Food for a guys' guy

I love Meatloaf.  Seriously.  Whenever I am listening to my local light radio station, I can't stop myself from rolling down my windows and belting out along with him....I will DO anything for love, but I won't do that....

Meatloaf rocks.  Even though I have no clue what that really is.

Even though I love Meatloaf, I can't stand meatloaf.  I mean, I really really really can't stand meatloaf.

But, for some reason, the other day I got an urge to make a meatloaf for Mr. McGhee.  See Mr. McGhee is a guys' guy from Wisconsin that now, because of me, eats salmon and salad instead of filet and potatoes.  So every once in a while, I like to treat Mr. McGhee to a guys' guy type of dinner.  

Plus, Mr. McGhee is very handsome and the other day I caught him looking at my favorite catalog and circling the things he thought I would like.

To find a meatloaf recipe, I went to my favorite site, Our Best Bites.  And the ladies at Our Best Bites didn't fail me with their recipe for bacon-wrapped meatloaf.  That's serious guys' guy type of food.

I made the recipe exactly as written.

Bacon-wrapped meatloaf

Glaze

• 1/2 cup chili sauce (or substitute ketchup, but I liked chili sauce)
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons cider vinegar (or white vinegar in a pinch)

Meat Loaf

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion , chopped medium
• 2 medium cloves garlic , minced
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (or whole milk)
• 1 pound ground beef chuck
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground veal (I used more pork instead of veal)
• 2/3 cup Saltine crackers , crushed (about 18), or quick oatmeal, or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
• 6 – 8 ounces bacon , thin sliced (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)

1. For the glaze: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened and set aside.

2. For the meat loaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.

3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time until mix no longer sticks.)

4. Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by-5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf.

5. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool 10-15 minutes. While meal loaf is cooling, re-heat remaining sauce and brush some over meat loaf if desired.  Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.

Make the glaze and set it aside.

As with most good recipes, start by sauteing garlic and onion.

Get your egg mixture mixed.

Add egg mixture to meat.

Mix together egg and meat mixture.  This is a tough step for those of you that are squeamish about touching meat.  I would be one of those people.  I kept myself distracted by daydreaming about this.

Slather your meatloaf with your glaze.

 Wrap that loaf up in bacon.  Tuck the ends underneath the meatloaf.

Bake until cooked thoroughly.

 Slather a little extra glaze on top before serving.

Mr. McGhee loved this.  In fact, all the minis loved it too.  Especially my middle mini, which doesn't surprise me...he's sort of a guys' guy too.   This is him, finishing his first 5k in 30 minutes!

I served my meatloaf with oven-roasted cauliflower.  

• 1 medium head cauliflower (about 2-1/4 pounds), trimmed and cut into florets
• 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Heat oven to 450 degrees F. 

2.  Combine cauliflower and garlic in a large bowl. 

3.  Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. 

4.  Transfer, in a single layer, to a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 450 degrees F for about 25 minutes, stirring once. Sprinkle with cheese. 

Everyone loved the cauliflower.  A huge hit and now on our weekly veggie rotation!

And to drink, we had spinach smoothies.  My best friend introduced them to me this weekend.  

Spinach Smoothie

• handful (or two) of spinach
• handful of frozen strawberries
• frozen banana
• 1/2 cucumber (peeled)

1.  Blend in blender.

Delish!  A meal you can totally feel good about feeding to your family!

Pumpkin Lover

I love anything pumpkin.  Muffins, bread, pie, pasta.  You name it.  I love it.  Pumpkin martinis, you say?  As soon as the clock strikes noon, I'm shaking up one for myself.  

Pumpkin is very healthy, and a great source of vital antioxidants, and vitamins. Pumpkin is a low calorie vegetable that contains vitamin A, flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as leutin, xanthin, and carotenes.  What I'm trying to say is you should eat pumpkin.  

Unfortunately, my absolute favorite, pumpkin spice lattes, do not contain any of the above nutrients.  

I've been on a mission to find a recipe for a pumpkin smoothie and I finally found one that I love and want to share.  

Pumpkin Pie Cider Smoothie

• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin, unsweetened
• 1 cup apple cider (not apple juice)
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional spice add-in: cayenne for spiciness)
• 1 1/4 cups frozen banana slices
• 1/4 cup soy creamer – (I substituted with 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk)
• 1/4 cup ice

Optional topping from the original recipe: vanilla bean coconut whip made from full fat coconut milk, a pinch of crushed vanilla bean and 2 tsp powdered sugar.  

1.  Add all ingredients in blender and blend.

2.  Add optional topping.  I added some pre-made whipped topping that was in my fridge, left by a guest this past weekend.  I also sprinkled on some pumpkin pie spice.

Milk?!?!?

Does anyone else hear the term almond milk and have one of these moments?

I don't know.  I was always under the impression that in order for something to produce milk, it needed to have....errr.....milkers.  

Apparently that is not the case.  Due to many people discovering they are lactose-intolerant, there has been a recent surge in cow-milk alternatives.....soy, coconut, rice, hemp, and almond.  And, if you notice, none of these have...errr....milkers.

Almond milk is basically made by soaking almonds in water, blending the almond/water mixture, and then straining the remaining almond pieces.  According to this website, almond milk is a good source of magnesium, manganese, selenium, and Vitamin E.  That means it's good for your bones, immunity, cell membranes, and thyroid function.  Almond milk is a source of unsaturated fat, protein, flavanoids, and potassium.  

The great thing about almond milk is that we can make our own.  A while back, I followed this tutorial and made a batch of almond milk that lasted a whopping 5 minutes in my house. So, I am being completely honest here.....I have been cheating and buying my almond milk.  And lately, I have been really bad and buying flavored almond milk (dark chocolate AND vanilla).  

My minis love almond milk (especially dark chcolate) and my minis love smoothies.  So, I guess it would make sense that they use almond milk in nearly all their smoothies.  Here are the ones I have shared so far:

1.  Chocolate Shake Smoothie

2.  Pumped up and Buff smoothie

3.  Peanut butter and spinach smoothie

And, remember chia Pudding?  You need almond milk for that too.

So make some almond milk.  Or cheat and buy some.  A friend of mine shared this recipe with me yesterday and you should use your almond milk to whip up a batch.  It's totally delish.

Monkey Maddness Smoothie

• kiwi
• mango
• ginger
• strawberries
• kefir (he suggests peach, I would use plain homemade yogurt or plain keifer and add 1/2 of a fresh peach)
• cinnamon
• dark chocolate or vanilla almond milk 

 1.  Blend and enjoy!

Remember my friend Deb?  Deb told me the other day that her minis do not drink smoothies.  I was stunned and speechless (I mean, really, her minis do not drink smoothies?!?!?)  Then I remembered that once I made a smoothie that my minis turned their noses up at, and then I tricked them into eating it by pouring it into popsicle molds.  It worked!  So ever since then, whenever I have leftover smoothie, I make them into a popsicle.  And then I win best-mommy-ever award when I offer the minis popsicles for breakfast!  And that cancels out the worst-mommy-ever award when I make them eat chia seeds for breakfast.

Cool Treats

 It is hot hot hot in the middle of America right now.  And I love hot weather so I am not complaining.  The only thing about hot weather that upsets me is that I hate to turn the oven on, which is sort of a stumbling block for someone that is a food and cooking blogger.  So I have been cooking less big meals and working hard to come up with nutrient-packed snacks for us to eat to keep us cool. 

One thing I have found myself hooked on is sassy water.  I’ll give you a moment to stop laughing because yes, I just said I drink something called sassy water.  Now, sassy water is a drink that women everywhere are drinking because of the claims that it will all make us look like this.  99% of me doesn’t buy into the sassy water claims, but the 1% of me that does is hoping that it works.  And if it doesn’t work, oh well….at least I am staying hydrated.  And actually, it’s really tasty, unlike other all-natural weight loss beverages.

Sassy Water

• 8 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 medium cucumber, sliced thin
• 1 large lemon, sliced thin
• 12 mint leaves

My minis love sassy water too.  I don’t let my tiny mini drink too much of the sassy water because her sassy tank seems to be overflowing already. 

My minis love popsicles.  I have been making smoothies for myself each morning.  I usually make a double batch and pour my smoothie into popsicle molds for the minis to enjoy later in the day. 

Heids McGhee’s breakfast smoothie and Mini popsicle

• 1 mango, cut into chunks (can use fresh or frozen)
•  ¼ cup frozen raspberries
•  1 frozen banana
• 1/8 cup blueberries
•  Fresh ginger (add less or more, depending on your personal preference)
•  ½ cup plain greek yogurt
• Spash of orange juice
• ½ cup protein powder
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

1.  Blend.

2.  Drink half for breakfast, pour the other half into popsicle molds.

Another snack we have enjoyed is banana-sicles. 

Mini McGhee’s banan-sicles

• One banana
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• Dash of cinnamon
• Drop of vanilla extract
• Crushed walnuts
• Popsicle stick or skewer

1.  Mix cinnamon and vanilla extract with greek yogurt.

2.  Slather banana with yogurt mixture.  (If you can find a neat way to do this, please let us know).

3.  Sprinkle with crushed walnuts.  Stick popsicle stick in the end of the banana.

4.  Freeze for about an hour. 

Stay cool!  Drink your sassy water!

Smoothie Shop

The McGhee family knows smoothies.  I talk all the time about how my boy minis want to grow up and work at a smoothie shop.  My oldest mini has a logo already drawn out, along with floor plans of his shop and we are working on recipes.  The thing my minis are adamant about is that their smoothie shop will be whole ingredients.  No nasty processed "smoothie mix" for them.  The downside to this is my mini's smoothies will cost you a few bucks, the upside is....well, you'll live longer and healthier!

Our latest smoothie obsession is a raspberry mango smoothie.

Mini McGhee's someday-we'll-make-money-off-of these raspberry mango smoothie

• 2 cups mango (they use one cup frozen, one cup fresh)
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1 frozen banana
• chopped ginger (add according to your taste, maybe 1-2 tbsp)
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 1 scoop protein powder (unflavored)
• 1-2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional, it changed the texture of the smoothie completely so be prepared)

1.  Blend all ingredients.  Enjoy while chatting with your minis about their smoothie shop.

Busy dinner night

Who here has a busy family?  Much to my dismay, the mini McGhees are way too busy.  See, I would prefer to pick the minis up from school, come home to a homemade snack, ride bikes, play board games, do an art project, eat dinner, take baths/showers, read, pray, bedtime.  You know, end our nights with one of those "Good Night Jon-boy" moments from the show, The Waltons.  Our real life is more like this, pick kids up from school, shove snack down their throats in the car, yoga lesson, therapy session, golf lesson, swim practice, soccer practice, baseball tryouts, homework, dinner, sniff-test (oh, you're fine, no showers tonight!), read, pray, collapse in bed in a state of exhaustion with shouts of "we said good night, that means we don't need to see you until it's time to say good morning." 

And I don't see life slowing down anytime soon, as I have minis chasing dreams of becoming the next great swimmer/baseball player/soccer player/yogi/golfer.  And if those dreams don't work out, my minis want to work at a smoothie shop when they grow up.  And live in an RV on the beach.  I'm all like, "dude, if you can find out a way to make that work, go for it."  My dreams are to find a way to help provide for my family without ever having to leave the comfort of my own home.  So, to me, an RV on the beach sounds like a lofty goal.

Today is Wednesday which means we will be eating an early dinner before swim practice and then coming home and having a snack afterwards.  Dinner will be tortillas with hummus and black bean stuffed bell peppers.  I got the hummus recipe from Mr. HPT.   

I won't have the time to make homemade tortillas, so we will eating these raw tortillas.

Hummus

• 2 cans garbanzo beans
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 6 dashes cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 dashes cumin
• 3 tbsp olive oil

1.  Drain most of juice from garbanzo beans.
2.  Place beans in Pyrex dish or equivalent and spread out evenly.
3.  Place in oven at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.
4.  Remove from oven and place in blender or food processor with other ingredients.
5.  Blend until smooth.

I added a bit of tahini and a pinch of kosher salt.  I don't have a fancy food processor, so I needed to thin mine out a big with the juice from the garanzo beans.
Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers
First step is to roast your peppers.  You can do this ahead of time.  You can also make extras.  I love to mix roasted red peppers in with my scrambled eggs or on top of salads. 
1.  Coat bell peppers generously with olive oil. Put them on a baking sheet and broil them under flame until they begin to turn black. Turn peppers until each side has been blackened. Remove from baking sheet and place in a bowl. Cover bowl with saran wrap. 

2.  Let the peppers sit for a while, at least 30 minutes. Take peppers out of jar and pull stem off. Dig inside of pepper and remove the seeds.

3.  Carefully peel the outer skin off of the pepper.

4.  After peppers are all peeled, set aside. Resist all temptation to eat them. They're worth the wait.

Next step is to make the black bean stuffing.

1/2 medium sized onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBSP olive oil

15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup water

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp salt

pinch cayenne pepper for a little heat

1/2 cup sweet corn

1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese, or any cheese you like

fresh cilantro, salsa, and sour cream for serving 

1. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add your onion and saute for 3 minutes, until beginning to soften and turn translucent.
2. Add garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Stir in your black beans along with the water.
4. Add your cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, and cayenne. Stir, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer the beans for at least 15 minutes, but up to 30 minutes.
5. Stir in corn. Divide the bean mixture evenly among the two peppers and sprinkle with cheese.
6. Broil for 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Garnish with fresh cilantro, salsa, and sour cream if you’d like. 

Just a tip, make a double or triple batch of the beans and once they are cooled, stick them in a freezer bag.  These freeze very well and are a blessing on those, "oh *&#@, what's for dinner?" nights. 

After swim practice, we will most likely come home and have pomegranate smoothies (the minis are obsessed with those right now) and popcorn.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 banana (I freeze brown bananas and they are perfect for smoothies)
• 5 strawberries
• 1/2 cup yogurt (please use plain, I used my homemade yogurt)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender, and blend until desired consistency is reached.

Grandma-wannabe

I went grocery shopping this morning.  Ever since we gave up all processed foods, grocery shopping is a breeze....produce aisle, meat/cheese/dairy/eggs along the back wall, and the healthy food aisle for flours and oils.  So, today I was in the healthy food aisle, which has really become my happy place.  And since I was in my happy place, I was taking my time.  I saw this elderly couple doing their shopping.  I would say they are about 80 years old, Grandma was wearing her "Bears Suck, Go Packers" sweatshirt and Grandpa was wearing his overalls and John Deere cap.  Grandma was booking it up down the aisle grabbing the things she was shopping for....coconut oil, local honey, pure maple syrup, whole grain flour, ground flaxseed....and tossing them into the cart.  I was standing there, with my jaw open because Grandma  clearly knows what she's shopping for.  Obviously, Grandma is not spending her days reading blogs, researching recipes, and watching documentaries on how to eat healthy.  She's been doing this for 80 years, and most likely will be doing it for 20 more!  It was a nice reminder to me that I'm not some pioneer voyaging into a new lifestyle...this lifestyle has been the path that many have followed for decades.  And, I totally want to be that Grandma when I'm 80, yelling at Mr. McGhee to get his old man legs moving because I've got grandkids to get home to cook for.

Seriously though...let's bring old-fashioned back! 

Yesterday, I posted a recipe that I got from Mr. HPT (handsome physical trainer).  Here's the recipe in case you missed it,

• 1/4 c choc. Almond milk
• 2 glugs of kefir
• 4 dashes of cinnamon
• 1/4 c kale, blackberries (6)
• (8) blueberries
• 3tbsp. Protein powder
• 1/3 banana
• 2tbsp avocado
• 4 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c raw oatMeal
• 3 or 4 ice cubes

1. Blend until smooth.

I made this smoothie for breakfast today.  I didn't have any protein powder, and I added a tablespoon of ground flaxseed. 

Now, this definitely doesn't taste like a frostie from Wendy's but this smoothie is very good.  Out of curiousity, I did a nutritional analysis of this smoothie using a computer program I have from when I was a nutrition student.  After I did the nutritional analysis, I realized I LOVE THIS SMOOTHIE.  Of the 17 vitamins and minerals the program analzyes for, this smoothie has 16 (with B12 being the missing nutrient)!  I am going to drink one of these every single day.  And Mr. McGhee and the minis don't know it, but they are going to as well!  I realize this is a lot of ingredients and prep, so I made little "smoothie bags" and stuck them in the freezer.  Each bag has cinnamon, blackberries, blueberries, banana, avocado, and oatmeal.  All I have to do is dump the contents of the bag with the almond milk, keifer, yogurt, and ice. 

If you know me in real life, and I hand you a bag of seemingly random foods that is my way of saying, "I love you, please blend this with milk, yogurt, and kefir." 

Tonight for dinner we are having pesto vegetable soup.  This is my own recipe, which means all measurements are educated guesses. 

• 8 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 can vegetable puree
• 1.5-2 cups pasta
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 cup sweet corn
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 5 stalks celery hearts
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 1 small zucchini and/or yellow squash
• 1 cup cauliflour
• 1 small yellow onion
• basil
• pepper
• garlic salt

1.  Combine vegetable stock and tomato puree.  Bring to a rolling boil.
2.  Add pasta and diced tomatoes.  Cook until pasta is mostly cooked.
3.  Add all vegetables and let cook 10 minutes at close-to boiling.  Turn down heat and simmer 15-20 minutes. 
4.  Add garlic salt, pepper, and basil to taste. 
5.  Let simmer as long as possible.

I served mine with a big dallop of homemade pesto, which I think turns the soup into something special and delish.

Pesto

• one bunch of basil leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
• 2-4 cloves minced garlic

1.  Throw all ingredients in food processor and blend.

If you prefer, you could add stew meat or your favorite sausage to this soup.  You could also substitute barley for the noodles. 

We had our soup with leftover hamburger buns.  I brush some butter over them and heat them in the oven until warm.  The minis also had a strawberry-pomegranate-banana smoothie.  I gotta tell you, seeing them munching away on this dinner made this mama feel really good.

If you are someone counting calories and/or fat, this soup is an excellent low calorie, low fat option for you!  The pesto is going to add some fat with the olive oil, so you can always leave that out if you want. 

Happy cooking everyone!  If you happen to be an 80 year old Grandma that was at Woodman's today, email me!