Quick & Easy Burgers

My life has been real busy lately.  Good thing I have meals prepared in advance from the Tastefully Simple Summer Sizzle Pack.  This is one of the burger recipes that we enjoyed.

Pictured is the burger, fried potatoes, and green beans.   I used Onion Onion & Green Tea Peppercorn to season the potatoes.  As you can tell, we did not use buns (nor the coleslaw as listed in the recipe).


Ingredients: 

1 1/2 lb ground pork
1 packet Bold Burger Seasoning 
6 pretzel hamburger buns
1 pint prepared coleslaw

Assembly Instructions:  Combine first two ingredients.  Form into 6 patties and place between wax paper and place in gallon resealable freezer bag.  Seal well, label, and freeze.

Cooking Instructions:  Thaw completely.  Grill or fry to desired doneness.  Place burgers on buns and top with coleslaw.  Makes 6 servings.


You can substitute other ground meats for the pork.  I used ground turkey.  We broiled the patties in a toaster oven.

Hearty Fajitas

This is the start of our freezer meals from our Summer Sizzle collection of 10 grilling recipes.

As with all of our recipes, feel free to do substitutions based on your dietary needs and/or likes.  As you can tell from the pictures, I made changes (details later).

Not all of the recipes have to be done on a grill.  I fixed this on the stove top, sauteing the veggies & chicken strips.

Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 lbs flank steak

1 packet Bold Burger Seasoning

1/2 cup beer

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1-2 tsp Ultimate Steak Seasoning

12 8-inch whole wheat tortillas

Assembly Instructions:  Combine first three ingredients in a gallon resealable freezer bag; squish to mix.  In a quart resealable freezer bag, combine next four ingredients.  Place both bags inside another  gallon resealable freezer bag.  Seal well, label and freeze.

Cooking Instructions:  Thaw completely.  Grill or fry steak 4-6 minutes per side to desired doneness.  Wrap peppers and onions in foil and grill to desired doneness.  Slice steak into thin strips against the grain.  Place steak, peppers and onions in tortillas and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Okay, I mentioned substitutions.  I did several.  First off, chicken instead of beef.  Then I used different vegetables as my husband does not care for peppers.  I used tomatoes & mushrooms.  Oh, and to make it gluten-free, we used corn tortillas.

Avocado Oil

My new favorite!  Versatile!  Use it for lots of things.  Light-weight.

Avocado Oil is part of our new TS EatWell product line.  It is part of our Spring Summer 2015 seasonal line.

I use this in lieu of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my salad dressings mixing it with our other new products in the Balsamic Vinegar category.  I also use it for the oil when popping popcorn.

Ingredients:  Avocado Oil.

Product of Mexico.

Nutrition Facts:  Serving Size: 1 Tbsp (14 ml).  Servings per container:  about 17;  Amount per Serving:  120 Calories; 120 Fat Calories; 14 g Total Fat (22%  DV); 1.5 g Saturated Fat (8% DV); 2.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat; 9 g Monounsaturated Fat; 0 mg Sodium; 0 g Total Carbohydrates; 0 g Protein.  Not a significant source of trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, sugars, Vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

» Use in place of olive or vegetable oil.
» Great for high-heat grilling and pan-frying.
» Use to lightly coat potato wedges or vegetables before roasting.
» Use to make salad dressings.
» Drizzle a little over baked pizza.
» Use to prepare Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto and Red Bell Pepper Hummus.
» Check out the recipe online for Lime Cilantro Grilled Corn.
» Find more recipes at tastefullysimple.com.

You can purchase this product for $15.99 plus shipping and applicable sales tax (in Washington State, it is non-taxable) at my website.  All major credit cards are accepted.

Lasagna

My husband and son love homemade lasagna.   Most of my postings on this blog have been freezer meal ideas, quick dinners, or crock-pot meals.  This is NOT one of them.  However, since it makes six servings, you can freeze the leftovers (really delicious).

This time, I made it totally gluten-free, low sodium, and low fat.  I'm going to list the original ingredients but note that I did a lot of substitutions.  

Ingredients:

1 lb very lean ground beef (I used turkey)
12 oz no-salt added tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tsp basil
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder (I actually used 1 Tbsp Onion Onion)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I actually used about 1 tsp Garlic Garlic)
2 Tbsp sugar (I actually used Splenda)
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3 Tbsp unsalted margarine (I used unsalted butter)
1/4 cup flour (I used fava bean)
1 cup skim milk (I used 1%)
1/2 lb low sodium grated cheese (I used mozzarella)
1/2 lb lasagna noodles

Instructions:

Brown the meat (I add the seasonings here, including about 1 Tbsp Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto); drain off any fat.  Add the tomato paste, water, seasonings and vinegar; simmer 25 minutes.  I usually add a can of mushroom stems & pieces (no-salt added, drained and using the liquid as part of the water).

While the sauce is simmering, make the cheese sauce:  melt the margarine over low head and add the flour; stir with a wire whisk for a couple of minutes; add the milk and stir with the wire whisk; cook over low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes; remove from heat and stir in the grated cheese.

Cook the lasagna noodles as directed on the box, except do not add salt to the cooking water; drain.

In a shallow baking dish assemble the lasagna:  Spoon a little of the meat sauce, spread a layer of a third of the cooked noodles, add a layer of cheese sauce.  Repeat until all are used up, ending with a cheese layer.  (Usually 3 layers).  Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes; let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting.

You can assemble the lasagna ahead of time, refrigerate, and heat later.  Allow more time to heat through if it has been refrigerated.

Serve with garlic bread (ours was made with Tastefully Simple Gluten-free Beer Bread with Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning) and a green vegetable (I usually use green beans or broccoli).

Turkey Meatloaf with Pineapple Glaze

Oh my, we were in heaven eating this meatloaf!  What flavor!  This is NOT a crock-pot meal and yes, it was frozen ahead of time, but I think I would just rather make it and bake it the same day.  Not a quick fix as it requires at least one hour of baking time.  Oh, by the way, I did not use the red pepper.  This is the last recipe from the Practically Paleo Freezer Meal Workshop.

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey or beef
1 Tbsp Onion Onion
1 tsp Garlic Garlic
2 Tbsp Rustic Herb Seasoning
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
2 eggs

Glaze Ingredients:

8 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/2 tsp Garlic Garlic
8 oz can tomato sauce

Assembly Instructions:  Combine and mix well first six ingredients in a gallon resealable freezer bag.  Combine all sauce ingredients and place in a quart resealable freezer bag.  Put both bags into another gallon resealable freezer bag; freeze.

Cooking Instructions:  Thaw completely.  Form turkey into meatloaf and place in baking pan; bake at 375 degrees for 60-75 minutes.  In the meantime, heat and simmer sauce for 10-15 minutes; pour half of the sauce over meatloaf after baking for 30 minutes (you may want to drain the fat off the meatloaf first), and serve extra sauce with finished meatloaf.  Makes about six servings.

We served it with mashed potatoes and green beans.

This is the last week you will be able to purchase the Practically Paleo Collection.  However, all the Tastefully Simple products used are in our standard collection and can be purchased at any time.  Just bring up my website, place your order (attach it to any open party), and wait up to 10 days for it to come.  

website:  www.tastefullysimple.com/web/mbelles1

I hope you enjoyed these recipes from our Practically Paleo collection.  Next up:  Recipes from our Sizzle Summer Collection.

Balsamic Roast Beef

Another meal we had this weekend that came from the Practically Paleo Freezer Meal Workshop.  Oh my, it was an aroma that filled the house.  Made me real hungry when I walked in the door after being at a Tastefully Simple training event all day.

This is another one that you can order the collection before March 7th or the individual products at any time from my website at www.tastefullysimple.com/web/mbelles1.

An idea would be to add potatoes & carrots to the crockpot to cook along with the roast.  We had mashed potatoes and carrot sticks.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Onion Onion
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Garlic Garlic
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 - 3 1/2 lb beef chuck roast
salt and pepper to taste, optional

Note:  in the photo you see a Tastefully Simple Product for the Smoked Paprika, it came from a prior season.  Starting Feb 27th, you will be able to order the balsamic vinegar from our TS EatWell line - Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.   I used the Himalayan Sea Salt (available until March 7th) and a Green Tea Peppercorn from a prior season.

Assembly Instructions:  Combine first 5 ingredients in a gallon resealable freezer bag; add beef, freeze.

Cooking Instructions:  Thaw completely; place in slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours until beef is pull-apart tender or bake covered in a 325 degree oven for 3-4 hours, until beef is tender.  Makes about 6-8 servings.

Serving idea:  Shred the meat and serve over a bun or in a hoagie for a pulled-meat sandwich.

Grilled Ultimate Steak

Nearing the end of the meals from our Practically Paleo Workshop.  Wow, what delicious seasonings for the various meats.  This one is for steak - we used top sirloin as that has the least amount of fat.  However, you can use any meat choice you desire.

You can cook the steak to your desired doneness.  I prefer well done and my husband likes his with pink.

You could fix this and use it as the meat for fajitas or a stir fry.

Ingredients:

2 lbs flank, top round or top sirloin steak
1/2 cup oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 Tbsp lime juice
1-2 Tbsp Ultimate Steak Seasoning

Assembly Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a gallon resealable freezer bag.  freeze.

Cooking Instructions:

Thaw completely.  Grill over medium heat or broil to desired doneness.  Thinly slice and serve over spinach salad or salad of your choice.  Makes about 6 servings.

You don't have to freeze this for future meals.  You can just prepare it for the evening meal then freeze the leftovers..

Tastefully Simple products can be ordered at my website:  www.tastefullysimple.com/web/mbelles1.  The Practically Paleo collection will be available until March 7th.  Individual product for this recipe is part of our standard line.