Vermont Balsamic Maple Turkey Meatloaf

Well hello there. Today was a big day with my blog hitting over 100,000 hits and my health coaching certificate and card coming in the mail. I am now officially a board certified health coach, and I am thrilled! It has been an interesting journey of self-reflection throughout my studies, and my life is completely different (in so many wonderful ways) than when I started. 

I have been a bit MIA from blogging over the past few weeks with some major things going on. Luckily in the midst of the craziness Ry came home from Dubai and we had an amazing getaway in Vermont. We celebrated Heather and Kenny's wedding and had tons of adventures along the way. I wanted a souvenir from the trip, and I ended up with some special Vermont-made food products to experiment with. One of the treasures was maple flakes which basically looks like brown rice krispies. The only ingredient is dried maple syrup, and they are crispy and sweet. I figured I could sprinkle a few of them on tonight's recipe instead of covering my meatloaf with the more traditional sugary ketchup concoction. It was just a hint of sweet mixed with the tangy balsamic, and it came out great. Enjoy!

Vermont Balsamic Maple Turkey Meatloaf: Serves 4-5, Prep time: 20 min, Cook time: 40 min

Ingredients:
- 1.25lbs ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, peeled & chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1+ tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. basil
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. Vermont maple flakes

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat
3. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes until soft
4. Add carrots, celery, salt, pepper, garlic powder (more is better!), basil, and thyme and cook for another 10-15 minutes until soft
5. Mix turkey, egg, almond flour, and veggie mixture in a bowl
6. Form into a loaf on a foil-lined pan
7. Brush with balsamic vinegar
8. Sprinkle meatloaf with Vermont maple flakes (if you don't have these you can use a mixture of balsamic and maple syrup for the topping)
9. Bake for 20 minutes
10. Brush the meatloaf with the leftover balsamic

11. Bake another 15 until cooked through (no pink in the turkey)

12. Cover the meatloaf and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving

  

  

Easy Shrimp & Veggie Soup

If you were wondering what an unhappy spatula looks like, you have come to the right place! I was in my room working yesterday, and when I opened my door to get a glass of water, I smelled a horrible whiff of burning plastic. The dishwasher had just finished running, and apparently my favorite spatula had fallen through the racks and was burning. This is actually pretty ironic because this was the only spatula that I could flawlessly flip omelets with. This took years to master, and I finally got it down in 2012. Now that my doctor banned me from eating eggs, it is probably fitting that my omelet spatula needs to be thrown in the trash. Hopefully the next sign from above doesn't include burning any more of my kitchen tools - that seems a little unnecessary if you ask me! 

Today's recipe is my new chicken-free take on a traditional chicken soup recipe. I recently picked up some wild-caught shrimp from Trader Joes, so I figured I could make a new soup recipe with it. It was actually great to have such a different twist on such a standard soup. This is incredibly easy to prepare, and you can substitute the veggies for anything you have in the house. I will absolutely be making this again and experimenting with other creative dishes with shrimp. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Easy Shrimp & Veggie Soup: Serves 4, Prep time: 15 min, Cook time: 35 min

Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
- 3 carrots, peeled & chopped
- 5 celery ribs, chopped
- 2 large red peppers, chopped
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 2 quarts (8 cups) organic vegetable stock/broth
- 1 lb. wild caught shrimp (I used frozen from Trader Joes that had tails removed and was de-vained)
- 6 oz. fresh spinach

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat
2. Add onions and garlic and cook for 10 minutes until soft
3. Add carrots, celery, and peppers and cook for another 10 minutes
4. Add thyme, pepper, and vegetable stock and bring to a boil
5. Turn heat to medium low and cook covered for another 10 minutes
6. Rinse shrimp in a colander and then slice into bite-sized pieces (I cut each shrimp into three pieces)
7. Add the shrimp and the spinach to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes

  

  

Winter Farmers Market Chicken Soup

Big things have been happening in my kitchen lately. Winter has been brutal, so I have had to increase my tea intake - I am drinking at least 4 cups a day, and in the spirit of accepting cool gadgets (and avoiding the microwave) in 2013, I got a few new things for my tea-drinking. I had been looking for some new mugs that are huge with a big handle, and I got some great ones at Marshalls with a very old store credit. There was a fourth one that said "Crazy Cat Lady", but that one was for Mal of course. I also got this great cuisinart electric tea kettle. It has six temperature settings and heats up in just a couple of minutes. It is faster than a standard tea kettle and safer than the microwave, so really a win-win. Lastly was the most romantic gift a girl could get from her boyfriend - an infrared thermometer. You may be wondering why it is such a life-changing gift, but we discovered in Vermont that my ideal tea temperature is 140 degrees (very hot still but not hot enough to burn my mouth). Even though the tea kettle has temperature settings, you have to steep the tea after the water is heated, so I couldn't take the chance of drinking my tea at the wrong temperature! Now all my cups of tea are perfect, and I can check the temperature of my computer, walls, feet, etc. when I'm bored. Any guys out there stuck on a Valentine's gift for your girlfriend/wife... you're welcome!

    

I had another great trip to the Cambridge Winter Farmers Market on Saturday. I was craving soup (like always), so I decided to go with a winter chicken soup - all ingredients (other than olive oil and broth) can be found at the market, and the soup is fantastic. It is hearty, sweet, and perfect for these 10-degree nights we've been having. Heat yourself up with some 140-degree tea and a bowl of chicken soup, and you'll be good to go! Spring will be here in no time...

Winter Farmers Market Chicken Soup Serves 10ish (it's a lot), Prep time: 30 min, Cook time: 2 hr

Ingredients:
- 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 medium sweet onions, chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1 head garlic, chopped
- 5 carrots, peeled & chopped
- 5 parsnips, peeled & chopped
- A 5lb. free-range organic chicken
- 2 quarts low sodium organic vegetable broth
- Sea salt, pepper, paprika, & thyme
- 2 bunches kale

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add onion, shallots, and garlic for 5-10 minutes

2. Place whole chicken on top of onions and season generally on both sides with salt, pepper, paprika, and thyme

3. Add the carrots and parsnips 

4. Cover the chicken and veggies with your broth (can use half broth and half water if you want) 

5. Bring the pot to a rapid boil and then cover the pot and cook on low for at least 90 minutes 

6. Take the chicken out of the pot, remove skin and bones, and add all shredded meat back into the pot

7. Break your kale into 1-inch pieces, add to the pot, and cook for another 5 minutes

8. Enjoy your local soup!

  

Roasted Chicken w/ Sweets & Beets

So if you're wondering, I am still upset about my poop sneaker. I am trying to pretend it never happened, but it isn't working. I don't have a padded mat under my standing desk yet, so I really need to wear sneakers in the house while I work. After yesterday's incident, I think my days of wearing sneakers in the apartment are over. The good news is that I will have a padded mat delivered and ready to go by the time I'm back from Stamford this week AND I found out that my sneakers are on sale on Zappos. I need another pair anyway, so this may just work out perfectly. I realize that if you are here for a delicious recipe, you probably don't want to hear about my dirty sneaker, but I just really needed to share!

I had a wonderful visit from my Dad today, and I wanted to make him a special meal before he headed out to London for business. I channeled my Grandma and went with my first ever roasted chicken. While I mastered the turkey back in November, I was still nervous about roasting the whole chicken. I threw it together with some roasted sweet potatoes and beets from the Siena Farm farmstore, and it was amazing! The one issue with beets is that their juice gets everywhere. The color is gorgeous, but I'd recommend wearing an apron (and a poncho) to avoid getting beet juice all over your clothes. Don't say you weren't warned!

Roasted Chicken w/ Sweets & Beets: Serves 4, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:

- 4-5lb. free-range organic chicken

- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled

- 2 beets, peeled

- Olive oil

- 1 lemon, halved

- 2 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, & sage

- Sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried onion

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Chop sweets & beets into 1-inch cubes and arrange in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried onion (or onion powder).

3. Rinse and pat dry chicken. Make sure you clean out the inside (luckily this one didn't have any surprises inside)

4. Coat the chicken with a little olive oil, the juice from the two lemon halves, and some of the spices.

5. Stuff the chicken with all of the herbs and the leftover lemon halves

6. Bake for 75 minutes, basting every 15-20 minutes

7. Flip over the chicken and cook for another 15 minutes

8. Let the pan sit for 5-10 minutes and then carve and enjoy!