Domestication at it's Finest

One of the best things about moving into a new home is all the friends and family you get to have over for dinner. Now that I have a full kitchen and most of the necessary utensils, making meals is a pleasure instead of a frustration. I have been finding lots of great recipes and the ones I have made so far have been big winners. Last week I made this Caribbean Honey Garlic Chicken recipe from the Safeway website. I put it over brown rice (one of the great finds in JB's boxes was a nice rice cooker) and made some Asparagus Parmesan to go with it. Everything turned out great! JB doesn't hesitate to help in the kitchen, but for the most part, I like to do everything myself.

Saturday after my comprehensive exam, JB and I cleaned the house because we were having his family over for dinner that evening to celebrate his and his mom's birthdays that occurred earlier in the week. I made my sister-in-law's lasagne recipe, but altered it to be a lower fat version using ground turkey, lowfat cottage cheese, and whole wheat pasta. I have made this recipe in the past. Since it was the weekend I had time to do all the prep work and get it in the oven before they got here. I'm one of those people that likes to clean as I go so the mess isn't so overwhelming when you are done with the meal. I threw together my staple salad and his mom brought some 5 cheese garlic bread. Delicious!!

Sunday night we had my brother and SIL over for dinner. It was nice to be able to return the favor since they have had us over quite a few times. She is an awesome cook and I was hoping my meal could compare to any of hers :) I have been wanting to try this meatloaf recipe from my Abs Diet recipe book for a while and I finally had my chance. Here it is if you would like to give it a try:

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Meat Lover's Meat Loaf

1/2 lb ground sirloin
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 eggs
1 cup whole wheat crackers, crushed
3/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup BBQ sauce, plus extra
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or 1 tsp. of the minced garlic in the jar)
1/2 tsp of dried oregano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix beef and turkey until well blended
Add eggs and remaining ingredients until well blended
Form meat into a loaf shape on a broiler pan (I used a cookie sheet but put foil over it and folded up the edges to keep the juices from flowing over)
Coat the outside with the extra BBQ sauce
Cook for 1 hour (double check internal temp with meat thermometer, should read 160 degrees)
Eat with mashed potatoes
Serves 4

Nutritional info, per serving: 366 calories, 32 g protein, 31 g carbs, 13 g total fat, 4 g sat fat, 581 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

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We made the mashed potatoes with it and some broccoli as well. It was soooooooo yummy! My brother couldn't stop raving about it. He told me it was the best meatloaf he had ever tasted. It was really moist and flavorful. JB chopped the onions for me, since we don't have our slap chop yet. He also peeled and cut up the potatoes. Such a good helper!

Today I stayed home from work because I woke up with a migraine which was probably due to the stress of the last week. I slept it off for a while, did a little work from home, and decided to try a new recipe in the crock pot from Spark People's Healthy Recipes app on my iPhone, Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. My crock pot is newer and runs hot, so instead of cooking it on low for 6-8 hours, it only took 4. JB and I agree this was by far the best recipe I have tried yet. In fact, we ranked them:

1. Slow cooker Salsa Chicken
2. Meat Loaf
3. Caribbean Honey Garlic Chicken
4. Lasagne

I am loving this new found domestication. Cleaning and cooking don't even seem like a chore at this point, although I am sure that will change. If anyone has any recipes they would like to share, send them my way!