot

3 cloves of garlic (1 fat clove for 2)

1 bay leaf

about 1 lb of turkey meat

1 bottle of wine (1/2 bottle for 2)

1 small can of tomatoes

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp butter

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh thyme

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

• Dice the onion and fry gently in about 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to soften
• Dice the celery and the carrot and add to the pan. Cook for about five mins until starting to soften (keep the heat low so that the onion doesn’t burn)
• Grate in the garlic
• Add the meat and stir with a fork to brown and break up a bit. Season well.
• Add the tomatoes, the sugar (brings out the tomato-y-ness of the tomatoes), the wine and the bay leaf, put the lid half on, then simmer on a low heat for 2 hours (or put in the oven at around 180 / 200ish for an afternoon)
• The sauce should be rich and thick. It can now sit in the fridge for a few days and be re-heated when needed (about 10 mins on the stove top).
• Cook your favorite pasta according to the packet instructions
• Stir the sauce through and eat, with parmesan to grate over

I hope you all find it as easy and delicious as I did!