WIAW: I'm Back...with a Turkey Burger

Guess who's back?
Back again?
WIAW's back!
Tell a friend ;)

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Sorry, I had that Eminem song stuck in my head..and what is a more appropriate place to type rap songs than my very own food blog?!

Well, it's been a while since I posted on the ole blog, huh?  I wish I had a good reason for ya, but lack of motivation is really what is to blame.  In fact, almost every Tuesday since my last post, I will take pictures of my eats with the intention of posting them on WIAW, but then it comes time to do it and I'm like "meh."  I think it's because I haven't been making too many dishes that I feel are spectacular, ya know?  Just the same old same old.  Maybe that's not entirely true, but whatever.  I'm back and happy to share my eats with you once again!

Breakfast: Waffles

I've been loving frozen waffles lately!  These are multigrain waffles from Aldi topped with a smear of natural peanut butter, some banana slices and a smattering of sugar free syrup (<--seems like an oxymoron, no?).

Snack: Pineapple

Now, I rarely buy precut fruit at the store, but I just HAD to this week.  I needed to force myself to eat some fruit.  I've been buying the usual apples and oranges, but just had to throw away a few that were withering away in the fruit bowl.  I figure if it's already cut for me, I just might eat it.  I ate about half of this pineapple, then stashed it back in the work fridge for later.

Another Snack: Fiber One Bar

A little while later, my tummy was still hungry, so I noshed on a snack bar.

Lunch: Salad

After a very hottt walk with the dogs (heat index of about 97!) I put together some salads with chopped romaine lettuce, leftover grilled chicken, broccoli/cauliflower mixture and lite poppy seed dressing.  My guy and I noshed on some pita crackers with hummus, also.

Snack: Yogurt

Later in the afternoon, the hungry monster started stirring once again, so I enjoyed this yogurt.  I like the strawberry one better, but this one was alright.

Dinner: Turkey Burger with Veg

Dinner tonight was quick and easy, thanks to my lovely indoor grill (this one from Cuisinart, if you are interested).  I grilled up some zucchini while I partially cooked a big sweet potato in the microwave, then I sliced the sweet potato in wedges and grilled them, too.
For the turkey burgers I mixed together the following..

3 Cheese Turkey Burgers
serves 4

1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp grilling rub
salt, pepper & garlic powder once pattied

So, yeah, mixed it all together and grilled until done.  Can't get simpler than that ;)

I topped mine with avocado and went bunless!
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For dessert, I could not decide between these two ice creams...so I had a scoop of each in a cake cone.

Bizzy will never give up begging for ice cream!

Speaking of Bizzy, here's a few pics after our walk yesterday for your viewing pleasure.

Do you know that Shakira She-wolf song?  I was making the howly noise from that when she made the above face-lol (Ah-woooo!)

She is my little love!

Ok, hope you have a fantastic rest of the week!  Thanks for reading! :)

WIAW: {Healthy} Grilled Turkey Meatball Subs

Hey, hey, hey!
It's time for What I Ate Wednesday again!  Yay :)
My eats aren't too exciting today, though.  They are almost a version of last week's post.

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Breakfast: Egg White with Cheese on English Muffin

Seriously with the eggs.  I cannot stop!  This week I bought the egg whites in the carton, because I was feeling bad about wasting yolks.  So I had 1/3 cup of liquid egg whites with some shredded cheese mixed in on a whole grain English muffin with some cilantro on top.  Yum yum!

Once again, I had no time for a morning snack.

Lunch: Fish Taco Salad

I made extra fish taco fixins on Monday night and turned it into a salad today.  In the mix was spring mix lettuce, cauliflower rice, smashed black beans, sauteed zucchini and onions, seasoned pan seared fish (tilapia) topped with sour cream and cilantro.  It was a really good salad!

After lunch, we played with the dogs in the backyard.  I had an iced coffee and some of these candies! I ate half of the 200 calorie bag and then saved the rest for later.

My sweet Bizzy girl loves spring weather!

Afternoon Snack: Grapes

I ate these grapes while driving home.

Dinner: Grilled Turkey Meatball Subs & Roasted Veggies

Sometimes you just need a meatball sub, am I right?

Well, I tried my hand at a healthier version, and it turned out pretty good!

Grilled Turkey Meatball Subs

serves 4

1 12" loaf of bread (I used some sourdough I got on markdown)

premade pesto (optional)

marinara or spaghetti sauce

shredded mozzarella cheese

4 slices provolone cheese

for the meatballs:

1 lb lean ground turkey (I used 93% lean) 

2 slices of 35-45 calorie wheat bread, toasted & ground in a processor (or just use 1/2 cup of premade breadcrumbs)

1/8 cup liquid egg whites 

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup cheese (grated parmesan would be best, but I used mozzarella)

generous sprinkle of the following spices: salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder

Mix all of the meatball ingredients together and form into golf ball sized balls.  Mine made 15 meatballs.

Cook in a grill pan for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until done.  Assemble!

1-Split the bread into four slices, hollow out the middle of the bread and discard extra bread.  

2-Smear on pesto and top with a sprinkle of mozzarella.

3-Place 3-4 meatballs on the bread.

4-Spoon on a little (or alot--whatever you like) marinara sauce

5-Top with a slice of provolone and melt in the oven (or in the microwave-whatever)

This might not be too pretty, but it sure was tasty!
I served mine with roasted brussels and broccoli for a perfectly balanced meal.

For dessert I had a 160 calorie toffee ice cream bar.

Thanks for reading!  Hope your day is filled with sunshine and happiness!

Summer Orzo Salad

Hooray for summer!

Hooray for quick and light summery dishes!

This one is a winner, you guys.  Make it for a quick dinner (it literally took me less than 20 minutes to throw it all together) or take it to a summer party.  The fresh produce and creamy, rice like pasta come together for a flavorful meal.

Summer Orzo Salad

serves 4 (as a side dish)

1 cup orzo pasta

1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1 ear of grilled corn (or charred over an open flame, then microwaved in the husk for 3 min.)

1 cup grape (or cherry) tomatoes, quartered

1/2 avocado, diced

2 oz crumbled goat cheese

2 tsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

optional--fresh basil (6-8 leaves, chopped)

Boil orzo according to package directions (usually 6-8 minutes).  Throw the spinach into your colander and pour the pasta over it to both drain the pasta and wilt the spinach (2 birds. 1 stone.).  Then you can let it cool a bit, or run some cold water over it for a minute.  Combine all the rest of the stuff and mix it on up.  Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold (good either way).  Yep, it's that easy.

Have a nice weekend!

If you are looking for a quick dessert that would be perfect following this, check out my 1 Minute Sea Salt Chocolate Cherry Cake at Endless Simmer. 

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

Does anyone else watch that Next Food Network Star? I love food competition shows, but this one is basically just an advertisement for Food Network. All they do is promote their network, so that is kind of lame. But I like the contestants and the challenges.

I always wonder what my platform would be if I were in the contest to be the host of a show about food. One guy makes any meal into a sandwich, some people focus on a particular type of cuisine and some flip flop around on what they want to do. I think I’m sort of a flip-flopper, too, but I’m sure it is because so many things interest me. Well, if I were on the show (which I would not want to be because of all the pressure and attention that comes with that sort of thing), I think I would bring intimidating concepts down to the everyday home cook’s level. Because I am a home cook who taught herself (or was taught by the Internet or TV shows) how to cook, so I would want to relate to viewers like me. They probably have people like that already on the Food Network; I’m not sure. I do not actually watch the network, just the one show and I watch it for free on the Internet (In your face, Food Network).

Fancy and exotic ingredients sound intimidating to some people, so they tend to stay with familiar flavors. I, myself, despise long and complicated recipes and quickly lose interest if a list of ingredients for a recipe exceeds 10 items. Well, goat cheese is quite popular on blogs and gourmet shows. Some people (*cough*my husband) are afraid of goat cheese. It weirds them out to think about eating a goat product. I don’t know why, because it is not too far from normal cheese, just a little tangier and richer.

Ok, so this recipe has 3 ingredients. Well, more if you count the salad, but you get my gist.

Today at lunch I made fried goat cheese salad. How gourmet does that sound? Took me all of 5 minutes.



Those are fried goat cheese discs on top. To make some, you need:



*Goat cheese (This is homemade goat cheese from a lady at my husband’s work. He told her I liked goat cheese and she showed up the next day with a tuperware container of the stuff)
*Egg (or egg substitute)
*Bread crumbs (I use Italian flavored)
Oops, 4 ingredients. You also need olive oil (or whatever kind of oil you have on hand)

1. Get your skillet on the stove and turn it to medium-medium high heat. Put in 1-2 tbsp of oil.
2. Scoop out some goat cheese (I used my cookie scoop), roll into a ball and flatten into a disc.
3. Get out two small bowls, put egg in one and breadcrumbs in the other. Dip the goat cheese in the egg first and breadcrumbs second.
4. Once your pan is hot, put the discs in (hopefully there will be a slight sizzle) and brown on each side.
5. Put it on your salad. Use whatever ingredients you want on your salad. I used a spinach and spring mix blend, light balsamic vinegar dressing and leftover zucchini and squash. I would have used more toppings, but that is all I had.
6. Enjoy!

The fried goat cheese tastes almost exactly like fried mozzarella sticks (without the deep fried greasiness or string of cheese coming out after each bite). So gourmet, yet so easy. Make it and impress your friends.



I enjoyed my salad along side a homemade parmesan and herb pretzel I made Sunday (don’t judge, I need my carbs) using this recipe: http://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/2011/06/soft-pretzel-dogs.html (I also made pretzel dogs—yum).

Oh, by the by, you can pick up goat cheese at most grocery stores, the kind I usually buy looks like this: