Kitchen Kreations

While I have always enjoyed being in the kitchen, my hubby's outrageous hours this busy season has really made cooking a huge hobby of mine! It's fun and it keeps me busy. :) As mentioned before, most of my April menu has NEW recipes on it...I have been digging through cookbooks I have had for years and never utilized! I am having a blast making them more "healthy" and trying them out! Here is one of my latest meals... let me know what you think!

This one is just from last night!

-Tex-Mex Meatloaf

-Roasted Potatoes w/  Mushrooms, Onion, and Rosemary

-Steamed Broccoli

First of all, the meatloaf is a Weight Watcher's recipe! Trust me, you can't tell! It smelled SO good cooking in our home, and it was a nice change from your traditional meatloaf.

• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

• 1/2 cup chunky salsa (divided) 

•  1 egg white, lightly beaten

• 1 tsp each chili powder & dried oregano

• 3/4 tsp each cumin and salt

• pepper to taste

• 1 cup fat-free finely shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 4x8 inch loaf pan
2. Combine beef, 1/4 cup salsa, egg white, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix just until blended. Transfer 1/2 of mixture to baking pan. Top with the cheese, leaving a 1/2 inch border along the edge. Form the remaining mixture over the cheese, being sure to form a seal all the way around so the cheese will not leak out while cooking. Spread the top of with the remaining 1/4 cup of salsa. 
3. Bake until internal temperature reaches 160 F (about 65-70 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Cut into 6 slices.  

The potatoes: David looked at me like I was NUTS when I showed him the 2 lb bag of baby tri-color fingerling potatoes. Have I ever steered him wrong in the food department? Trust, people, trust. ;) I put them on a foil-covered cookie sheet with some chopped crimini mushrooms, red onion, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. I roasted them in a 500 degree oven for about 25 minutes and my honey ate.them.up. :) Yes, even the blue potatoes.

I promise I will get better at taking pictures of my actual cooking process. I feel like I am lucky to remember to get a quick shot of my plate before I dig in. :) 

The broccoli was nothing extremely special, I just steamed it and put a little bit of salt and pepper on it. Fresh and simple... yum.

I must continue sharing my cooking adventures with you all! If you enjoy cooking, there are definitely some new things I have added to my line-up that I just can't keep to myself!