Lowfat Cheeseburger Pie

Who doesn't like a good old-fashioned cheeseburger?  I love almost any kind of burger, but for some reason they don't really like me and my waistline back.  This week I had a craving for a CB and instead of giving into it right away, I now had a mission to find a low-fat alternative, figure out the recipe and get my husband on board with my healthy cheeseburger train.

Once again I turned to my handy-dandy Sparks Recipes App when I was on-the-go, picked up a few ingredients and started cookin!

What's different in this recipe that makes it so much better for you?  For starters it's made with Ground Turkey instead of beef, and substitutes Heart Smart Bisquick for the need of a bun.

Lowfat Cheeseburger Pie

1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1 cup non-fat cottage cheese
1 egg (I used 2 tbsp egg whites)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used white)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
3/4 cup Kraft 2% Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup of Heart Smart Bisquick (mix only)
4 slices of tomato

cooktime: 50 minutes
servings: 8

To make pie: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and start by chopping your onion and garlic. 

Brown ground turkey, onions and garlic in a large skillet.

While the turkey is browning, use this time to make your pie crust using Heart Smart Bisquick.

Mix Bisquick and water to form a dough.

Add water gradually as needed for dough.  You might need to add a bit more of either ingredient when you roll out the dough.  For best results, try rolling directly on your kitchen counter top
(after you're sure it's clean, of course). 
*TIP: If your dough is sticking, try adding more Bisquick.

Roll the dough with a rolling pin so it's flat enough to cover a pie pan.  *NOTE: You might have extra dough. 
Place dough in pie pan.

*NOTE: While making pie crust, be sure to keep checking on your browning turkey.  After you're done with the crust, mix Worcestershire Sauce in with the turkey, onions & garlic.

Ground all together for a minute or two.  During this time make your cottage cheese and egg layer.  The recipe called for 1 egg, but I substituted 2 tbsp of egg whites liquid instead.

 
In a separate bowl, mix the cottage cheese with the egg. 

By now your turkey mixture will be ready to pour into your crust.

Pour the cottage cheese mixture over turkey.

Top with Shredded Cheddar Cheese.



Place tomato slices on top and you're ready to bake that pie!

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, cut with a butter knife (to avoid scratching pie pan) and serve.

ENJOY the oooie-gooie, lighter version of the classic cheeseburger.

*BONUS RECIPE: Still hungry? Pair your Lowfat Cheeseburger Pie with a quick-and easy side salad.  I wanted something plain and simple that would compliment the pie, not overtake it.

pairing of choice: Side Salad

1/3 a head of iceburg lettuce
1/2 cucumber, peeled & sliced
8 tomatoes wedges or slices
a handful of mushrooms
2 pinches of alfalfa sprouts

cooktime: 5 minutes
serves: 2

To make side salad: peel, chop, and slice your veggies.

Rip the iceberg lettuce off of the head, wash and put enough in a bowl to fill it up.

Add the veggies and top and serve with your dressing of choice.  I chose a light oil & vinegar combo.

ENJOY your Lowfat Cheeseburger Pie and Side Salad!

What are some other good pairing ideas for your casseroles or dinner pies?

Arkansas/Missouri & a WOO PIG SOOIE!

Scott and I usually take a trip home every summer, but because an event that was kind-of a big deal...our WEDDING, we delayed our summer trip until just a few weeks ago.  I say "home," but that really means home for Scott.  I'm a native Floridian and he is from all over both sides of the Arkansas & Missouri state line.  Last trip up, he tried to show me a few of his houses he grew up in and when I say a "few" I really mean there was a house he showed me every 15 minutes of our ride...talk about a traveler!

I love visiting the mid-west.  We went at the end of September which was just in time to catch a glimpse of the leaves changing colors.  The weather was beautiful and I get so excited to see all of the hills and "hollers."  I quote because I wasn't sure what exactly that was, unless you're trying to "holla" back at me...until recently.  Oh, and I almost forgot...I will always have a special place in my heart for AR/MO because here is where Scott proposed on this exact trip, just one year prior.

This time, we chose September to visit for two reasons: 1) it was somebody's High School Reunion, and 2) it was my Mother-in-law's birthday!  As usual, we basically planned to drive in a huge circle and make our rounds to visit all of our family & friends in the AR/MO area.

Day 1: Branson, MO

We flew into the brand-new, one of a kind airport in Branson.  As soon as we landed in MO we knew exactly where we were by the airport's decor..."Welcome to Branson folks, check out our Water Mill & General Store right HERE!"

Scott's Mom & Step-Dad picked us up from the airport and off we were to spend the day as tourists in Branson.  The city is known to be a "Second Nashville" because there is a huge population of country artists that perform & reside there.  Whenever we are in the city, we make it a point to see a show and eat at a new restaurant.  This trip, we saw the Shanghai Circus - amazing!

After the show, I was so excited to finally eat at the famous Lambert's Cafe, the Only Home of Thrown Rolls.

The restaurant is known for literally throwing fresh, hot rolls right at you...all you have to do is hold your hands out and it's a free-for-all.  Besides the rolls, I loved how this place has staff walking around throughout your entire meal offering endless "pass arounds" including Fried Okra, Macaroni & Tomatoes, Fried Potatoes & Onions, and Black-Eyed Peas.  For my Orlando audience, think Texas de Brazil, Southern style.

The food was fantastic, the only problem was being too full for Andy's Frozen Custard, another AR/MO must-stop place for us.  *NOTE:  In case you haven't picked up on it yet, I don't really stick to my normal diet during vacations...I feel like that time is there to relax and let go & I bust my butt when I get back home!

After a long day of traveling and being on-the-go we finished the day with watching my new all-time favorite movie, Bridesmaids, laughed until we cried and called it a night.

Day 2: Powell, MO

After a fun-filled day in Branson, it was time to head to Powell (population....like 20) to visit Scott's Dad and Step-Mom.  One of our favorite parts of seeing everyone up there is the drive from one city to another.  Any way we go it turns into a scenic route, and it's beautiful.

We arrived at his Dad's house in the afternoon and spent the remainder of the day catching up, grilling hamburgers and enjoying the stunning view they have from their backyard.

I love it here...it truly feels like a vacation because our cell phones and Internet barely work, which is a good thing when you're trying to catch a breather.  The weather was so nice and we enjoyed taking walks around their property while spending some quality time with his parents.

Day 3: Fayetteville, AR

We didn't get up as early as the chickens you see above, but instead enjoyed their fresh eggs for breakfast with spinach, mushroom & goat cheese omelets.  I really enjoyed cooking with the family and our time at their house.  Before we knew it, it was time to head into Arkansas to spend a day with Scott's college spirit-squad buddy, Amanda.

Oh, look...on the way there I could finally check "being 2 places at the same time" off of my bucket list!

When we got there, right away we headed to Fayetteville Country Club for a great lunch on the patio of their home Golf Course.  Beautiful view, right?

Fayetteville is smack-dab in the heart of Razorback Country, so it felt appropriate to visit Scott and Amanda's alma mater, the University of Arkansas.  We at least drive through, if not walk around the U of A campus every time we visit the city and I enjoy the tour every time just as much as Scott does.  I went to the University of South Florida and loved it there, but the all-over die hard support for the Razorbacks in this town is nothing like I've ever seen.  GO HOGS!

I'm not going to tell you how exactly Scott & Amanda know each other, but I'll give you a few hints...pictured below you will see Scott and his best man from our wedding, Joe - 3rd from left - (Amanda's husband).  Amanda was on the dance team (just like me!) and they were all great friends.

After the campus tour, it was time to get ready for the first night of Scott's High School Reunion.  The first night's event was their high school football game and we had fun catching up with his high school buddies.

 
Every time we visit AR/MO I get a little more country in my veins, and I choose to embrace it.  When we left the football came, we met up with Amanda to go camping and I had such a good time.  Sure, we were on a Fayetteville Country Club again (our lunch spot) and on the 9th hole for their annual camp-out, but it was camping to me.  We had sleeping bags, a bonfire and a 6-person tent, but anywhere you don't have a bathroom or an outhouse IS camping if you ask me!

We barely got any sleep that night and had SO much fun camping with her neighborhood friends.

Day 4: Rogers High School Reunion

We woke up on the golf course and my first thought was "where the heck am I?!" It's not a normal thing for me to wake up in a tent outdoors, but as soon as I realized why I was there I was glad we stuck it out.  We grabbed breakfast at the club and headed back to Amanda's house to watch the Hog Game (U of A vs. Alabama).  Although we didn't win THAT game we still showed our Razorback pride by gearing up and tailgating at her neighbor's outside trailer-gate.  I wish I had a picture of this thing, because it was pretty impressive...maybe next time.

It was finally time to get ready for the big event for his High School Reunion, so I headed upstairs to get dressed.  I'm so thankful that this day of all days the weather warmed up because I had one nice dress with me, and it was not made for fall weather.

I was excited to wear this dress since my shoes were the exact same color and I never get to wear them...unfortunately that's another thing not pictured.  I have to say, being the spouse at a High School Reunion is not as fun as being the former classmate.  I didn't know anyone besides Scott, but others in my same shoes eventually formed a spouse-only table and bonded throughout the night.

What started out as a slow night of casual conversations turned into some pretty ridiculous dancing.  Needless to say, we thought Scott may or may not have re-torn his labrum when he decided to do a back handspring in a dance party circle at the end.

Aw, bummer on Sherrie's eyes being closed.

Crazy highschoolers.

Day 5: Springfield, MO

We came, we saw & we reunioned.  Now it was time to head back to Scott's Mom's house for her Birthday!  Scott and his siblings had organized a get-together at her house so everyone could spend the afternoon together for her special day.

Very rarely, are all of the brothers and sisters together and here we were still missing Scott's sister Brooke and his step-sister Melissa, so I along with another daugther-in-law Whitney stood in for the sibling family photo.

After all of the "hey, we're a family and we're almost all here" photos we had some fun doing a backyard country photo shoot.

Next up...planking.

Totally normal.  If you thought that was weird...who the heck is this creeper?

Regardless of whether some of them were Awkward Family Photo worthy or not, we had a great afternoon with the family and enjoyed great food, great weather, and great company.
*HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKY!*

What a great vacation.  Although trips home to AR/MO don't include laying poolside drinking bahama-mama's I love our week up there every year.  I am a homebody and country girl at heart and really enjoy living the easy (non-city) life they do up there.  I joke with Scott, but every now and then I get the bug to pack up everything and move up there....we'll see.

What do you think? Just picture this as our next Christmas Card:

WOOOOOO PIG SOOOOOIE!

WOW: Living on a Prayer

Ohhh, we're half way there, oh-OH Livin' on a... Plan?

Last week was a busy one and I never got to share a Word of Wisdom with you.  When this week rolled around I became anxious the get back to sharing the Word this Wednesday.  My last WOW: Peace Out post, was all about finding peace in any situation you get into or stumble upon.  This week, I wanted to take that idea a step further and go from accepting the situation to trusting in God's plan for us.

I'm a planner.  I always have been and I always will be.  I'm the girl people always copied notes from in school because I have a complex about everything looking exactly the right way, circled, highlighted and mapped things out for future use.  Don't even get me started about planning our wedding...did you SEE my Wedding Notebook? Maybe I should consider wedding planning as a career?  Maybe not...been there, done that & blogged about it... ;)

But what happens in life when you don't have a Notebook to go by?  I'm happy to share that for the first time in my life I'm accepting that God will be planning it from here on out.

Proverbs 16:9

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.  

 This past year has been an epic one for us filled with happy, life-changing moments.  A friend (and fellow blogger) of mine has had a crazy and even more dramatic year than I have, so I'm also writing this WOW for her.  Like her's it's been one of my most challenging years to date after being in a traumatic car accident, taking in a stray dog with heartworm and continuous trips to the vets, planning our dream wedding, fighting my accident in court, going to the E.R. and getting staples put into my head, losing my license for a quick minute and the list goes on.  To top this year off, my husband's job disappeared within a blink of an eye 3 weeks before the wedding and he is now looking for a new one (ie: a new life for us). 

My plans?  Well, they're pretty much out the window.  Six months ago we had the next year ahead completely mapped out.  I was going to leave my part-time job, we were going to finally look for a house and I was going to spend the year getting it set up while completing my final season as a dancer for the NBA.  The big finale of our year's plan? Starting a family.  Yup, we had literally planned out what month and day we would start trying, which happened to be around my birthday in April.

Where are we now?  Still happy and optimistic, but not doing any of the things I just listed.  THAT is just so frustrating to me.  With Scott looking for a new job, the possibilities of where we will end up are endless...and bit overwhelming.

If there's anything I've learned from our world being turned upside down, it's that everything DOES happen for a reason.  I know, I know...that sounds so cliche, but it's just the more common version of "God has a plan for you."  I've always told people that advice, but never truly believed it myself until the last few years.  God DOES have a plan for you and for everyone.  Everything happens for a reason and falls into place when it's supposed to.  So when you're asking yourself "why?!" or "why now?"...trust in the Lord, He knows what He's doing.

And for all of the planners out there like me...don't worry.  You can still keep your beautiful, color-coded planners.
Just pencil some of those plans in, will you?

Broccoli Slaw

Is it ever a challenge to get your family to eat vegetables?  Both my husband and I could be considered veggie-lovers, me being more of the raw veggie fan, while he prefers to dress his greens up a little.  It's easier to get your family on board with veggies when you find recipes and ways to dress up your greens.

One of my favorite things to keep in my vegetable drawer is a bag of broccoli slaw.  They sell 12 oz. and sometimes 16 oz. bags in the produce section of the grocery store.  You can steam it, mix it into a salad or add a few easy ingredients to it to make a great side dish for your next pot luck or backyard barbecue.

Whenever the bags of veggies go on sale at the grocery store I stock up.  I like to pre-make side dishes I can put in the fridge and quickly pull out for dinner that night, or even to snack on for a few days.  I'm going to start with a broccoli slaw recipe I make when I'm bringing it to a party or event, but I have a quicker and easier 5-minute version a little later on in the post.

Broccoli Slaw: Pot Luck Style

4 slices turkey bacon
1 12-16 oz. bag shredded broccoli slaw
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons (or 2 packets) sugar or artificial sweetener
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup finely diced red onion

cooktime: 20 minutes
servings: 8, 3/4 cup each

To make broccoli slaw: cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, turning frequently.  I use Jennie-O brand turkey bacon.

If you prefer to microwave, do so on High for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.  Drain bacon on paper towels, chop coarsely, and put it to the side.  Next, dice your onion.

Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. 

Add turkey bacon, onion and broccoli slaw and toss to coat.

Chill until serving time.

 

*TIP: You can dress this slaw recipe more by adding any of the following:

1/4 cup of non-fat plain yogurt
1 8 oz. can of low-sodium sliced water chestnuts, chopped
2 packages ramen noodles (cooked, without adding seasoning)
1 cup sunflower seeds

You can change up your broccoli slaw each time you make it by simply changing an ingredient or two to find what combination you like best!  As for an every day snack, I like to have something handy to snack on that will take me less than 5 minutes to make.  Here is my every-day version of a plain, healthier broccoli slaw:

Broccoli Slaw: Snack Style

1 bag 12 oz. broccoli slaw
1/8 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/8 cup cider vinegar -OR- 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar (sweeter)
2 teaspoons (or 2 packets) artificial sweetener
salt and pepper to taste

cooktime: 5 minutes
servings: 6-8, 3/4 cup each

To make broccoli slaw snack: Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. 

Add in broccoli slaw and toss.  Enjoy immediately or store in fridge for up to 2 days.

*TIP: Have you ever tried Nature's Seasoning? It's made up of salt, pepper, garlic, onion and a few other natural seasonings for a one-stop seasoning addition to your food. 

 
I LOVE this stuff and will often even replace the need for salad dressings with it.  It's great on cucumbers, tomatoes, cottage cheese and especially broccoli slaw!  If you go with Nature's, just skip the salt and pepper step of the recipe.

What are some of your favorite slaws or slaw recipes?