Turkey Meatloaf and Roasted Vegetables

This is my own little throw it together recipe. My son really likes meatloaf so we have it quite a bit. I grew up eating ground beef meatloaf but I've switched us over to ground turkey. When I first started doing that I would mix half ground beef and half ground turkey.

What you need for the meatloaf:

• 3 pounds ground turkey (93%)-$9.48
• 1 cup oatmeal- I used Winco's whole grain quick oats-about $.50
• 1 tbsp minced onions (in the spice section)-had on hand, you can also use diced fresh onions but I like this better.
• 1/3 cup ketchup-on hand
• 1 egg-.13
• salt and pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste

Put the turkey, oatmeal, onions, ketchup and egg in a bowl and squish it all together until blended. Make it into a "loaf" in a pan and then add about 2 cups peeled and cut potatoes and about 2 cups peeled and cut carrots. I usually just add until it's all filled in around my meatloaf.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder and cook it on 350 degrees for an hour.

I cut it into about 10 pieces. Total cost for the meatloaf only is $10.11 or $1.01 a slice

Calories for the meatloaf only

 Yes I love my ketchup and no the meat wasn't pink the lighting is just a bit off.

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

I just love Skinnytaste recipes. I've made this Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup several times.

What you need:

• 2 tsp olive oil-on hand
• 1/2 cup onion-$.25
• 3 cloves garlic-$.05
• 8 oz can tomato sauce-$.28
• 3 cups low sodium fat free chicken broth-I used the broth from boiling chicken breasts from another recipe-$0
• 1-2 tsp chipotel chili in adobo sauce-I don't use this
• 1/4 cilantro-didn't use
• 15 oz can black beans (I used the dry beans (about 1/3 a bag) I made up before hand)-$.33
• 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes-$.58
• 2 cups frozen corn-$.50
• 1 tsp cumin-on hand
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano-on hand
• 2 8oz skinless chicken breasts-1/4 of a $9.58 package=$2.40
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions-$.24

optional

• 3/4 cup red fat cheddar cheese-not included in calorie count
• sour cream for topping if you want-not included in calorie count
• I threw in a chopped red chili pepper from my garden, you could also use a few red pepper chili flakes

Total was $4.63 or $.77 a serving

I find it's best for me to make this recipe up the night before and then throw the chicken breasts in (raw) in the morning when I put it in the crock pot.

I made this for dinner along with some corn bread (not low cal unfortunately! I need to find a good low cal recipe for that!) and we only had about 1/2 a serving left. That's quite a hit in our house.

Eggplant and Mozzarella Melt

I had an eggplant in my food box and wanted to try another fun recipe and this looked really good!

Eggplant Mozzarella Melt

What you need:

• 2 eggs-$.26
• salt and pepper-on hand
• 3/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat Italian)-I had this on hand but the bread crumbs are around $2.50 a container-I'll say $1.25
• olive oil for baking sheet-on hand
• 1 medium eggplant-$1.78
• 1 loaf of soft Italian bread-$1.48
• 2 cups store bought tomato sauce-$.56
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese-$3.48 for 16oz=$1.74

This is one of those recipes where you go to figure out the calorie count and it's a bit more difficult. How many calories is that loaf of bread? It didn't have a calorie count on the package since it was from the bakery area. I ended up just estimating it at 800 calories and using a break down that was already in Lose It. I made it 10 servings because 4? Way too big of a serving.

Total cost=$7.07 or $.71 a slice

This turned out good but a little bland. I think if you took this idea but used the tomato sauce mixture from this recipe it would have a lot more flavor. I think this would be good for a family potluck or with a big pot of Minestrone soup.

Taquitos 2 Ways

This is definitely not a pretty picture for these taquitos but I just made them real quick before going over to a friends for a "whine and wine night" (talk about fun!). I figured I should probably feed the family so I made these up before I left. Both recipes are put together the same way and use some of the same ingredients.

(top 5 are the vegetarian ones-I stole one to try)

Baked Chicken Taquitos

What you need:

• 3 cups shredded roasted chicken (I used 2 chicken breasts that I had boiled and shredded before hand)-1/4 of a package that was $9.58=$2.40
• 1 tsp ground cumin-on hand
• 1/2 tsp salt-on hand
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder-on hand
• 1 cup shredded mexican cheese (I use pepper jack)-$6.13 for 18 oz  ($1.36 for 4 oz used) 
• 12 corn tortillas-$1.78 for 30 (I used the rest for another recipe)=$.71
• cooking spray (I used 1 tbsp olive oil)-on hand
• toppings of your choice, such as guacamole, sour cream or salsa (not included in calorie count)-didn't use

Total is $4.47 or $.37 each

Vegetarian Baked Taquitos 
What you need:

• 1/2 cup cooked black beans-I've started buying the bagged dry beans, they are less expensive and you know what is in them- this is about 1/4 of a bag which is $.98=$.25
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels-I had these on hand but you can get a small bag for $1.00=$.25
• 1 cup shredded mexican cheese (I used pepper jack)-$6.13 for 18 oz  ($1.36 for 4 oz used) 
• 1 tsp ground cumin-on hand
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder-on hand
• 1/2 tsp salt-on hand
• 12 corn tortillas (I used 6)-$1.78 for 30 (I used the rest for another recipe)=$.36
• cooking spray (I used 1 tbsp olive oil)-on hand

Calories and total price are for 6 servings=$2.22 or $.37 each

I learned real quick to NOT skip the step of warming up the corn tortillas in the microwave with some wet paper towels. If you skip that step your tortillas will break all up. (Thus only using 6 for the Vegetarian ones, that's all I had left!)

I also brushed the tops with a little bit of olive oil since I don't use cooking spray

These would be really great for a party. Nice and inexpensive and not too high on the calories. I tried one of each and they were both great!

Enchilada Pie

This Enchilada Pie was delicious!

What you need

1 tbps olive oil-on hand

1 cup chopped green or red pepper-$.45 each (I only used one)

1 pound lean ground turkey (93%)-I used 1.5 pounds left over from the Spicy Turkey Zucchini Burgers $4.74

2 tsp ground cumin-on hand

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with garlic and onion-I used the plain one and just threw in some onion and garlic when I browned the meat $.58

1/2 cup enchilada sauce-$1.48 a can, I didn't use the whole thing but I'll put the whole price since I most likely won't use the rest for anything (threw it in the freezer)

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles-$.55

1 cup frozen corn kernels-I had this on hand but you can buy a small back for $1.00 so I'll say $.50

3/4 cup canned sliced black olives-$.68

4 (I used 6) 6-8" corn tortillas-$1.78 for 30 (I used the rest for another recipe)-$.36

8 oz shredded mexican cheese. I used pepper jack-$6.13 for 18 oz  ($1.36 for 4 oz used) & monterey jack $3.80 for 16 oz ($.95 for 4 oz used)- and shredded my own-saving the rest for other recipes)- $2.31

Toppings of your choice

The directions have you just set a whole tortilla for the middle and top layer. I had a lot of space not covered by the tortilla so I added 2 more and cut them up . I think it turned out pretty!

The recipe says 6 servings but I made it 8 and they were still really large pieces.

Total is $11.65 or $1.46 a serving. 

 

I ate the left overs for lunch and they reheated really well and it was very filling!

Spicy Turkey and Zucchini Burgers

These Spicy Turkey and Zucchini Burgers are a hit at our house. I've made them twice now and no one seems to notice that there is anything green in them.

(don't mine my horrible picture)

What you need

• 1 pound ground turkey-I use the 93% fat one and usually just buy the 3lb package ($9,48), I used 1/2 of it for this recipe so I had a bit more than the recipe called for. $4.74
• 2 cups grated zucchini-$.98lb- I think that's about how much I used
• 3 green onions thinly sliced-$.48 a bunch, I used 1/2=$.24
• 2 tbsp chopped mint (I don't use this)-$0
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro (left out because I forgot to buy it)-$0
• 1 clove of garlic-$.48 a bulb-$.05
• 1 tsp cumin-on hand
• 1 tsp salt-on hand
• 1/2 tsp pepper-on hand
• 1/2 tsp cayenne-on hand
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)-on hand

There is a also a dipping sauce in the recipe but I never make that part.

I made 8 patties=$6.01 and $.75 each!

My family likes to just put these on a bun but I like to have them as a lettuce wrap

Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups

I love this recipe from Skinnytaste. Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups let you have your lasagna without all the guilt! Making them into the rolls also helps with portion control.

What you need

(forgot the cheese in my picture)

• 9 lasagna noodles-$1.48 When I make these I always cook extra in case they fall apart when cooking. This brand was probably not the best for this recipe and I had to piece a few together and use the filling as glue.
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, just one of the frozen cube ones-$.98
• 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I used low fat)-I was using this for another recipe too so I just bought a big one and used 1/2 the tub-half of $3.98=$1.99
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese-I figured this to be about 1/2 an ounce. I need to get a digital food scale to be more precise. A triangle is $4.58 for 8 ounces which comes out to $.29 
• 1 egg-$.13
• salt and pepper-on hand
• 32 oz tomato sauce-I bought a 28 oz can of tomato sauce because I wasn't paying attention. On her site she actually has this linked to a recipe for tomato sauce. DOH! I just cooked up some onions and garlic in my skillet and then added the can of tomato sauce, sprinkled in some oregano and basil and it worked out ok.-$.98
• 3 oz part skim mozzarella cheese shredded-a 16 oz ball is $3.48 so for this portion $.65

Total cost is $6.50. Serves 9 for $.72 a serving

Not too shabby! 

I love that these come out in their own little servings so you don't have to worry about which square is bigger or smaller when you go to take a piece.