Turkey Meatloaf with Mushrooms and White Beans and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Here are my two favorite South Beach Phase 1 Meals. I did so great while Andy was out of town on eating the phase one way...no such luck when he walked home with a bag of m&ms and proceeded to eat them in front of me...I felt I needed a reward for my two days of sacrifice and therefore ruined my two days in phase one only to have to start at day one again. Monday (my second attempt at day one) - car got broken into and after a day of inservice on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in the classroom, I deserved my two and very UN-phase one Margaritas that night. Day one for the third time - TODAY - Andy went out with a friend for dinner so I decided I still deserved two maragaritas with my mom and sister and daughter (who by the way proceeded to cheers every glass at the dinner table with her styrofoam cup and lid more than once) and once again, I will tomorrow begin day one of phase one again for the 4th time. I actually have done perfectly with my food...well except for the late night pretzel m&ms we will probably finally polish off tonight. For lunch I had spaghetti squash and black beans - very filling and tasty but I just can't get away from the de-stress relief I get from a little bit of tequila. You may think I am an alchy after reading this - I assure you I am the furthest from it - it just so happens I had the opportunity to partake at two restaruants in a row that feature such a wonderful beverage and couldn't resist. Anyway, I digress...here are my two favorite recipes. I made one last week and am pretty sure the next will be soon to come! If you know anything about South Beach - Phase one=no anything obviously bad along with fruit, juice, wine (all other alc. of course too but some say wine is GOOD for your health so thought I would include it in with the good things), fruit, bread, pasta, any type of carb EXCEPT for beans, etc. So these recipes work perf. for phase one. Also, note that my last recipe post - zuccini boats are perf for phase one minus the bread crumbs...substitute chopped mushrooms for the bread crumbs to help hold the mixture together.

Ground Turkey Meatloaf and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Meatloaf Ingredients:

2 tsp. evoo (extra virgin olive oil)

1 1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

3/4 lb. mushrooms trimmed (take the stems out) chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15 oz.) can great Northern beans rinsed and drained

1 1/4 lb. ground turkey

2 large eggs

1/2 c. parsley (fresh and chopped)

4 tsp. Worcestershirt sauce

2 tsp. Dijon mustard plus extra for serving

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8x4x2.5 in glass loaf pan with cooking spray (I use olive oil spray).

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, thyme, cayenne, paprika, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 min. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and mushrooms are incorporated, about 5 min. longer. Add beans and stir to combine, remove from heat. Transfer mixture to bowl and let cool, about 5 min.

In large bowl, add bean mixture, eggs, raw ground turkey, parsley, and 2 tsp. W sauce. Mix well with hands to combine. Pour mixture into loaf pan and smooth at the top. Cook for 50 min.

Combine mustard with 2 tsp. W sauce and set aside.

Remove from oven and brush with w sauce/mustard mixture and return to the oven to bake from another 10 - 15 min. Bake until the meat thermometer reaches 170 degrees F. Let stand for 5 min and serve with dijon mustard.

Cauliflower Mashed Potato Ingredients

2 heads fresh Cauliflower

One large carton chicken broth

Two cloves garlic roughly chopped into quarters

fresh chopped parsley - a couple tbs.

Wash and cut the cauliflower and place in a large stock pot. Pour in chicken broth, garlic cloves, and then water until the cauliflower is covered in liquid. Boil with the lid on until VERY soft - 20 - 30 min.

Once finished, use a slotted spoon to transfer the Cauliflower to your food processor. Process until the consistency of mashed potatoes. If you want it thinner and smoother, add some chicken broth to the mixture. Stir in salt and pepper to taste and parsley. DO NOT add butter! Cauliflower has a buttery taste on its on and paired with the chicken broth has a very wonderful flavor!

I also serve this with green beans almondine, YUM!

Asian Cole Slaw

This is a super yummy alternative to a salad. We will often make it with asian marinated grilled chicken and some fried rice (for Andy). I just recently tried it with a new recipe I found as another side - Spaghetti Squash with Edamame Sesame Noodles and really enjoyed it! Also, you can skip the ramen if you want to take the carbs out - I didn't have any and had to do that one time and it was just as good...just add a few more almonds in and you will be good to go! :) I HAVE to add the ramen though at my husband's rq :)

Dry Ingredients:

1 pkg. crushed ramen (throw the seasoning packet out)
1c. sliced almonds
1 bag of shredded cabbage (can do the coleslaw/broccoli slaw too but it will have carrots)
1c. dried cranberries


Wet Ingredients:
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tbs. water
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
2 tbs. soy sauce
1/8 c. sugar (the recipe calls for 1/4c. but I can't let myself put that much sugar in this...sometimes I just put like a tbs., you can always use splenda too)

Put the ramen and almonds on a sheet of foil and toast in your toaster oven or conventionl oven until golden (watch them because they can burn easily).

Combine all dry ingredients and toss. Then, mix all wet with a whisk and pour over the slaw. It is SO yummy served with grilled hawaiian chicken or any type of "asian fusion" dish! Enjoy!

A New Recipe Fave - Ground Turkey Stuffed Zuccini Boats

This dish can be made earlier in the day and then placed in the oven 30-40 minutes before you want to serve dinner. Any leftovers you have are also great for lunch the next day. If you have zucchini in your garden or want to take advantage of summer zucchini sales, this is a great recipe to try. I got it from a website and modified it of course...

Turkey Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Preparation Time: 15 minutes. Baking Time 30 minutes

4 zucchini, each about 6-7”in length
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
¾ pound ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon dried basil or oregano
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions and garlic. Add the ground turkey and continue to cook until the turkey is browned and fully cooked. As the turkey is cooking, make sure to break up the meat into small clumps.

Meanwhile, cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the center pulp of each zucchini half. Discard the pulp. Place the zucchini halves, with the hollowed out portion facing up, in a rectangular glass baking dish.

When the turkey is browned, remove from heat and add the beaten egg, breadcrumbs, seasoning and drained diced tomatoes. Spoon the turkey mixture into each zucchini half. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes covered with foil and for an additional 5 minutes uncovered. These can be made several hours in advance and refrigerated. The cooking time may need to be extended additional 5 or so minutes so that the boats are hot and bubbly.
Serves 4-6


I mixed the parmesan and mozzarella in the mix before baking. Also, I added diced spinach, italian seasoning and fresh basil instead of dried. I used as little bread crumbs as I could and have sometimes before (when on a low carb kick) chopped up mushrooms to take the place of the breadcrumbs. Otherwise, I pretty much follow this recipe to a T.

January Menu

SO usually I am the type that likes to plan my menu WEEKLY so to cook what is on special in the ads. While that worked well for me, I found I was cooking a lot of the same things and in an effort to organize the meals I have found and loved on Pinterest, I have decided to make a monthly menu. This is just a guide and you might notice some of the foods in the week share a common ingredient - I like to use say a rotisserie chicken a few different ways if you know what I mean or make a pot of beans and then re-fry them for a later meal. Anyway...we will see how this works and then I will have an archive of meals we love to look back on for future planning. Most all of these I have tried but I also like to at least once a week, try something new. Feel free to copy if you would like for your family meals! Also, if anyone can figure out how to embed a calendar either made in word, excel, or google calendars that can also have links to the dishes, PLEASE share with me - otherwise, I will have to do it the boring way below :(


January Week 1
1S: New Years Day annual hangover/good luck meal: Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Corn, Black Eyed Peas, Salad, Pioneer Biscuits



2M: Dinner out - Olive Garden GC - thank you TCE Students!

3T: Broiled Salmon (drizzled with evoo, coated in garlic salt, sea salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and juice squeezed from half a lemon), sauteed spinach (in minced garlic, salt, and pepper, evoo), maple glazed sweet potatoes

4W: Grilled Chicken and Veggies (roasted cauliflower/red onion/zuccini/yellow squash)

5TR: Shrimp Veracruzana, Cilantro Lime Rice, green beans

6F: Apricot Glazed Chicken, steamed broccoli, brown rice (for the huz)

7S: Bring a side to WWME Circle: Green salad with romaine, feta, chopped tomatoes, red or orange bell peppers, avocado, and cilantro vinaigarette


January - Week 2

8S: Breakfast: Skinny Blueberry Muffins (WAY better than the greasy real kind), Dinner: White Chicken Chili and a salad (probably with leftover cilantro vin because I am obsessed)

9M: Grilled Pork Chops with pan seared zuiccini/squash and a salad (L), baked potato (A)

10T: South Beach Phase 1 Turkey Meatloaf (will post the recipe on a post because I can't find online) and Califlower Mashed Potatoes (also from South Beach Diet Phase 1), green beans almondine

11W: Asian Chicken with Spaghetti Squash Sesame Noodles and Edamame and Asian Cabbage Salad (will post recipe as it is in my recipe book)

12TR: Grilled Salmon Salad (romaine, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, feta, balsalmic vinaigarette, black beans)

13F: Leftover Salmon and Black Bean Quinoa

14S: Ground Turkey Stuffed Zuccini Boats and salad - a WAY healthier alternative to lasagne

(I realize this week is LOADED with black beans but Andy will be out of town for some of it so won't care and I LOVE them and could eat the everyday so without his retorts, I will!)

January - Week 3

15S: Chicken Picatta

16M: Pot o Beans (pinto beans that have been soaked over night, onion slices, two cloves of garlic, one seeded jalep. pepper whole, 2 slices of bacon - simmer all day long)

17 T: Chicken Lettuce Wraps and fried rice (for Andy)

18W: Ground Turkey Taco Salad (make taco meat with ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a little bit of water), romaine, tomatoes, avo, onion, shredded cheese, and a side of either leftover beans refried or whole - whichever I am in the mood for :)

19TR: Either sandwiches on the go or dinner in Dallas - going to meet Baby Emily as she will be delivered on this day!

20F: Sloppy Turkey and Veggie Sandwiches and Baked Zuccini/Sweet Potato Fries


21S: Eat out

January - Week 4

22S: Roasted Chicken with the roasted vegetables and green beans and/or a salad (will use the leftover chicken for the enchiladas later this week) and the most amazing HOMEMADE Dressing I like the first one...also dried the sweet one too with cranberries!

23M: 15 Bean Soup with a Ham Bone from Thanksgiving in the soup! Makes a lot for lunches all week! :)

24T: Stacked Black bean, veggie, and chicken Enchiladas (I add chicken to this recipe and might make a different more tomato based sauce)

25W:

26TR:

27F: Eatzis on the way to CS

28S: Anniversary Dinner out with the Reinbergs

January Week 5/February Week 1

29S:

30M:
31T:









4S:

What a Year - 2011/Christmas Card Letter

This, our third edition of the Reinberg Family Christmas card, leaves us feeling utterly blessed by an amazing 2011. We have so many things to celebrate and give thanks for this year. We thought last year was full of firsts and realize that only continued into this year as well. Our family also encountered some trials and hard times that still leave us feeling though, how blessed we are. We pray for those who have endured suffering and strife and are amazed at their strength and faith that God would pull them through.

"These are a few of our favorite things" from 2011:

January - We celebrated our first New Year as a family of three and enjoyed a wonderful celebration with our dear friends, the Vanicek and Jones Families. We decided it would be the first of many New Years Eve parties with kids included and Eleanor had a blast at her first NYE party with friends, Katie (2 days younger) and Garrett (2 months older). Eleanor also crawled for the first time on New Years day!

February - Eleanor got to experience her first real snow and a week of Mommy and Daddy held captive in our tiny apartment as school was cancelled due to icy roads. Andy enjoyed a week of playing old school Nintendo games and Lindsay of course couldn't sit still and organized the entire apartment from the Tupperware cabinet to the ribbon drawer while of course also enjoying a week of non-stop sweet baby girl! Don't worry - none of that organization lasted more than a month or so in our teeny little shoe box.

March - We enjoyed a celebration of Eleanor's first St. Patrick's day complete with a lake house spring cleaning, green beer, and a new family favorite - Lindsay's first attempt at creating Irish Potato Salad - Colcannon.

April - Eleanor's first steps were just in time for her first Easter. It was her Daddy's wish that she be able to Easter egg hunt and boy did it come true. She had so much fun picking up the eggs and putting them in her basket. We had a wonderful time celebrating our Lord's Passion, Death, and Resurrection with the Aldons and awaited only a few weeks until our sweet baby turned one!

May - Eleanor's first birthday will never be forgotten. Her day began with a party thrown by Lindsay's 4th graders complete with animal crackers and goldfish to share. After her first party, she ventured to Houston's with Mommy, Daddy, Marmi, and Aunt Mary for her birthday dinner. Houston's is a popular Reinberg hangout for all things celebration including where Andy and Lindsay went to celebrate pregnancy and finding out Eleanor was a girl so it was only appropriate that we celebrate her first birthday there. The night was capped with Lindsay and Eleanor covered in her first chocolate sundae. Andy's favorite part of May was spending hours and lots of words that shouldn't be repeated putting together our birthday girl's present - a brand new kitchen. What first birthday would be complete without a party? Eleanor enjoyed her pastel pink themed party, cake, and most of her family and friends who also dressed in pink (even her Daddy!). Her smash cake was so super cute and wonderful from tart bakery - Mommy and Aunt Jenna (also her godmother) made the cupcakes, cake balls, white chocolate dipped pretzels and strawberries and the hamburger lunch. There was even a pink drink that many of the mommies enjoyed - a copycat of Cheesecake Factory's spiked raspberry lemonade.

June - Andy and I, after much urging from our parents (on both sides) were blessed with the opportunity to attend a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend where we got to stay in a nice hotel and basically just focus on each other for a weekend. It was a nice break but we also missed being away from Eleanor for the first time! Our first family plane trip brought us to visit Andy's sweet grandparents, Grace and Gene Reinberg in Ft. Davis, Texas. Eleanor had a great time on the plane opening and closing the window and peering behind the seat incessantly saying, "hi" to the man passed out behind us. She wasn't ever phased that he never responded. She also gave us the first of, I fear, many scares as a parent. On this trip (in the middle of nowhere), she hit her head and passed out, and taught us a new trick of hers - she tends to hold her breath when she gets too worked up and makes herself pass out if we don't remind her to take a breath. This is what the EMTs who said she was fine when we rushed her to the local fire station (don't worry, an ER was over 30 min. away) told us and we later learned Andy's dad used to do the same thing as a child.

July - Another first - a trip across the country and Eleanor's first 20+ hours straight in the car to visit Lindsay's Family in Virginia, the Thomasons, Andy's first encounter with our Nation's Capital and any Civil War/Revolutionary battlefield he could get his hands on, a beautiful wedding of Lindsay's cousin, Jessica and her new hubs LJ, and visit to Lindsay's Dad's side of the family in Baltimore, Pop Pop's hometown, then to travel south along the coast to visit Lindsay's 95 year old Grandmother, Grandmary and Aunt and Uncle in Pinehurst, and introduce them to Eleanor for the first time, topped off with a few days by the beach in Florida on our way home. Eleanor was a champ on the trip and loved meeting all her family members along with the waves and sand at the beach. Andy and Lindsay celebrated their second wedding anniversary in pieces this month - one date was a day alone to road trip to Gettysburg, PA, their favorite battle of the Civil War (nerds), another was a date alone to tour the capital, and the third was a steak dinner cooked by Andy with in tow on the actual day - July 18th.

August - Andy and Lindsay BOTH had amazing opportunities come in late summer. Andy, a Varsity defensive football and Head Track Coaching position at Ranchview HS in Carrollton and Lindsay a 5th grade position at Town Center Elementary in Coppell. She has dreamed of working in Coppell since HS and not only was she granted the opportunity to work in Coppell but at (in her opinion) the best elementary school in the district gifted with amazing parents, innovative technology available to students, and a wonderful crop of students with a desire to learn like no other, and a 5 min. commute (as opposed to her 1hr+ to Richardson). Andy had been awaiting an opportunity to coach at a Varsity level and now to also earn the head track coach spot made him even more excited to take on high schoolers! Both miss their friends from their old schools but are so thankful for this new opportunity.

September -Varsity football consumed our lives this month and next. Eleanor loved going to the games and was a trooper staying awake until sometimes as late as 10pm so she could run on the field and see her Daddy at the end of the games. We also earned a whole new family at Ranchview - Lindsay with some wonderful wives to accompany her in the stands, and Andy with a most uplifting and positive coaching staff he could ever dream of. Eleanor also has made friends with the coach's kids.

October - Lindsay celebrated her 27th birthday and Andy never failed to make it special. He arranged for Aunt Mary to babysit on a weeknight and took L to Nordstrom to get her makeup done and some much needed new products seeing as she hadn't bought new in almost 2 years! He also treated her with some perfume and a dinner at none other than, Houstons. October brought a two month wave of viruses for Eleanor - poor baby just couldn't get well. One of those we could actually name being 5ths disease. Eleanor also enjoyed her second Halloween. She was a butterfly (butt-bye as she said) and though she still had a terrible rash from her 5ths disease (she was no longer contagious), she went to a couple houses, including Marmi and Pop Pop's and LOVED her first candy! Lindsay's Uncle David also suffered a heart attack and a couple of months in the hospital and though we missed having Marmi around, were so thankful she could be there with her brother to help. We were SO thankful for the friends and family who helped with Eleanor in Marmi's absence. We are so blessed!

November- Eleanor's sickness continued with high fevers and more we really don't even want to write about which kept us from traveling to College Station to see Andy's family for Thanksgiving. My family also decided not to got to the farm so we had a very last minute/impromptu Aldon family Thanksgiving at mom's house this year topped off with two versions of homemade stuffing I made and LOVED - I will never use a mix again! We also enjoyed our first ENTIRE WEEK off for Thanksgiving break - what a treat!

December - Eleanor finally began to feel better come December and we had a wonderful month preparing for our Lord's birth. A new tradition we began in the Reinberg house as we counted down the days of Advent was that Eleanor got to open a new Christmas book each day. She LOVED practicing unwrapping the gifts and looked forward to opening her new book every night before bed. Lindsay ran her first half marathon this December finishing in 2:08.?? and feeling great! She is either going to run another half and hope to better her time or do a full or maybe both in 2012. She couldn't have done it without the support of her husband and sister Mary (who watched Eleanor and stood on the sidelines cheering in the rain) as Andy ran the last 4 miles with Linds. Andy celebrated his 28th birthday with a 3rd annual trip to Billy Bobs - this time to see Jack Ingram. Andy's almost entire coaching staff game along with his parents for the first time and brother, Tim along with Lindsay's sisters Mary and Kel and Andy's best friend from HS, Greg and girlfriend Michaela. It was a fun weekend as always! Christmas was spent at home and Santa came for the first time to the Reinberg house. We enjoyed 5pm Children's Christmas Eve mass for the first time in a long time and said goodbye for probably a while to midnight mass. After mass we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and agreed it was a new tradition - way easier than a Turkey and all the fixins. Eleanor put cookies and milk our for Santa and woke up in her own bed, so excited to see what he brought along with eat the rest of his cookies! We then traveled to the Aldon's for a day of fun and just can't reiterate enough the blessing of family.

We are so thankful for all those who are in our lives and pray that God Blesses you and yours this Christmas and in 2012. If we haven't seen you in a while, our door is always open - you might have to squeeze in Eleanor's room on an air mattress but are always welcome!

Love,
Andy, Lindsay, and Eleanor