Thursday, December 17, 2009

lots of comfort & the winner is . . .

Hello everyone!  How is your week going so far?  I was so impressed by how many of you are on top of all your gifts this year!  I am still way behind, ugh!  But I’m not going to freak out about it.  I am also feeling much much better, still kind of coughy in the mornings, but much better thank goodness.  Humidifiers help me tremendously and I usually sleep with a sheet over my nose so I have moist air to breathe.  Is that weird?  . . . 

I really enjoy the foods of winter because they are warm, comforting and mighty tasty!  It seems like I’ve been on a roll lately with the down home country cookin’.  These kinds of foods are also the best for leftovers and can be transformed to other dishes.

I just wanted to share a couple nice recipes that I enjoy during the winter and also announce the coconut water giveaway winner!!

The first one is cornbread-topped chicken pot pie  mmmm!  Chris and I really enjoy this one and the addition of the leeks gives it such a wonderful flavor.  Give it a try it’s really yummy.

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The next one is my version of Italian-style meatloaf.  Gotta love all that gooey cheese in the middle!  This time I paired it with sautéed haricot verts with caramelized shallot and pecans, along with some roasted fingerling potatoes.  You know I never really eat ketchup unless I’m at a restaurant or if I make meatloaf!  For me I have to have ketchup with meatloaf :)

Mix this all in a big bowl:

  • 2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 jar TJ’s bruschetta mix
  • 1/3-1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 onion, diced & sautéed in a pan (I threw in some mushrooms too)
  • seasonings:  Herbs de Provence (or Italian Seasoning), garlic powder, salt, pepper
  • topped with a bit of ketchup
  • Mozzarella cheese for stuffing

IMG_5888 Pre-heat oven to 375 F.  Take about a handful of the meat mixture at a time to form about four, 1/2 mini meat loaves on a foil lined broiler pan.  Place some mozzarella cheese down in the center and then top with the rest of the meat mixture.  Make sure there aren’t any seams open, or the cheese will ooze out when baked.

Bake until a thermometer registers 155 F, take them out of the oven and let rest until the temperature raises to 160 F.  Enjoy!!           

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It looks like it has a giant tongue!

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You can also make stuffed meatloaf burgers

With the leftover meatloaf this time I chopped it up and threw it in some tomato and roasted red pepper soup from TJ’s, along with some veggies and pasta.  It was great & easy!

Ok, now on to the fun stuff . . .

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-----> COCONUT WATER GIVEAWAY! <------

Thank you for your interest in my post about coconut water.  I find it fascinating!  I also agree with many of you on the downside of its expense.  It is pretty darn pricey at $1.99/per 8oz carton and a bit less if you buy the larger bulk carton.  It’s also not as accessible as regular sports drinks and can be very hard to find at grocery stores here in the US.  It sure is a refreshing treat though. 

The two winners of 5 individual coconut waters are . . . (generated by RANDOM.org)

*Naomi* & Lori

Congrats guys!  E-mail me kristen@eatingrd.com with your address and I’ll try to get that out before the holidays.  Let me know if you like it or even hate it :)

On Friday we are having some friends over for a pizza-making party!  I’m excited because I love these kinds of parties.  Everyone gets to make their own pizza and chose from different toppings.  It’s not really holiday themed, but it’s fun & will involve some vino!  Saturday I’m going to be baking like a mad person for the cookie exchange I’m going hosted by Kristen, the swanky dietitian.  I’m looking forward to it!  It’s going to be tough with all those cookies around calling my name, but we’ll see how I do.  I’m thinking about making a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie from Tam, but I can’t decide on the other?  I was thinking either chocolate baklava or mint chocolate cookies.  What do you think I should make??  There are too many good recipes out there, help me decide!

Hope you all have a great weekend!  I can’t believe Christmas is just about here, but I’m just excited about going to visit my mom :)

   

17 comments:

Kati said...

the meatloaf looks delicious! thanks for sharing!

~Kati, Around the Plate Nutrition

Gina; The Candid RD said...

How neat!! A cookie exchange with the Swanky RD?! So I take it she lives in Nevada too?? I want to come! I'm flying in.

That meatloaf looks fantastic KRisten. The cheese just oooozes out like magic. I love it! I also like the pot pie with cornbread topping. I would say that's a little healthier than normal, right?? And, I could eat it because it's wheat free!

MelindaRD said...

Congrats to the winners! You're dishes look good, seeing as I dont eat meat, I am sure my hubby would enjoy them. Have a good holiday with your family.

Emily said...

I'm slowly catching up with gifts, too. It helps that my sister is already home and can do some shopping for me.

Hope you have fun at your cookie exchange party. I really wanted to have one this year, but I just ran out of time!

MelissaNibbles said...

I hope you have a great visit with your mom.

Love the tongue in the meatloaf!

Elina said...

That cheese stuffed meatloaf looks awesome. Anything cheese-stuffed is usually pretty great ;)
Check out my somersaults giveaway when you get a chance. :D

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for Saturday! Your meatloaf looks great. I agree, gotta have it with ketchup.

Astra Libris said...

I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better!!

The meatloaf looks SO incredible!! I'm super-excited about the recipe - I'm definitely going to fix this over the weekend! Thank you so much for the perfect yummy winter recipe!

Pizza-making parties are AWESOME!! :-)

Allen said...

Hey Kristen, that Chicken Cornbread Pot Pie looks gooood. I have made your Stuffed Meatloaf Burgers before, they are yummy...as are all your pretty much all your recipes.

We are going to do Mexican Food for dinner at Christmas. And I am going to make your enchiladas again, cause I can never get enough of those!

You guys have fun, and have a Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Putting cheese inside of meatloaf is genious! I don't like it, but my hubby loves my five meat meatloaf: ground veal, pork, chuck, Italian sausage. . . wrapped in bacon!

On second thought, maybe I should leave the cheese out!

I have THE BEST snickerdoodle recipe on my blog - just look under the Index of Recipe tab at the top. I've given this recipe out at least a dozen times and always get rave reviews.

They have just a hint of crunch on the outside, but chewy on the inside.

Have fun making pizza tonight!

Corinne @ Green Grapes Blog said...

What a fun creative dish--Love it!
And, a cookie exchange with Ms. Swanky RD--so much fun! I vote for the mint chocolate cookies:)Have fun!

Anonymous said...

have a great visit!! WOW that chicken cornbread pot pie and burgers sound AWESOME girl

Anonymous said...

congrats to the winners! lucky!
I've got my heart on that cornbread-topped chicken pot pie!
Cheese in meatloaf? Oh my...say you're making that for me!

Astra Libris said...

Kristen, I fixed your amazing meatloaf recipe, and it was THE BEST!! :-) I hope you don't mind - I just wrote a blog post about it... :-)

Anonymous said...

Congrats to the winners!

Your meatloaf looks wonderful and totally unique! Mmm!

bhealthier said...

aw i missed out on the coconut water giveaway! oh well.. how is your thesis topic going?

i feel like this break is not even a break, we have to do research for medical nutrition therapy and i have to do research for my thesis and i have to work two jobs. What break?!!?

happy holidays! Are you going to come visit? I will be going to my parents this week but should be back in town if you want to meet up /if you go to your mom's!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

I love the cheese in the middle of your meatloaf! As I love all things cheese...

I hope you had fun baking cookies! Which ones did you end up baking?