Turkey Meatloaf

A couple of months ago, one of my coworkers asked if I had a classic meatloaf recipe.

I immediately went to V&B, thinking I could just forward her the link ... when I realized I do not have a "traditional" meatloaf on my blog!  I couldn't believe it.  I make this recipe often, in a rotation with buffalo chicken meatloaf (which is now also a staple in our household.)

So I wanted to remedy this oversight immediately, but it's usually tough to snap a decent picture during the madness of weekday mealtimes.  Which meant I had to wait until I made it on a weekend... and the pictures are still pretty rugged, haha!

Look, as I've lamented before, it's tough to make a mound of barf-colored meat look 'sexy.'  I think I've gotten a little better, but this time I also had a hungry Mini Smalls circling like a shark.

Don't mess with the Mini when she's ready to eat - trust me, the girl is serious about her chow.  Does this look like the face of an amateur to you?

Don't be fooled by the kitty in the bottom of her bowl.  She's hardcore, I tell you.  Ruthless.

(I think she gets it from her momma - I get "hangry" too.)

In any event, I promise the taste makes up for my poor food styling & photography skills!

Turkey Meatloaf

• 16 oz. ground turkey (I use 94% lean)
• 1 egg
• 2 T. milk
• 1/2 C. plain breadcrumbs
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 3/4 t. onion powder
• 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T. dijon mustard
• 2 T. fresh parsley, minced
• 1 t. salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Glaze:

• 1/3 C. ketchup
• 1 T. barbecue sauce
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a glass pie pan or 8" square baking dish, and set
aside.  (If you like to make it in a loaf pan that's fine too, but I prefer to a larger dish so the end result is less greasy.)

Whisk eggs & milk in large bowl.  Add breadcrumbs, garlic & onion powders, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add ground turkey and mix well with hands until
thoroughly combined.

Form into a mound in prepared pan/dish and bake 50 minutes.  In bowl, prepare glaze by combining ketchup, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar.  Spread over meat, and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 2-4 people.

Original Recipe

Greek Pasta Salad

Is it seriously the 4th of July in one week?

I'm not sure where summer is going, but I'll tell you one thing - I'm pretty bummed that July 4th is on a Wednesday.

This is not my freshman year of college, people.  I do not want to party in the middle of the week.  

Best-case scenario is when you get a three-day weekend with the holiday.  Second best would be at least a Tuesday or a Thursday, so you can take an extra day off and have a four-day weekend if you choose.

But a Wednesday?

Ugh.  What am I supposed to do with that?

Picnic & eat pasta salad?

Maybe... watch some fireworks?  And then it's basically BED TIME.  

Jeez.  It's difficult to properly celebrate America's independence when I have to get up the next day at 6AM.

But if the highlight of my holiday ends up being pasta salad, this is a good one to choose.

The homemade dressing is awesome, and with this recipe's method it doesn't all end up getting sucked into the pasta.  I also happen to love roasted red peppers, feta, and kalamata olives, so for me this is a no-brainer.  I bet diced cucumber would be great in this too.

Greek Pasta Salad

Dressing

• 6 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 T. red wine vinegar
• 3 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1 large shallot clove, minced
• 1 T. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 1/4 t. ground black pepper

Salad  

• Salt
• 1 pound farfalle (bowtie) pasta
• 1 C. jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
• 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese (about 2 cups)
• 1 C. pitted kalamata olives (about 6 ounces), chopped coarse
• 1/2 C. minced fresh parsley leaves

For the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl; set aside.

For the salad, bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta, and cook until completely tender. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta in a colander. Transfer the hot pasta to a large bowl.

Stir the reserved pasta water into the dressing. Pour half of the dressing over the pasta and toss to coat. Stir in the roasted red pepper, feta, olives, and parsley.

To store, cover the pasta salad tightly with plastic wrap and poke several vent holes. Transfer the remaining dressing to an airtight container. Refrigerate the pasta salad and reserved dressing separately for up to 2 days.

To serve, shake the reserved dressing to recombine, then pour half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Add the remaining dressing as needed to keep the salad moist.  Add more salt to taste, if necessary.

Recipe Adapted from Cooks' Illustrated

Cheddar & Herb Drop Biscuits

Today was a very special day for me.

I got to wear what I would call "real" shoes for the first time in months! 

Since I went back to work in mid-February after my foot surgery, I have had to wear running shoes every day with my dress clothes.  I even had to wear them to my friend's wedding.

And it has been awful. 

I felt the sneakers were least offensive when partially covered by pants, so I have not put on a dress since the beginning of January.

But I love skirts & dresses, so do you know how painful that has been for me?  Three whole months of ignoring probably the largest section of same-type items in my closet?

This morning, I spent so long looking at all the potential outfits I could wear that I didn't have time to stop for my usual coconut iced coffee at D&D...

...which would normally be a catastrophe, but I was so jacked up on my excitement to put on a high-waisted skirt & black boots that I didn't even need caffeine!

Not to mention it's Friday. 

And after the past two days (where it actually snowed a little bit here despite the supposed beginning of Spring) it was sunny out. 

And... I came home from work and nibbled one of these leftover biscuits from last night's dinner. 

AHHH!

Seriously - could life get any better?

Actually, maybe if the biscuits had crumbled bacon in them that might be better. 

?

Just throwing that out there.

Cheddar and Herb Drop Biscuits

• 1 C. all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. white sugar
• 1/4 t. cream of tartar
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 t. minced, fresh parsley (or other herb of your choice)
• 1/2 C. cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 C. melted butter
• 1/2 C. milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, garlic powder, salt, and parsley.  Stir in butter, milk, and cheese until dry ingredients are just moistened (and cheese is evenly distributed). 

Drop batter by 1/4 C. on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake until golden on edges, 17-20 minutes, and serve warm.  Makes 6 biscuits.

Recipe Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Chicken Crunch

So if you're a regular visitor to Vittles and Bits, I'm sure you've noticed that I completely revamped the design of my blog.

In fact, I apologize if you came to the site at all yesterday, because you probably saw some cra-zazzle things. 

I'm unfortunately pretty inexperienced with blog 'design', so it took a lot of tweaking to get the site looking the way it does now.

I guess it would have been smarter to work on it late at night or on a weekday?  But once I get something in my brain, I can't rest until I do it.  (I have a similar problem with recipes, if I am struck by an idea I must make it immediately!)

In any case, you're not the only people to whom I owe an apology for yesterday's blog madness - poor Mr. Vittles would not stop complaining that I wasn't paying attention to him.

He sulked.  He pouted.  He sat on me.  He tickled me.  He threw things at me.  He put our bird's butt in my face.

Basically anything to distract me from the computer.

(FYI, despite how gross 'bird butt' sounds, it's really not.)

Now in my mind, I wasn't really ignoring him at all - but I will say I was quieter and more focused on my laptop than usual.  And as someone who rarely sits still, all this house time with me and my damaged tootsies is probably taking it's toll on him.  I'm surprised he's not climbing the walls yet.

Soooo.... in an effort to make up for my behavior yesterday, I decided to make one of Mr. V's favorite meals tonight - chicken crunch!

This is actually a dish that was introduced to me many years ago by an ex-boyfriend "old friend".  His version was made with cream of mushroom soup as the 'sauce' and he really didn't follow much of a recipe.

But I don't like mushrooms, and I eventually developed my own sauce to avoid using canned soup.

To be honest, I'm not sure where the idea for chicken crunch originated.  Maybe he made it up - today I googled it for kicks, and didn't come up with anything like it, so who knows.

But wherever the idea came from... I stole it, tweaked it to my taste, and made up this recipe.

And it helped me get out of the doghouse with Mr. Vittles.

Or, the 'bloghouse,' as it may be.  Whatever.  But that's the power of the chicken crunch.

Chicken Crunch

• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken (breasts or tenderloins)
• 3 1/2 C. dry, crushed (not cubed) herb-seasoned stuffing (with 1/2 C. reserved separately)
• 2 T. butter
• 3 T. flour
• 1/4 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. garlic power
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/4 t. ground mustard
• 1 14-oz. can reduced sodium chicken broth (about 2 C.)
• 1/2 t. dried parsley
• 2 T. heavy cream
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 to 4 T. melted butter (optional)

Make the sauce*:  Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat just until foaming.  Meanwhile, mix flour, onion & garlic powder, cayenne, and ground mustard in small bowl until combined.  Add to melted butter, and whisk until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

Add can of chicken broth and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally.  Lower heat and simmer a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.

Remove from heat and add cream, parsley, and ground pepper.  Stir to combine.  Allow mixture to cool before coating chicken (you can cover loosely and refrigerate 1-2 hours until cooled.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and grease a medium casserole dish (I usually use an 8x8 glass pan).

Reserve 1/2 C. of sauce (for serving) then place 3 C. dry stuffing and remaining sauce in two separate, shallow containers.  Dip each piece of chicken in sauce, then coat with stuffing crumbs.  Place chicken in prepared casserole dish.

Once all pieces are coated, top with reserved 1/2 C. of dry crumbs.  Then pour melted butter over top (if using).  Bake in preheated oven until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink, about 25-30 minutes for tenderloins and 35-40 minutes for breasts.

Warm remaining sauce and serve atop chicken, if desired.

*Time-Saving Tip:  You can either make the sauce a day in advance and refrigerate it, OR you can use a can of cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup sprinkled with ground pepper, onion powder, & parsley and thinned with milk until desired consistency is reached.

Original Recipe


 Hearth and Soul Hop-Volume 33!

Moroccan Chicken Kebabs

I know I posted a recipe about kebabs a couple weeks ago... but I just tried a new one, and since Kebab Season is quickly coming to a close, I had to share it with you!

It's no secret that I love Greek yogurt (some past recipes that have featured this amazing ingredient are Whole Wheat Yogurt Waffles and Cucumber & Yogurt Salad.)  It has such a thick, creamy texture and is very high in protein - especially considering it comes not only in whole milk and 2% but also nonfat!

Not everyone is down with yogurt though.  When I was preparing this chicken tonight, Mr. Vittles asked what I was making.

"Yogurt chicken" I said, to keep things short because I knew I'd totally lose him if I said the word "Moroccan."  But even without the ethnic spin, his radar was up.

"What's in it?" he said, hovering around the bowl.  I started listing the ingredients, and he said "No - I mean, what kind of yogurt?  Strawberry?  Banana?"

I'm pretty sure he was kidding, but sometimes it's hard to tell. 

However, I know he was not kidding when he commented twice that the chicken came out "really good." 

And I didn't even have to ask.

"Who knew that yogurt could make chicken taste so good?" he wondered aloud.

Umm... I did. 

That's why I made it.  :)

Moroccan Chicken Kebabs

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 C. nonfat plain yogurt
• 1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 T. chopped fresh basil (recipe called for 2 T. cilantro but I didn't have any)
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 t.)
• 1 1/2 t. paprika
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1/4 t. onion powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 t. cayenne pepper

Stir together yogurt, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne in a medium bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat well. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat grill or broiler.

Place chicken pieces on metal or bamboo skewers*.  Grill or broil the kebabs until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

*If using bamboo skewers, I would recommend soaking them in water while chicken is marinating so they don't catch on fire.  Eating Well also recommends wrapping the exposed ends in foil.

Recipe slightly adapted from Eatingwell.com