Holy Quacamole! I've been in the Kitchen

There is still time, albeit precious little when you have a new little one, to exercise your culinary muscles on kitchen adventures. I've got recipe after recipe bookmarked on my computer, and slowly but surely and finding ways to try some of them. My Google Reader is packed with food blog, a couple of my favorites being Ezra Pound Cake (who wouldn't love that literary twist!), Bakerella (hello cake balls), smitten kitchen, and Culinary in the Country. Also check out Tales from Chenoland. She's got some tasty treats there too! Let's take a peek:

First up is this wedge from Ezra Pound Cake's "Mad Men" Menu.  We watched a few episodes of Mad Men, and I wish we kept up with it. Perhaps we'll get the seasons on DVD and do it that way. Regardless, who doesn't like a wedge--it's a chunk of blue cheese, creamy dressing, crunchy, bacony heaven! This recipe was pretty tasty. It called for blue cheese dressing and if you notice in the food porn, there are no blue cheese crumbles. I had to sub shredded cheddar which did not have the same effect. The ones I had in the icebox were too old, but the dressing made up for it a bit. Making this again (and of course not too often. Come on, bacon, iceberg lettuce that has no nutritional value, and creamy dressing? Not a staple on this girl's diet.), I would be sure to have the blue cheese crumbles and perhaps try a ranch dressing or some kind of creamy vinaigrette.

Cheddar on a wedge? Crazy talk

This next recipe is one I love. I'm not sure how C. Cowboy feels about it. The first time he ate it, knowing it was ground turkey and not ground beef, he commented, "Wow. That's much better than I expected." The second time I made it, the comment went, "How many more nights are we eating these leftovers?" (It had only between one night of eating and one of leftovers.) I told him that to which he replied, "It just seems like we've been eating it forever." Point taken. Will wait a while before making this healthy treat again.

The Skinny Chef's Spinach-Stuffed Meatloaf was my first one I ever tried. My mom makes a mean one, but honestly, meatloaf scares me a bit. This one had some of my favs (say hello spinach, cheese, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce, as well as a healthy twist) so I wanted to give it a go.

Meet your Cast of Characters

Serves 8, Prep Time 20 minutes, Cook Time @45-50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

 2 cups packed baby spinach leaves

1 pound ground turkey

1 cup oats (not quick cooking)

2 egg whites

1/8 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup non-fat milk

1/4 cup minced parsley

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella

2 tablespoons ketchup or barbecue sauce 

DIRECTIONS (from site)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Heat a large, dry skillet over high heat. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach wilts. Set aside. Place oats into large bowl, along with eggs, milk and soy sauce. Stir well to coat and soak about 10 minutes. Add ground turkey, parsley, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and paprika. Mix well.

Your oatmeal concoction

Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray and smooth half the meat mixture into the pan. Top with spinach. Sprinkle over cheese, then press the remaining meat over top and cover with ketchup or barbecue sauce. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the meatloaf is no longer pink in the center, test by inserting a knife. Rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

This is why it scares me--looks nasty!

Place a cooking sheet under to catch any overflow

Finished Product Food Porn

While it may look a bit greasy, that's just the tiny bit of cheese used. But as C. Cowboy notes, the cheese is "schmelty" and delicious!

And this next one is all mine. I love all things avocado, and here's my homemade guac. Simple ingredients, extra SALT, and a whole lotta yummy:

1/4 (ish) chopped Red onion

Roma tomato

2 Avocados

Juice of 1 lime (In Mexico they'd tell you to use lemon)

More SALT than you think necessary

Delicious!

Try serving with Tostitos Multigrain chips. A "healthy" snack and what I like best about them is their full-fledged SALTY flavor!