Simple Dinner for Two

Posted by WhiteOak in Articles, Food | 3 comments

Simple Dinner for Two

Dinner does not have to be expensive to be elegant and nutritional. A little planning, a little creativity and BAM you have a cool meal with leftovers to play with. Here is such a meal. I make this a lot because the one thing I hate the most is cooking in the hot summer months!

When I purchase meats, I try my best to purchase the larger family packs (If they are on sale) so I get a lot of different meals from one large package.

Stuffed Meatballs

1 lb. of 80/20 Ground Chuck (If you wanted too, you can also make chicken meatballs by chopping chicken that you have cooked in the crock pot, just increase the egg white to two instead of one)
½ cup of No-Sodium Bread Crumbs
(I have been ordering my special products with no sodium at a place called Healthy Heart. The link is: http://healthyheartmarket.com/ )
1-egg white
½ cup chopped spinach
¼ or ½ of BBQ Sauce
Pepper
Onion Powder (Not Onion Salt)
Parsley
Ms. Dash hamburger seasoning

Mix everything together and make medium size meatballs.

Cube up some mozzarella cheese into about ½ cubes and stuff them into the meatballs. Spray a large fry pan with cooking spray and cook meat balls on low heat. Lay meatballs on scot towel to absorb the extra grease and place into a bowl. Pour BBQ Sauce over them, cover and let sit.

**By using mozzarella cheese you are cutting way down on sodium.

**If you do not want to use bottled BBQ Sauce try this recipe:

Like-A-BBQ Sauce

Mix:
2 cups of Ketchup
1 teaspoon of Red Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
¼ to ½ cup of Brown Sugar or Raw Honey

Mix everything together with a whisk until smooth.

Spiced Potatoes

Wash 3 Medium Potatoes really good with a vegetable brush to make sure you have all of the dirt of them. (My favorite potatoes are Yukon Gold’s because the skins are real thin so I buy them when they are on sale and keep in my refrigerator and they stay good for a long time.)

Cube into one inch pieces and boil for about 8 minutes. Strain and cook in a fry pan that has a small amount of olive oil in it. Add some finely chopped onions and cook until golden brown and tender. Right before potatoes are ready to take off of the stove, sprinkle with black pepper, Ms. Dash Caribbean Seasoning and Paprika. Stir together.

**There is no waste because you are using the whole potato

**You are using very little oil and olive is healthier for you

**Save any leftovers

Simple Toss Salad

Lettuce Mixture-I use the spinach and spring green mixture
Tomatoes
Sliced cucumber
Sprinkle with Mozzarella Cheese
Add Salad Dressing

**To save money, purchase a big block of Mozzarella Cheese that way you can grate it, slice and cube it, plus it is cheaper in the long run than purchasing individual bags of shredded cheese and cheese slices.

Simple Garlic Bread

Take a whole wheat hoagie bun and slice it. Lightly butter both sides and place in a preheated fry pan and toast both sides. Sprinkle with Garlic Powder or rub each slice with some raw garlic clove.

Now you know you are going to have leftovers and what you do not freeze here is a great tasting breakfast!

Let’s make an omelet!

1-egg
2-egg whites
I use pepper (but most people like a little salt on their eggs)

Whip together and set aside

Chop a couple of meatballs and add some of the left over potatoes; grate some mozzarella cheese and mix together.

Cook your Omelet however you like it, add your filling, flip and flip again. Serve with sliced tomatoes and if you have any bread left over serve that as well.

I actually made of some of meatballs tonight. When I go grocery shopping I try myself to only get “Sale” meats and I spend the next day cooking meals ahead. From a 2 lb. pack of Hamburger meat, I was able to get 30 nice size meatballs, and 2 nice size hamburger patties. I paid $4.39 for this package of meat and got 4 main course dinners for my husband and me. Here is how I plan on dividing out the meals.

-One night we will have a hamburger, my husband’s will be a turkey bacon cheeseburger

-Two nights we will have meatball sandwiches

-One night we will have penne and meatballs

Of course all men are different and will eat different amounts so you will have to adjust your portions accordingly. But the objective is to pre-cook ahead and freeze. All you will need to do is defrost the meat and add what you want with it.

Next time maybe I will share my five chicken dinner from one crock pot.

WhiteOak believes cooking is a journey and as with all journeys you must be willing to explore. Sometimes experimenting with cooking can mean “inedible food concoctions” but it can also mean you have just created a “FANTASTIC NEW RECIPE!

Never be afraid to experiment and do not be afraid to be that “Mad Scientist of Cooking” because really one day you will see how important it is to be versatile with your cooking skills. You can read more about WhiteOak our Fave Member for 08/2010.