Turkey Meatloaf

Quite frankly, I don't care too much for turkey meat.  To me the flavor isn't that rich, so when I do eat turkey, I tend to add lots of seasonings.  I especially enjoy the flavors in taco seasoning, so I add it to my turkey meatloaf.  I find that it adds just the right amount of flavor to enhance the turkey.

I also add some shredded cheese to the meatloaf since the turkey has less fat, you can add some cheese.  I try to find low fat, low sodium cheese.  It's hard to find, but I'll use the regular stuff if that's all I have.  I prefer to use the Taco flavored cheese or Mexican blend of cheese.

You can serve the meatloaf with salsa instead of ketchup if you'd like more Mexican flair with your meal.  I didn't have any in the house this time so that'll be for next time.

TURKEY MEATLOAF

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup finely chopped or minced onion
1 tablespoon salt free ketchup
1 teaspoon Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend*
1/4 cup low fat, low sodium shredded cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients using hands until well blended.  Place mixture in loaf pan and top with ketchup or salsa if desired.  Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

*If you'd like to order some Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend, please email me at: auntiejeans@yahoo.com

Spicy Mexicali Chicken

There are a million and one ways to prepare chicken (or at least it seems that way to me.)  I have always loved fried chicken, but since that's no longer on my diet, I like to bake coated/ breaded chicken.  It reminds me of fried chicken but I don't feel guilty (or ill) for eating breaded chicken.

I find that with the right seasonings, I actually prefer the boneless, skinless coated chicken breast to fried chicken.

The title for this recipe includes the word spicy.  I think it's a little on the spicy side, but not much.  If you like it spicier, add some cayenne to the breading mixture.  You can increase the amount of hot sauce as well.

SPICY MEXICALI CHICKEN

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup sour milk (if you don't have sour milk, simply add 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1/4 cup regular milk and mix quickly.  The milk will begin to curdle.)
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
2/3 cup corn meal (I prefer white corn meal, but yellow is fine)
2 teaspoons Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend*
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Salsa, if desired. Made with Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Salsa Blend*

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease baking dish.  In shallow dish, mix sour milk and hot sauce.  In another shallow dish, mix cornmeal and taco seasoning.  Dip chicken in milk and then coat in cornmeal.  Place chicken in baking dish and brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn over chicken, carefully scraping the pan so the coating doesn't stick to the pan.  Then brush the other side of the chicken with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.  Return to the oven and bake 20 minutes longer.  Serve with salsa if desired.

I assure you that the end product if far more appetizing than it appears in this picture.  The coating didn't stick to the chicken as well as I would have liked, but it still tasted great. 

*Please email me at  auntiejeans@yahoo.com if you would like to order a bottle of Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend or Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Salsa Blend.

Party Taco Dip

Deciding what food to bring to a party is always a difficult choice for me.  I like to plan well in advance so I have time to shop and prepare the food as early as possible.  Sometimes I am forced (either through my lack of planning or just plain laziness) to prepare something at the last minute.

For the New Year's Eve party that I'm attending this year, I had decided to bring taco dip and tortilla chips.  Most of the ingredients, I normally have on hand, but I needed to pick up a couple things.  So I foolishly ran to the supermarket this afternoon (New Year's Eve).  As I approached the parking lot, I said, "NO!"  That was because I couldn't even turn into the parking lot with the amount of traffic waiting to enter.  There wasn't an empty parking space to be had, so I waited as patiently as I could and drove in and out of the parking lot to promptly return home.  Some cream cheese and tortilla chips were simply not worth the hassle.

Onto plan B...  I would bake my own tortilla chips using the tortilla shells at home and I would substitute sour cream for cream cheese.  I probably should have done that in the first place; lesson learned.

I returned home and starting baking tortilla chips while I prepared the taco dip to accompany them.  Crisis averted :-)  Here is the Taco Dip recipe you can whip up in a snap.  The home made tortilla chips recipe is found in an earlier post under "Homemade Chips and Salsa"

Have a happy and healthy new year!

PARTY TACO DIP

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend*
8 ounces low fat cream cheese / neufchatel, softened
1/4 cup low fat sour cream / yogurt
1 bag lettuce
2 diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced green onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
sliced black olives (optional)

Preparation:
In small bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning. 

Spread onto bottom of shallow dish.

 Layer lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and green onion. 

Top with shredded cheese. 

Refrigerate at least one hour.  Serve with tortilla chips.

*To purchase Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend, email me at:  auntiejeans@yahoo.com

Oven Fries

Last night, I tried a new side dish with tacos... oven fries seasoned with taco seasoning.  It's a recipe that I saw on Rachael Ray's show, and it sounded delicious to me.  I love fries, but not the fat and salt.  Potatoes are a great source of potassium which is needed for good heart health.  This recipe bakes the fries and uses alternative spices.  It's a little time consuming cutting the potatoes into thin fries.  I use a mandolin slicer that makes quicker work of it.  I suppose that you can use precut frozen fries.

All you need to do is to toss the sliced potatoes in some olive oil, place on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with seasonings and bake.  Rachael Ray recommends using a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet to get the fries crispy.  I don't think it's necessary, as I have tried it both ways.  You can change the seasonings to your taste.  I have made them with ranch seasoning and taco seasoning and like them both.

I also microwave potatoes for 5 to 7 minutes on high to reduce oven cooking time.  I'll nuke them first then toss them with oil and season them.  Place the fries on the baking sheet.  After 25 minutes, take them out of the oven and turn them over so they bake evenly.  Then bake them 20 - 25 minutes longer.

Try your own variations and let me know how they turn out.  I think I'm going to try garlic parmesan fries next. Yum!

Ranch Oven Fries

Ingredients:

6 medium Idaho potatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

1 – 2 teaspoons Auntie Jean’s Low Sodium Ranch Blend

Yield: 6 servings

Preparation:

Preheat oven to  400 degrees.  Arrange cooling/wire racks over 2 baking sheets.  Peel potatoes and cut into thin fries, less than ¼ inch thick.  In a large bowl, dress fries very lightly with olive oil and ranch seasoning.  Arrange fries in single layer on wire racks.  Place in oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes until crispy.

Mexican Grilled Chicken

The other day, I was looking for a quick and easy dinner.  I found a new recipe and decided to try it; turns out it was delcious too.  Mexican Grilled Chicken was so easy to make.  I must confess that I don't know how to grill so I opted to bake the chicken in the oven.

Having high blood pressure, my doctor recommends getting plenty of potassium in my diet, soI'm alwys looking for dishes where I can add a little.  I think next time I make this, I'll add a few diced potatoes.

Here is the recipe.  Try it and let me know what you think.

MEXICAN GRILLED CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Auntie Jean’s Low Sodium Taco Blend
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

1.     In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, lime juice and taco seasoning until smooth. Place chicken on grill over medium coals. Sear one side; turn and brush with sauce. Grill, uncovered, for 6 minutes; turn and brush with sauce. Grill another 6 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

2.     If you prefer baking to grilling, place chicken in greased baking dish and cover with sauce.  Bake at 425 for 30 minutes.