Wednesday, April 22, 2009

it’s getting hot in here . . .

100_2732 We signed papers on Monday!  Woo-hoo!  We are still waiting for final arrangements from the bank, but it should be official by the end of this week.  Just crazy to think we could own a house, well townhouse that is, but it’s still ownership!  We are really into crunch time right now, and the other half and I are wondering what we got ourselves into trying to get situated in a house and take on projects at the end of the semester along with work???  We may have to hold back on some things.

I put some paint up on the walls from the colors we thought we would like and. . .whoa, they are so different!  Some of them turned out to be winners, but how anyone can tell what a color will look like on an entire wall from a tiny square I will never know.  Pretty soon our walls will look like all the colors of the rainbow before we can decide on a dang color! 

I wanted to make meatloaf for dinner, but being that it’s been in the 90s here in Vegas already, I’ve been trying to avoid that inefficient oven like the plague.  So I decided to make a quick alternative . . . stuffed meatloaf burgers!  I just had to mix the meat, form the patties, turn on the stove and sauté for a fraction of the time.  I served it with a fresh green salad on the side, although I really wanted some sweet potato fries!

Stuffed Meatloaf Burgers 

Yield:  About 6 patties

Ingredients  

  • A little over 1 pound of extra lean ground beef (96% lean)
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 jar TJ’s bruschetta mix (this makes them so moist!)
  • 1 tbsp crushed Italian herbs
  • salt, pepper and garlic powder
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • cubed mozzarella for stuffing
  • whole wheat buns and all your favorite burger toppings

Directions

100_2736 Place the first 7 ingredients (through shallot) in a large bowl and incorporate.  Place a handful of meat in the palm of your hand and form half a patty.  Place about 2 cubes of cheese on top and cover with another handful of meat.  Form a tight seal.

Repeat with remaining meat and cheese.  Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Cook patties until 160 degrees or until desired doneness, about 5-6 minutes per side.  Place on a 100_2725clean plate and cover with foil until all batches are done.   Serve with buns and your favorite toppings! 

I also used these burgers crumbled on top of some leftover pesto pasta for a quick dinner . . . yum!

For 6 servings (analyzed with 95% lean beef), one patty has about 180-200 kcals, 8g of fat, 23g of protein, 10% calcium and 15% iron, along with good doses of zinc, riboflavin, B6 and B12.      

100_2734

Gotta love that ooeey, gooey cheese!  We put a little more bruschetta mix on top.

100_2732 

Any painting dilemma stories?  I’d love to hear that I’m not alone!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

First of all, congrats on signing the papers. That is very exciting! Second, I am craving a burger now!!!

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Your painting adventure sounds like fun-do post pics of the rooms once you're done painting:)
The meatloaf burgers idea sound good-should try it(but with ground turkey instead).Hubby will definitely like it.

kristen :) said...

Thank you! I will post pictures once the painting is done. We will probably just try to get the downstairs done first.
Sweta - lean ground turkey is also good! I usually buy lean ground beef for the extra iron.

Gina; The Candid RD said...

I wish I would have read your blog earlier, I just got back from Trader Joes and that bruschetta mix would have been a great purchase! I guess I'll try it next time :)

Emily said...

Love the stuffed meatloaf burgers..what a great idea to beat the heat. It's been pretty cold here, so I'm a little jealous of your weather, but 90 is super hot!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the house! And the dinner looks great! I know what you mean about the paint-on the wall, it never looks like I expect...I wish I had some advice, but I'm not good at choosing paints! Good luck!

Thinspired said...

I know there is exciting news in this post somehwere but I am a little busy drooling over the idea of a meatloaf burger. YUM.
Congrats on the house :) I'm so glad it is all coming together for you.

Apples and Butter said...

Congrats on the purchase! I'm very jealous of people who own property. One day! Los Angeles is not a very friendly place for people trying to enter the market. Prices are off the charts!

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

W.r.t the ingredients for the mango dosa-you'll find them all at your local Indian store.
Alternatively,you could put the 'aamras' into your regular pancakes and try out Mango pancakes instead.It won't taste the same,but it'll definitely be a different breakfast recipe :)

Anonymous said...

I feel like you stuffed it with cheese JUST to make me drool~ ooh lala~ It'd be awesome with bleu cheese, too!
oh, yeah, and congrats on the house! I almost forgot to congratulate you because I was too distracted by these crazy delicious pics!