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.

Jalapeno Poppers

I got a bunch of jalapenos in my food box this last week. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them but I found this recipe for Easy Baked Jalapeno Poppers.

I picked this recipe because it didn't have bacon or need to be cooked on the grill. I probably should have asked my husband to bring me home some gloves to wear as the recipe suggests but I didn't. I decided to just go for it and wash my hands a lot while I was preparing the jalapenos. (Not recommended)

Mine of course do not look as pretty as the original recipe but they were very tasty! I was afraid to try them at first because I thought they might be too hot but they were just mildly hot.

• 12 Jalapenos-$.98 a pound, I'll say 2 pounds to be on the safe side-$1.96
• 6 oz Cream Cheese- $.97
• 1/4 cup Cilantro-$.68 a bunch, used less than half- $.34
• 6 oz Mozzarella Cheese-$3.58 for a 16 oz ball= $1.34
• 1/4 cup Parmesan (I buy the triangles you shred yourself which are $4.58. This is only a tiny bit off of that, I'll say $1.00 which is probably on the high side

Total is $5.61 for 24 pieces or $.23 each. 

Calorie Breakdown using Lose It (Free website and app)

These poppers would be a fantastic appetizer at a party. I ate a couple every day for a snack after work. They were great just popped in the microwave for a few seconds.

Julia Child's Eggplant Pizza

I got an eggplant in my food box and I was kind of just "eh, what am I supposed to do with THAT thing?" The last time I tried cooking eggplant was when I was doing the South Beach Diet and I made this big pan of roasted vegetables. Eggplant being one of them. I then proceeded to eat all the vegetables BUT the eggplant because, ick, it was nasty.

I was looking around on Pinterest when this recipe caught my eye.

Julia Child's Eggplant Pizza

It used one eggplant, which I had! and just a few other ingredients so I added them to my shopping list for the week.

• 1 eggplant-I got mine in my food box but they run about $1.78 each
• 1 Tbsp Salt-on hand
• 2 Tbsp + 2-3 tsp Olive Oil- On hand
• 2  1/2 Tsp dried Italian seasoning-I had a packet of that salad dressing seasoning left over from something else, you could probably just mix a few spices together if you didn't have that (oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt)
• 10 large basil leaves-$.49
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan-$1.15
• 1/3 cup grated low fat mozzarella blend-I just buy one of the balls ($3.58) and grate off my own $1.00
• 3 large garlic cloves-$.24
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes $.58
• 1/4 tsp oregano-on hand

Total of $5.24 for about 8 slices which makes them about $.66 cents each and calorie break down according to the Lose it calculator is 86 calories a slice.

The little pizzas turned out so good that my son actually said "I could eat these all day!". Must be good if an eleven year old wants to eat it. They were also still good the next day reheated in the microwave for my lunch.  I'm definitely going to be a regular eggplant buyer now!

Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken

This recipe for Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken just looked so delicious! I think this is the second recipe I've made from Damn Delicious (love the name too!)

This recipe starts with chicken thighs. The first thing I noticed though was that she leaves the skin on. I debated with myself back and forth on that. I haven't ate chicken skin in YEARS. Everyone knows that's the first thing you do when you are trying to be "healthy".  I wondered if the recipe would still turn out ok without the skin or not. Finally I just did what I always do and took the skin off. Amazingly it turned out just fine!

This recipe calls for 8 chicken thighs. I had a value pack and there was actually 9 in the pack so I got a serving of 9 out of this recipe. I did not increase any of the other ingredients and still had plenty of the rub for all the pieces.

So what do you need?

1 1/4 cups chicken stock-I used the broth from some previously boiled chicken breasts. If you had to buy this it would be one can which runs $1.00 or less.

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice- I used 2 small lemons $.84

3 teaspoons lemon zest-the same lemons-used the zest from the squeezed lemons

2 tablespoon olive oil-on hand

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard-I didn't have this fancy mustard so I just used some dijon I had in the fridge, worked just fine!

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano-on hand

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme -on hand

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt -just used the regular out of my salt shaker

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs-my pack came with 9 for $7.17

Total cost=$9.01 or $1.00 a serving (for 9)

141 calories per chicken thigh

The chicken was really moist and had a nice sauce from cooking. I'll definitely be making this one again!

 

Garlic Chicken & Carrots

This recipe is actually called Clean Eating Wok-Style Garlic Chicken and Carrots.

I'm just calling it Garlic Chicken & Carrots since I got rid of my Wok years ago. We got one when we got married and used it about two times. It took up a lot of the room in the cabinet so eventually I donated it.

So my meal was cooked in my trusty old cast iron skillet. I cook almost all my meals in this skillet.

This is not the best picture since I forgot to take one of just the chicken.

This serves 6

6 cloves of garlic-I had this on hand but we'll call it $.50 for good measure
1 small yellow onion-also had on hand we'll say $.50
3 large carrots-had in my food box, we'll say $1.00
2 tbsp olive oil-on hand
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts-$3.37 (about 2 breasts)
1/4 cup parsley-$.15
I also added one zucchini that I had from my food box

Total price is $5.52 or .$.92 a serving

Calories from Lose It calculator

I served this with some brown rice and that was a great combo. (Also a Greek salad and corn-obviously)

White Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This White Chicken Enchilada Casserole was really good!  I actually totally blanked on buying the beans. I live about 13 miles from town so it's a bit of a chore to just "run to the store" when you forget something. I decided to just leave out the beans and see what happened.

I made this 8 servings but it should have been cut smaller. Probably 10 would have been better.

3 tablespoons butter-$.28
3 tablespoons flour-on hand
2 cups chicken stock-on hand (I boiled my chicken then saved the broth and used that)
1-4 ounce can chopped green chiles-.88
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin-on hand
1 cup light sour cream-$1.30
flour tortillas-called for 24. That seemed like way too much so I cut it down to 12-$2.00
2 cups shredded cooked chicken-$3.37 (about 2 breast out of my 6 pack)
2 cans northern beans (omitted)-$0
3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese-$2.68
1 avocado-from my food box, we'll say $1.00 since they have them for about that at my store
1/4 cup cilantro leaves-$.14

Total-$11.65 so $1.46 a serving if you do 8 servings. I actually ate just 1/2 of one of those left over pieces for my lunch and it was plenty with some veggies.

Calories from Lose It calculator

Which, is quite a bit but not so bad if you cut it in half.

Easy Baked Paleo Chicken Tenders

I don't eat Paleo but I like to try some of their recipes since they usually do not have any (wheat) flour in them. I always play around with the idea of going gluten free but so far I can't seem to stick with any kind of restriction type diet. I'm more of a eat a bit of everything in moderation girl.

I mostly just picked these because they looked good and I thought the kids might like them.

Easy Baked Paleo Chicken Tenders from Allergy Free Alaska

Mine of course, look nothing like the original recipe picture. I'm guessing that is because I forgot to pat my chicken dry and that I did not have any spray olive oil. I recently stopped using PAM because I've read that it is not that good for you. I need to buy myself an olive oil mister.

Here's my breakdown:

Serves 6

2 pounds Chicken Tenders $6.46
1 cup almond flour-$1.68 (I bought a pound of bulk almond flour at Winco and this was about 1/4 of a pound.)
1 tbsp Flax Meal-had on hand (probably could just leave this out if you didn't have it)
1 tsp paprika-had on hand
1/2 tsp garlic powder-had on hand
1/2 tsp sea salt-used regular salt-had on hand
1/2 tsp dried parsley-had on hand
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning-had on hand (this stuff has been in my cabinet FORever)
ground black pepper-had on hand
2 eggs-$.25
olive oil in a sprayer-didn't have just wiped a bit on the pan-had on hand

Total cost $8.39 for $1.40 a serving. Calories from Lose It calculator.

Everyone in my house liked the chicken and we didn't have any left overs. That's always a sure sign of a good recipe in our house.

The Food Box

Through a garage sale group on Facebook I stumbled across this guy that sells fruit and vegetables for a discount each weekend.

I decided to try it out and one of my neighbors said she'd split the "large" boxes with me. They were $25 each. We got one fruit and one vegetable box.

Isn't that amazing? We split the two boxes and that gave us quite a bit of fruits and veggies each. I've been getting these boxes the last few weeks so I will have some meals that use things from my "food box". It's also got me to try some things out of my comfort zone.

I'm lucky to live in the valley in California where we have so many fruits and vegetables grown locally. I'm posting these to show how you can shop "outside the store" for some delicious food!

Look for farmer's markets, fruit stands, and your friends and families back yard gardens.

I also have a small vegetable garden which sadly didn't do as well as I had hoped this year but I have been getting quite a few cherry tomatoes. You'd be surprised at how many recipes are out there using cherry tomatoes! With just a few ingredients you have a partially home grown fresh meal.

Welcome!

The idea behind this blog was to present some fun and healthy recipes, the calorie breakdown and the cost per meal to show that you can really have something good to eat for you and your family without breaking the bank.

Then I watched this documentary called A Place At The Table. I have to admit I have never been on Food Stamps, and or had only one can of food to feed my children with. I've never had to go hungry. If you are in that situation I believe you truly probably cannot afford to eat healthy.

So for this page I am going to just focus on making fun recipes (mostly from Pinterest, because I LOVE making meals from there) and then adding the cost and calorie break downs. I have been on a journey to become more healthy over the past several years and I find that I am so much more successful if I make a menu of fun recipes to try. Usually they are on the "healthier" side, so that is what I will be sharing here. I hope you enjoy my little food blog I look forward to sharing all the fun meals to come!