Chipotle Turkey Meatloaf

I swear, I think it took me over an hour to decide what to do with ground turkey last week.  Normally, I'm not so indecisive when I'm cooking (put a menu infront of me and that's a whole different story).  But for some reason, I was stumped.

I knew I wanted something that was easy to prepare and could be made in advance.  Then I came across this, and with a few adaptations we had a big hit!  Pretty healthy too.

Chipotle Turkey Meatloaf
heavily adapted from The Perfect Pantry

1 lb lean ground turkey
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo (cut back the amount for less heat)
garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons pecorino romano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly oil a loaf pan or baking pan (if you want to free form).

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Mix gently with hands and place in pan.  Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes, until cooked through.

Linked to: Tastetastic Thursday

Chipotle-Honey Pork Chops

I was a latecomer to the canned chipotle peppers in adobo party.  Up until a few weeks ago, I had never used them before.  I made these recently but it was with the leftovers from this dish that I'm blogging about today.  And now, I'll never turn back.

I was waiting for Frank's reaction after taking his first bite, since he isn't a fan of much heat.  He did pause for a second, but ended up surviving.  And really liking it.

And yeah, those are grits.  Straight from Tennessee!  Recipe to come tomorrow.

Chipotle-Honey Pork Chops
adapted from Epicurious

3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo (1/4 cup)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons honey
4 boneless pork chops

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place oven rack in middle of oven.

Puree chipotles in adobo, garlic and honey in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Pat pork dry and season with salt.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place pork on top.  Coat each chop generously with glaze.  Roast for about 20 minutes.  Serve.

Linked to:  Tastetastic Thursday

Baked Chipotle Chicken Chimichangas

Our latest recipe swap theme was Blogger's Choice, where we were each assigned a blog and got to pick the recipe we wanted to prepare (think SRC).  The blog I was given, Kate's Recipe Box, had some great ones to choose from!  I came very close to making this but had a change of plans mid week, and ended up going with something different (I'm definitely making it soon though...like, probably next week!).

And coincidentally, it's a Mexican dish...perfect for tomorrow's Cinco de Mayo celebration!

I made some changes to Kate's recipe based on what I had on hand and our preferences.  My regular readers know Frank doesn't eat beans, so I omitted them...used smaller (and low carb) tortillas...and swapped out sauce from canned chipotle peppers for the enchilada sauce.  

I love that this recipe is a healthier alternative to its fried counterpart.  I also love that they were easy to prep the night before so we could eat them on a work night.  They were delicious!

Baked Chipotle Chicken Chimichangas

adapted from Kate's Recipe Box

1/2 cup brown rice

1/2 onion, chopped

8 whole wheat low carb flour tortillas (smaller size...can be found at Trader Joe's)

2 tablespoons (approximately...adjust based on your heat level preference) sauce from canned chipotles in adobo

1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken breasts

3/4 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese

1/2 can black olives, chopped

low fat sour cream and cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook rice with onion according to package instructions and set aside.  

Lay tortilla flat and spread adobo sauce evenly on it.  If necessary, soften tortillas first in microwave or a pan to be able to roll them.  Add even amounts of rice mixture, chicken, cheese and olives and roll up.  Place seam side down on foil lined baking sheet.  Repeat with all tortillas.

Spray lightly with cooking spray and bake for about 10 minutes, or until tortillas start to crisp up.  Top with sour cream and cheese (and guacamole/avocado if you have it...I didn't).