Easy Weeknight Dinners

First, please remember to enter the giveaway for Picky Bars! Info in this post. Giveaway closes today and the winner is announced on tomorrow’s post.

Also, yesterday I had my first photo posted on FoodGawker! (Picture here)

And, I saw this article “How to make oatmeal…wrong” by Mark Bittman in The New York Times on McDonald’s oatmeal and why it’s still bad. I have been thinking about it for over a day so wanted to share with you.

So many days we wonder “what’s for dinner?” This dinner comes together very quickly and was a major crowd pleaser. It does take a long time to cook and then cool, but the prep time is so short, you can use the cooking time to do other things around the house, like get ready for the next day, walk the dog, empty the dishwasher or watch TV.

Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted Vegetables

I made this meatloaf once before on the blog, but it made a huge amount that took over two loaf pans. Although it was good, it was way too much for two people. This time, I used the same recipe and cut it in half. And I added some smokey BBQ sauce to the top.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack ground turkey, I used Jennie O Lean (not Extra Lean)
• 1/2 C old fashioned Quaker Oats
• 1/8 C dried parsley (use more if fresh)
• 1/2 T oregano
• 1 1/2 T Worchestershire Sauce
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 5 oz tomato sauce, divided (see below)
• 1/8 C Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tsp basil, chopped

(This is not a pretty picture, but meatloaf doesn’t tend to be photogenic while in the loaf pan)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400*.
• Mix everything together in a mixing bowl by hand including 3 oz of the tomato sauce.
• Transfer to a 9 x 5 loaf pan coated in cooking spray. Press down so it’s in loaf shape.
• Spoon on top more tomato sauce (about 2 oz) and BBQ sauce of your choice so the top is coated.
• Bake for 1 hr, 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes covered in foil before slicing.

The loaf was very flavorful and dense. The tomato sauce + BBQ sauce was a great combination. You could easily sub ketchup, but that’s not allowed in our house. The amount was also perfect, still with some leftover. A Jeffrey approved recipe! He really liked it.

We also liked that the recipe was very light without an egg, oil or bread crumbs as many turkey loaves have.

(gooey BBQ deliciousness)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Snap Peas and Onion

To go with the loaf, I roasted up some vegetables also at 400*. In a baking pan, I used a pound or so of brussels sprouts (those are for me), and a package of snap peas plus half a yellow onion for Jeffrey. Cooking them all together was no problem, it was like a half half pizza.

For the sprouts, I chopped off the ends but kept them whole. I drizzled 1 T EVOO + 1 T Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (like soy sauce but with less sodium) on top of the sprouts and the same for the other vegetables.

These were baked for 25 minutes at the same temperature sharing an oven. The vegetables still had a bite but were soft on the inside, very important for the sprouts! And the seasoning was perfect–like it was light enough to know something was on it but not overpowering in flavor.

We also had a bag of Alexia Sweet Potato Fries, but these weren’t that special.

Quinoa with Apples and Veggies

This was kind of a clean-out-the-fridge recipe that I just put together to use up vegetables from earlier in the week. It had carrots, celery, red pepper, apple, and leftover Brussels sprouts on the side.