Cheesy BBQ Turkey Meatloaf

***Recipe approved by Nutrition Support 6/3/13***

Today I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. I've been making the same recipes over and over (because I love them). I realized that after almost four months, I needed to change things up a bit! I had just bought a package of 99% lean ground turkey and wanted to make something I could heat up straight from the microwave, since summer is such a crazy time around my house. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes came to mind! Here's my take on my favorite bbq meatloaf recipe that my grandmother handed down to me! 

I decided to throw these into individual containers so I can just grab one and stick it in the microwave. My apologies for the non-artistic pictures :) 

Ingredients:

20 oz 99% Lean ground turkey (2.25 lean)

2 tbsp Walden Farms Original BBQ Sauce (1 condiment)

1/2 c Egg Beaters (.25 lean)

6 oz (1 1/2 cups) shredded moderate fat cheese (1.5 lean)

1 Tbsp chopped onion (1 condiment)

1 clove of garlic, minced (1 condiment)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper (1 condiment)

1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley (1/4 condiment)

2 packages Medifast Garden Veggie Crackers, crushed (2 optional snacks)
1/4 cup Walden Farms Original BBQ Sauce (2 condiments)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the crackers in the sealed packages, set aside. Combine the turkey, 2 tbsp bbq sauce, egg beaters, cheese, onion, garlic, pepper, parsley and crackers in a medium bowl until the mixture comes together. Press into a pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Brush with the remaining 1/4 cup of bbq sauce.  I used a 8x11 glass pan because I love lots of top with little "loaf".

Bake in pre-heated oven for 40-50 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees in the center. (Mine took 40 minutes and was 140 when I took it out. I undercooked a bit in order to avoid it being overcooked after re-heating)

Serves 4

Recipe: 4 lean, 6.25 condiments, 2 optional snacks

Per serving: 1 lean, 1.5 condiments, 1/2 optional snack

Serve with a side of Garlic Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower and 1/2 cup steamed green beans for a full L&G (Nutrition Support approved the combo for a full lean & green + 1/2 snack)

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

This was my first attempt at using Spaghetti squash, and I have to say, I'm hooked. The flavor of the sauce on the squash is absolutely amazing, and I really enjoyed the crunch that the squash has. I'm not a big pasta person, and I definitely didn't miss it at ALL in this dish. In fact, I prefer this to regular spaghetti! This is one of my favorite dishes now!

"Spaghetti" with Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

Sauce:
7 oz ground 93% lean turkey (should cook down to 5 oz) (1 lean)
1/2 cup diced celery (1 green)
1/2 cup diced italian tomatoes (with 5g carbs or less per 1/2 cup serving) (1 green)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (1/2 condiment)
1/4 tsp onion powder (1/2 condiment)
1/4 tsp dried basil (1/4 condiment)
2 tsp fresh grated parmesan (1/2 condiment)

"Spaghetti":
1/2 cup cooked spaghetti squash (1 green)
1/8 tsp garlic powder (1/4 condiment)
1/8 tsp onion powder (1/4 condiment)
pinch of fresh ground black pepper

Dice and saute the celery with the garlic and onion powder for a minute or so. Add in the ground turkey and the basil. Cook until the turkey is almost cooked through. Add in the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

Wash the squash and pierce the skin all over with a metal skewer. Microwave for 6 minutes, turn over and microwave for another six minutes. When done, let cool a bit then cut open, scrape out the seeds and discard. For the remaining flesh, scrape with a fork to separate the threads. My one small spaghetti squash will yielded around 2 cups of squash.

Place 1/2 cup of squash into a bowl. Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper and a bit of salt.

Top with the meat sauce and stir to combine. Grate fresh Parmesan on top.

Note: This recipe makes a LOT of meat sauce for a relatively small amount of squash. I'd eat the sauce plain, so this is not a problem. You could always cut out the celery and increase the squash to 1 cup, but I love celery in my spaghetti sauce. :) You also could substitute Walden Farms marinara for the 1/2 cup Italian tomatoes and increase the squash serving further (remember to count the marinara as a condiment!)

Medifast calcs: 1 lean, 3 green, 2 1/4 condiments, no healthy fat required