Hamburger Pie

                                                                   Hamburger Pie

Tonight's dinner is hamburger pie. Where to begin? Hamburger pie is something my mom has always made and most people call it sheppard's pie, but not us! The way my mom usually makes it is a pound of ground beef topped with mashed potatos and corn and chedder cheese. Over the years I started adding mushrooms and onions to mine. Tonight I made it a little different trying to lighten up. I thought about making it without any meat at all, but I couldn't bring myself to make hamburger pie with out the hamburger, it seemed wrong. My other idea was to make cauliflower mashed potatos instead of regular but the commissary was out of cauliflower so I think I might try that next time...I'm going to start with my mashed potato recipe, I would hope everyone kows how to make mashed potatos, but I know alot of people make them out of a box, we don't believe in those around here! I'm even going to include my mom's secret ingredient, I hope she doesn't kill me;) The hamburger pie recipe that I'm going to put on here is for the lightened up way that I made it tonight.

Real Mashed Potatos (serves 4)
2 large potatos or 3-4 small red potatos
3 tablespoons light butter
about 1/4 cup lowfat milk
1 teasoopn low fat mayonaise
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove. Wash and dice the potatos and put them in the pot of water. Boil for about 2-30 minutes untill potatos are tender, drain. Put the potatos back into the pot and mash using a potato masher, mix in all other ingrediants untill well combined.

Lightened up Hamburger Pie    (serves 4)
1/2 pound of lean ground beef, browned
1 cup onions, chopped
2 cups white mushrooms, chopped or sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
mashed potatos from above recipe
1 cup fat free shredded chedder cheese
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute mushrooms and onions on medium high heat with a little bit of cooking spray. When they are done add the cooked meat and seasonings. After you have made the mashed potato stir in the frozen corn. In a baking dish layer the ingredients starting with the meat mixture. Cover that with the mashed potato mixture spread evenly. Top it with the cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

I used to make mashed potatoes with real butter, and lots of it! Now I use light butter and about half as much and it's almost as good. I never peel potatos when making mashed potatos, basically because I'm lazy and don't like peeling potatoes...I like them with the peeling and it saves me a step, but feel free to peel them if you're into that kind of thing;) I only used 1/2 a pound of meat to cut some calories, also since this only makes 4 servings using the full pound would be to much meat per serving...Plus now I have a 1/2 pound of cooked ground beef in the fridge, may come in handy making the kids lunches and stuff:) Hope you enjoy this healthy versions of one of our family's favorites. Dinner's ready!

Pizza Night

                                                          Barbeque Chicken Pizza
Tonight is pizza night! The kids and I had some friends over for dinner and I tried out a new pizza dough recipe that I found on allrecipes.com. I have been wanting to try to make barbeque chicken pizza because I miss the one at Schlotzsky's . I also made a pepperoni pizza for the kids. Both of them turned out really good and I think this crust recipe is a keeper that I will make again!

allrecipes.com/jays signature pizza crust

Barbeque Chicken Pizza    (serves 4-5)
8 ounces of chicken breasts or tenders, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
about 1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded chedder cheese
1 small onion cut into small strips
1/2 jar of jalapenos
1/2 batch of pizza dough(recipe above)

Spread the barbeque sauce on the dough and then spread the chicken evenly on top. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese followed by the onion and jalapeons. Top with the chedder cheese and bake according to pizza dough instructions(about 15-20 minutes on 425).

I made the kids a pepperoni pizza using the other half of the dough, for that I prebaked the crust about 5 minutes then topped with tomato sauce, turkey pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese and then baked it for about 15 more minutes. On the barbeque chicken pizza I used low fat chedded cheese to cut down on a few calories. This is very simple to make, just takes time if you decide to make the dough. If you are not comfortable making it yourself you could always used store bought dough or pizza crust. But, the dough is not hard to make at all, I am not a baker but I did just fine. If you haven't ever made it yourself give it try, you may never go back to store bought! I also made these for dessert....chocolatecoveredkatie.com/worlds healthiest chocolate chip cookies YUM! Dinner's ready!

      

Turkey Smoked Sausage Sandwiches with Baked Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries

                                Turkey Smoked Sausage Sandwiches  
                              with Baked Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries   

Tonight's dinner is turkey smoked sausage sandwiches with baked chipotle sweet potato fries. The sweet potato fries are a recipe that I got off of skinnytaste.com, so I will post the link. They are really good, I think I have made them once a week since I found the recipe! My husband doesn't like them because he doesn't like sweet potato fries, what is wrong with him? The kids and I love them though! The sandwiches were a hit with everyone tonight.

Turkey Smoked Sausage Sandwiches     (makes 4)
1 package turkey smoked sausage
1 onion, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
4 hot dog buns

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the sausage into 4 equal sized peices and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until the outside is nice and brown. Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute the onions and peppers with the olive oil on medium high heat. When it is almost finished add a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic. Place one sauasage on each bun and top with the peppers and onions.

skinnytaste.com baked chipotle sweet potato fries

I used turkey sausage to make it a little healthier but you can use any kind of sausage you want. I also used wheat hot dog buns if you are trying to make it healthier too. You can add cheese to them, or mustard is good too. I served my 3 year old his with just ketchup and told him it was a hot dog;) The chipotle sweet potato fries are pretty spicy, especially because I put extra chipotle powder, So I make the kid's plain with just olive oil. This is a very easy meal to make and is very hearty and filling, but can also be quite healthy if you want it to be! Dinner's ready!

Stuffed Cabbage

                                                                Stuffed Cabbage

Tonight's dinner is stuffed cabbage! As a special bonus tonight's dinner also come's with a funny story...First, I must warn you I'm not perfect. I know, shocking but this story will prove my point...While this was in the oven I was talking to my mom about how hard the cabbage leaves were to get off and how messy my cabbage rolls turned out because of this. She says "You boiled the cabbage right?" Um no? I have been making this meal for about 8 years and I have never even heard of that! Maybe I should read recipes more often...I've always like the cabbage to be a little crunchy not soggy so I'm not sure I would like it as much boiled. So after dinner I looked on line at some other stuffed cabbage recipes and some of them said to boil the head of cabbage and others said you can freeze it over night and then thaw it out and the leaves will come right off. I think next time I make this I will try the freezing meathod and see how that works out. Anyways, here is the recipe for the rest of it just don't use the raw cabbage like I did;)

Stuffed Cabbage        (Serves 5-6)
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
4 cups of cooked brown rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 head of cabbage(apparently it should be either boiled or frozen then thawed)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet brown ground beef/turkey along with the onion and a little cooking spray. When meat is cooked all the way through add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Then, add the rice and seasonings and mix it all together. Remove cabbage leaves from head of cabbage and fill each one with some of the filling mixture. Roll the leaves up and place them seem side down in a baking dish. Continue until you run out of filling. Then, pour the spaghetti sauce over the top of all of them and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

I used to always make this with ground beef but I have been trying to only use ground beef once a week to be healthier. I was going to make it with ground turkey today but the commissary was out so I ended up using turkey breakfast type sausage. I wasn't sure how it would turn out but it was really good! This is also the exact same filling I use for stuffed peppers, if you don't like cabbage. Dinner's ready!

Asian Chicken Salad

                                                               Asian Chicken Salad

Tonight's dinner is asian chicken salad! This is an easy one! My kids won't eat salad so they had leftover taco soup from last night and me and the husband had this. We both like salads and this is one of my favorites!

Asian Chicken Salad        (serves 2)
6-8 ounces of chicken breasts or tenders
2 tablespoons BWW asian zing sauce
1 bag of salad (I used 50/50 mix)
1 small carrot, julienned
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
4 tablespoons Newman's Own low fat Sesame Ginger dressing
2 scallions, chopped
about 1/2 cup crunchy chow mein noodles

In a skillet cook chicken untill cooked all the way through, remove from pan and cut into bite sized peices. Return cut chicken to the hot pan and add the asian zing sauce, coating the chicken. In 2 large bowls seperate the lettuce mix, putting half in each bowl. Do the same with the carrots and dressing, and toss. Then add half of the chicken and mandarin oranges to each salad. Lastly, top each salad with scallions and chow mein noodles.

I know, again with the Buffalo Wild Wings sauce, I have an addiction what can I say? If you don't have any of the asian zing sauce you should get some! Ok, well seriously if you don't have any you can substitute any kind of sauce you like. You could even just cook the chicken with salt and pepper and not put any sauce. This salad is really easy to throw together but it tastes amazing, I hope you try this one out. Dinner's ready!

Taco Soup

                                                                     Taco Soup

Tonight's dinner is taco soup! This is one that I just made up on my own. It is a quick easy meal that can be thrown together with whatever you have on hand, perfect end of the week dinner. The husband had seconds and the kids and I loved it too!

Taco Soup                    (serves 6)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup uncooked pasta
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons lime juice
shredded chedder cheese
sour cream

In a pot or large skillet with sides, brown ground beef along with onions. Then add taco seasoning packet acording to directions on packet. Keeping the pan on medium high add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium low and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes or untill pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Top each portion with chedder cheese and sour cram if desired.

You can use any kind of pasta you want, I had elbow macaroni in the cabinet so that is what I used today. You could do so many substitutions with this reipe, it's all about whatever you have on hand. I used lowfat chicken broth, low fat cheese, and low fat sour cream to cut down on the calories. Hope you try this and enjoy it as much as I do! Dinner's ready!

Mango Habanero Chicken Quesadillas with Fresh Guacamole

                    Mango Habanero Chicken Quesadillas with Guacamole

       Tonight's dinner is mango habanero chicken quesadillas with guacamole and sour cream, I served it with fresh pineapple spears as well. It got a thumbs up from the husband but thumbs down from the picky 3 year old, the 1 year old loved it but he will eat anything:) I thought it was really good, but what do I know?;)
       First is the guacamole, my mom taught me how to make it but we never really had a recipe, so tonight I measured everything when making it so that I could share the recipe. The Quesadillas are something I made up wanting to use some of the BWW mango habanero sauce that my mom sent me.

Mom's Guacamole
2 avacados
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 small tomatos (or 1 large) diced, seeds removed
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
seasoning salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl mash the avacado with a fork, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well blended. You can also add cilantro or more or less chili powder depending on taste. Put it in the fridge untill ready to eat, it's that simple!

Mango Habanero Chicken Quesadillas   (makes 4)
12 ounces chicken breast or tenders
2 tablespoons mango habanero sauce
1-2 teaspoons honey
1 cup shredded chedder cheese
8 small corn tortillas
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook Chicken on the stove untill cooked through, remove from pan and cut into small peices, then return it to the pan. Stir in the mango habanero sauce and honey until chicken is coated. (The honey is to make it a little less spicy so add more or less depending on how spicy you want it.)
place 4 of the tortillas on a sheet pan and spray one side of each tortilla with the cooking spray then turn them over so that the sprayed side is down. Add 1/4 of chicken to each tortilla in an even layer. Cover each one with 1/4 cup of cheese. Place one of the remaining tortillas on top of each one, spray the tops with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes. When finished, cut into quarters and serve with the guacamole and some sour cream.
    *The mango habanero sauce I use is from buffalo wild wings. I kow not everyone will have that in their fridge, but any similar type of sauce will do just fine. It doesn't even have to be mango habanero you could do any sauce or seasonings you like. I also made the kids quesadillas with just the plain chicken before adding the sauce so that their's wouldn't be spicy. To make this healthier I used lowfat chedder cheese and light sour cream.