When I cooked on Monday, I was dogged tired. I left work, picked up B’Dazzle from school and drove straight home.

I wanted so badly to nap, but my weekend was full of fun (car show and bowling), but I did not get my meal prep or other cooking done so I had to cook after work. #notfun!

Mercedes SL400… give or  take $200,000.  Lol!!  I’m not a materialistic person, but I want this car; it’s a beautiful work of art.  🙂

Okay so the BMW 4 Series is financially more realistic.  I can work with this model 🙂  We had a blast at The Philadelphia car show. If you are a car enthusiast and haven’t attended a car show yet, add it to your list; you’ll go bananas!

Anyways, if you know me or follow my blog, you know that I don’t eat red meat. My last steak was December 1996 and I don’t miss it.  The last time I cooked red meat (a steak for Father’s Day for hubby), I nearly puked.

While B’Dazzle read and worked on similes and metaphors, I tackled cooking…. 4 O’clock in the evening til just past 9:00 p.m.

Why on earth would I cook for 5 hours straight on a weekday when I have to get up early the next day?

Lifestyle baby!!

I’m committed to bodybuilding/weight training & fitness!

I’m committed to eating clean!

I’m committed to looking and feeling my best!

To net success and positive results in all that we do, we have to set aside mediocrity and work toward a greater level of consistency in commitment and sacrifice. Average input will not do.  With regards to fitness, others might view me as compulsive; but as I continue to grow stronger and my physique speaks for itself.

I wanted and needed to hit the gym, but even more important than the gym was having food prepped for the week.  What’s the point of working out and following it up by eating crap?  That makes no sense and is counter-productive. So, I lit the stove, warmed the ovens, and got busy cooking.

First item on the list?  A turkey loaf.  Turkey is naturally bland.  To liven it up, you have to add lots of fresh spices and goodies like this:

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs ( approximately)  lean ground turkey breast
• 3 peppers (red, yellow, and orange)
• 1 large sweet onion
• 2 cups of Panko wheat bread crumbs
• 2 handfuls of fresh spinach (I prefer baby leaf)
• 2 cups of mushrooms
• 4 eggs (3 are in the video)
• To taste.. I don’t measure. Just make sure you can see the spices in the meat after you stir.  More spices is only going to enhance the flavor.  Be careful tho with the Lawry’s, it has SALT (an evil word to me). 🙂
  • Granulated garlic
  • Lawry’s seasoned salt (a little)
  • Grill mates Brown sugar bourbon
  • Crushed red pepper
  • Black pepper (prefer freshly ground but was too tired for that..)
• 1 small can (unsalted preferred) tomato sauce
• 1 Tbs. of (organic preferred) baking sugar
• 1 Tbs. of lime juice (fresh preferred)
• 1 Tbs. golden mustard (only my mom’s French’s spicy mustard was on hand; it’s not that serious)

Now what?

Place turkey in a large mixing bowl. Chop the peppers, mushrooms, onions, and spinach. Toss in the bowl and thoroughly mix.  Add dry spices and mix.  Add bread crumbs and mix. Add eggs and mix. Normally I would double the eggs and use only the yolk, but did I mention I was tired?  Set aside.

Pour tomato sauce in a medium to large measuring cup.  Add lime juice and stir.  Add sugar and stir.  Add mustard and stir.  Pour half of the tomato sauce mixture into turkey and mix well.  Save other half of the mixture.

Pour turkey mixture into baking pan and shape to your liking.  Pour remaining sauce over the loaf or whatever shape you created.  🙂   Cover and bake at 375 degrees for…. Umm.. Geez!  I’m trying to remember how long it cooked.  Lol!  I was tired.  Did I tell you that already?  Well, it definitely baked for at least one hour. After an hour, I took the foil off and let it cook a little longer to brown. Every oven is different (my gas oven bakes quicker than my electric oven) so just be careful and check it after an hour.

When it’s done, freakin enjoy it because it’s DELICIOUS!

So that was only one dish!  I also cooked, baked brussels sprouts for mom (and me), baked chicken breast, mashed sweet potatoes, brown rice, and lentils.  Here’s the evidence!

Mom and I are the only two in the house who appreciate brussels sprouts. Here they are soaking in water before I sliced and seasoned them.

Seasoned with garlic, pepper, crushed red peppers, and olive oil, I tossed the brussels sprouts in a foiled covered pan and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.  They have nice crunch and a spicy kick to them.  Mmm..

Boiled sweet potatoes After peeling and mashing the sweet potatoes, I seasoned them with cinnamon, coconut milk, nutmeg and unsalted cultured butter… No sugar.  I don’t usually use butter in my mashed sweet potatoes, but since my family would be tasting, I added a little.

While in Whole Foods two weeks ago, this package of organic black lentils caught my eyes. It’s good to try new foods; it makes meals so much more interesting.

After rinsing the lentils (the entire bag), I tossed them in the crock pot using 4 cups of water and 4 cups of juice from parboiled smoked turkey. The “smoked” turkey isn’t the best choice, but my family wants meat in their soups.

I ran out of onions, so I added extra spice: chopped fresh garlic, bay leaves, oregano, black pepper, and crushed red peppers. Before adding the meat to the pot, I removed all the skin, bones, and fat. Before heading to bed, I set the crock pot on low and to cook for 10 hours. The next morning when I headed down stairs for my coffee, I was also greeted by the wonderful aroma of spicy cooked lentils.

Now I’m pretty much set for the week with very little cooking needs.

Make it a great day!  🙂