BBQ Bacon Sushi

Yes...the name is a little....odd. And maybe off-putting to some. But I LOVE bacon and was intrigued. I actually found this through some Facebook page, and was excited by how easy the recipe looked. And what better time to try it than Valentine's Day, for my sweetie that loves all things meat? I used ground lean turkey, since that's what I have on-hand, instead of beef like the recipe called for. I also used my oven on "bake" setting, because I didn't feel like using our outdoor BBQ grill. The original recipe (actually a YouTube video) can be found here. This turned out OK, and it was actually really easy to make. I think I just need to fine-tune the ground meat seasoning, as it was a little bland this first attempt.

Servings: 16
About 141 calories per serving

Ingredients:
12 Slices of Bacon
1.5 lbs Ground Turkey (24 oz)
BBQ Rub or seasoning of your choice
4-5 oz cheese
2/3 cup BBQ sauce

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Prep grilling rack (I used a small grill rack in a lined baking tray).
Step 3: Prep ground meat, mixing with desired seasoning.
Step 4: On wax paper, lay out 6 slices of bacon side-by-side.
Step 5: Spread half of the ground meet on top of the bacon in a thin layer.
Step 6: Put half of the cheese (cut into sticks or strips) along one side of the meat (at one of the edges with the bacon ends).
Step 7: Roll everything up, like sushi.
Step 8: Place roll on grill rack.
Step 9: Repeat steps 4-9 with remaining bacon, meat, and cheese.
Step 10: Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Step 11: Brush with BBQ sauce. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Step 12: Brush again with BBQ sauce. Bake for another 5 minutes.
Step 13: Remove from oven. Slice each roll into 8 pieces.
Step 14: Serve with additional BBQ sauce and any other condiments (such as pickled jalapeno).

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 55 minutes (15 minute prep, 40 minutes cook)

It's hard to tell if the inside of the roll is fully cooked. The cheese was melted and oozing out, so I assumed everything was done. But when I actually sliced everything and started to eat it, I kind of felt like it could have been cooked longer. Nothing looked raw anymore, but I'm not sure about fully cooked....So in the future I'll add on another 5 minutes to the first two cooking stages. I might also invest in a meat thermometer.

But it was still enjoyable. I might try using sliced cheese and creating another "layer" (more like a pinwheel dish), instead of just a center cheese filling. I might also try layering some BBQ sauce too. I think I'll definitely try this again.

Ingredients

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 11

Step 13

Teriyaki Meatballs with Rice

I felt like doing something new today. I've never made meatballs, and I found this recipe online via The Pampered Chef's website. It sounded quick and easy, and didn't have very many ingredients. And I must say it did turn out well! :)

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 tsp peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup teriyaki baste and glaze
1 small red or green bell pepper, diced
1 can (8 oz) pineapple chunks in juice
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions with tops

Cooked rice

Step 1: Combine turkey, bread crumbs, ginger root, and salt; mix gently but thoroughly
Step 2: Form mixture into 20 meatballs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Step 3: Heat oil in skillet over medium heat until hot. Add meatballs and cook, turning frequently, about 5-7 minutes or until meatballs are brown on all sides.
Step 4: Add teriyaki sauce, bell pepper, pineapples and juice; stir gently to coat meatballs evenly.
Step 5: Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 8-10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.
Step 6: Sprinkle with green onions.
Step 7: Serve meatballs and sauce over hot cooked rice.

Serves 4

Total time: 40 minutes

Not too bad timing-wise, considering I've never made meatballs before!! And I loved the taste, and the fact that these were turkey meatballs and not beef or something else. I give this 2 thumbs up for being delicious, quick and easy!!

Ingredients

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Turkey Vegetable Cobbler

I felt like something healthy for dinner tonight, so I browsed through my Pampered Chef It's Good for You cookbook. Pork, nah...beef...fish...nah. Oooo, turkey!! So I looked at the recipe, and thought "hey, this doesn't seem so tough, I can do this quickly". Except when I went to the store, the only turkey I could find was the deli sliced one. So since the recipe said turkey OR chicken in the ingredient list, I decided to use the canned chicken breast chunky meat instead! So here it is!

~Turkey Chicken Vegetable Cobbler~

Ingredients:
~Turkey & Vegetable filling~
2 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken [I used 2 cans of chicken breast meat]
1 cup sliced carrots [about 3 medium carrots]
1/2 cup chopped onion [1 small/medium onion]
2 cups broccoli florets [about 1 head of broccoli]
1 can (10.75 oz) 98% fat-free reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup 100% fat-free chicken broth
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 garlic glove, pressed
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
~Biscuit Topping~
1 1/4 cups reduced-fat all-purpose baking mix [I used Bisquik]
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 egg white

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400F. Cut turkey into 1/2 inch cubes. Cut carrots into 1/4 inch slices (can use crinkle cutter to be fancy). Chop onion using Food Chopper (PC).
Step 2: Combine carrots, onion, and broccoli into Large Micro-cooker (PC) [I dont' have the Lg Micro-cooker, so I combined the veggies into my Classic Batter Bowl (PC) and microwaved the veggies with a paper towel covering the top. It worked fine.] Microwave, covered, on High 2-3 minutes, or until crisp-tender; drain.
Step 3: In Classic Batter Bowl (PC), combine soup, broth, milk, pressed garlic, thyme, and black pepper; whisk until blended.
Step 4: Stir in turkey (chicken) and vegetable mixture; mix well.
Step 5: Pour into Deep Dish Baker (PC) [I don't have a DDB, so I used my Deep Covered Baker (PC).]
Step 6: For biscuit topping, combine baking mix, milk, and egg white; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (mixture forms a soft dough).
Step 7: Using Medium Scoop (PC), drop six scoops of dough over filling. [I actually had 8 scoops]
Step 8: Bake 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown. [I baked it for 27 minutes]

Recipe times:
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 30-35 minutes

My times:
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 27 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 57 minutes

Yeah, it took me a little longer than it should have....but still not bad! And it was HEALTHY!!!! According to the recipe, this has 6 servings; each serving contains 270 calories. Not bad! I probably ate 2 servings, because I was so hungry....and it still would be under 600 calories! Yay!! This was very similar to a pot pie, but with biscuits on top...

Ingredients (sans chicken)

Step 2

Step 5

Step 7