Memorial Weekend BBQ Potlucks- Memphis Style Coleslaw & Baked Beans

This weekend officially kicks off the barbecue season with memorial day. Although its been nice and toasty here, we've been bbq'ing since April. I had another recipe to add to this, but blogger decided to delete the photos when I pressed the undo button for something and now they are gone. That recipe will have to wait. I made these recipes for David's 30th Birthday.

Memphis-Style Coleslaw from Our Best Bites. This recipe is easy and delicious.

Ingredients-

1 c. mayonnaise 

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 heaping tsp. Kosher salt

1 Tbsp. onion powder

2-2 1/2 tsp. celery seed (don't leave this out)
1 16-oz. bag shredded cabbage with carrots

1/2 minced green bell pepper

1 carrot, peeled and grated

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt, onion, and celery seed.

In a large bowl, combine shredded cabbage, carrots and green pepper.

Toss with dressing and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. This stays good for a couple days if you want to make it ahead of time. 

The next bbq favorite is Southern Style Baked Beans from The Pioneer Woman. I am not a huge baked beans fan, but these are sweet tasting and amazing!
Ingredients-
8 slices bacon, halved (I used turkey bacon and didn't have a lot of the bacon grease that is needed, you can add a little olive oil if you want to make up for it)
1 medium onion, cut into small dice
1/2 medium green pepper, cut into small dice
3 large cans (28 ounces each) pork and beans
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup distilled or cider vinegar
 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon in large, deep sauté pan skillet until bacon has partially cooked and released about 1/4 cup drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. This is where I just added some extra olive oil since my turkey bacon didn't produce drippings.

Add onions and peppers to drippings in pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add beans and remaining ingredients bring to a simmer.

Pour flavored beans into a greased 13-by 9-inch (or similar size) ovenproof pan. Top with bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve. I don't have an after picture, but trust me when I say they taste amazing!

Hope everyone has a great memorial day weekend and thank you to all our troops!

Recipe Index & Mexican Ground Turkey Quinoa Skillet

Pool season has officially started! We had a fun neighborhood opening party Saturday where David's parents DJ'ed the event and fun was had by all. Our 90 + degree weather made for a great start to pool season. I wanted to share a new feature that I added to the blog. Take a look on the right side, I made a recipe index so that you can easily sort the recipes. I had about 70 recipes that you would just have to load older pages until you found the one you were looking for. I have listed recipes by categories so that you can find them faster. Looks like I need to populate some of those categories.

Have you tried Quinoa yet? You REALLY need to. It is a great alternative to bad carbs with plenty of protein and essential nutrients. I purchased a HUGE thing of it from Costco and have yet to make anything with it. I came across this recipe from Debbie Does Dinner and LOVE all the flavors. I doubled the recipe and we ate it for dinner that whole week. 

Mexican Ground Turkey Quinoa Skillet

1 lb. ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped

1 red pepper, diced (optional)
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 (4 oz) can chopped chilies
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tbsp. garlic
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn
2 green onions for garnish 

Directions-
Brown ground turkey and onions in a large skillet

As your meat is browning rinse your quinoa in water and strain it out (be careful the holes in your strainer, I lost a little bit of quinoa because it's so small.)

Stir in garlic, spices, and peppers.

Add diced tomatoes, chiles, quinoa, water and black beans. Stir and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. I doubled the recipe so that's why it looks like my pan is going to overflow (I transferred to 2 pans shortly after.)

Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes or so until quinoa is done and most of the liquid is gone.

A good serving size is 2 cups with a nice side salad. Super healthy and delicious!

P90X Week 6 Update

It's been a while since I updated our progress on the P90X workout. I am happy to report we are still going strong with our workouts and eating plan. We are on week 6. So far, David has lost close to 20 pounds. I have lost 0 but have gained arm, leg and stomach muscles. I can even do some pull ups on the pull up bar. I like the workouts once I get going, but still feel sometimes that the hour-hour and 15 mins of workout is long. I will be ready for bathing suit season though! Starting at week 5 we were able to introduce whole wheat carbs so pasta and  breads here we come! I wanted to share with you a turkey meatloaf recipe that is on the meal plan. It is really good for you and tastes awesome!

Ingredients-
1/2 cup onions, diced
2 Tablespoons fat-free chicken broth, low sodium
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons low-sodium, low-fat marinara sauce
1 Tablespoons basil (maybe a little more, eye ball it)
1 Tablespoon parsley chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Saute the oven in the chicken broth until lightly browned
3. Add the garlic and cook 5 mins more. Remove from heat and cool slightly

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the onion mixture with the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, 1/2cup marinara sauce, basil and parsley
5. Form mixture into a loaf, shape and place in an ungreased loaf pant
6. Brush with remaining 2 Tablespoons marinara sauce and bake until cooked through, 45mins- 1 hour.
7. Drain off fat and let cool 20mins before cutting into slices. 

I felt a bit ambitious on Sunday so I got 5lbs of ground turkey (easy to do at Sams) and made 3 meatloaves

 And a bunch of turkey meatballs for spaghetti (whole wheat of course).

I also got a gigantic pack of chicken and marinated it with my favorite fajita marinade and grilled them up. I chopped them to save for chicken burritos and salads.

For snacks we can now have hummus with carrots, celery with peanut butter (I made ants on a log for the first time), and yogurt.