Italian Style Meat Loaf

 I just found this meatloaf recipe that I had never made! I've been sort of craving Italian type foods this time around, so this sounded especially good! It basically tastes like a good meatball. I even stuffed some mozzarella in the middle of it, but apparently need to used more next time. I can't find much of it in the middle. I must say Sean took one bite and said..."This is really good". Thanks, honey! Enjoy!

Side note: For those of you would like to crock pot, you can make meatloaf in the crock pot as well. I would just google cooking time for meatloaf in the crock pot if you want to make it that way. Also...it says to make it on a broiler pan. I made it in a regular loaf pan with the same cooking time. It was a little watery/greasy, so it might it better if made on the broiler pan. However, it was really moist and tender meatloaf! Yummy!


Italian-Style Meat Loaf

1 1/2 pounds 92% lean ground beef
1 cup fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce, divided
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup (2 ounces) preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine beef, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl. Shape beef mixture into an 8 x 4-inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Brush remaining 1/2 cup pasta sauce over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut loaf into 12 slices.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 slices)

CALORIES 263 FAT 12.1g FIBER 1.4g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2006

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies

Well, in case you missed the big news around our house, we are being blessed for a second time! Today we are at 11 weeks,  5 days! Yay! I'm looking forward to getting some of my energy back in the second trimester. :)

Besides that, we have a major cold snap going on here as well as about 8 inches of snow on the ground. So, we've been stuck inside today. What better for us to do than bake cookies! I actually had everything I needed to bake my favorite cookies. They come out great everytime. And, hey...they have whole wheat flour in them, so they must be somewhat healthy, right?!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 water
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups oatmeal. quick cooking
1 cup raisins (gross) or nuts (i don't put these in either)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside. Cream margarine, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Beat in eggs and water. Gradually add dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips, oatmeal and nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Allwo to stand 2 minutes before removing form cookie sheet. Cool on racks. Makes 5 dozen (not in my house, but who's counting?)

Stuffed French Toast

 No, we don't eat this way for breakfast very often, but since I didn't get up and make Sean breakfast for his birthday on Friday, I decided to treat him today! If you need a good brunch recipe or just something fun to treat your family to, this is really yummy!


Stuffed French Toast

24 (1-ounce) slices cinnamon-raisin bread (I used Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl bread, 2 loaves and just put 2 layers of bread on the top and bottom)
Cooking spray
3 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 cups egg substitute, divided
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
Bottled cinnamon-sugar (optional)


Trim crusts from bread. Arrange half of the bread in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Combine milk, 1 1/2 cups egg substitute, half-and-half, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour half of milk mixture over bread in dish.

Combine 1/2 cup egg substitute, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and cheeses in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over moist bread in dish. Top with remaining bread; pour remaining milk mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover and bake at 350° for 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, if desired.


Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

CALORIES 340 FAT 11.3g FIBER 1.5g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2001

Italian Baked Fish

With the new year always comes a promise to eat better for most of us, right? I remembered that I had some Basa fish fillets in the freezer that needed to be used up, so I brainstormed on what to do with them. I decided to bake them and they turned out great! Here's my recipe.

Italian Baked Fish

2 Basa (or any other whitefish) fillets
1 can tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Parmesan cheese
Dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Salt and pepper both sides of fish they lay in dish. Press garlic into dish on top of fish, spread around evenly. Pour tomatoes on top and bake uncovered for approximately 25 minutes until fish flakes evenly with a fork. With about 5 minutes left to bake, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dried parsley.

I served this with some rice. I used some of the extra juice from the fish and stirred it into the rice, as well as some more Parmesan cheese and parsley. I also sauteed some asparagus and tossed it with salt, pepper, garlic salt and tarragon vinegar. Yum!