Meatloaf Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hey Loves!

One of the meals I used to hate as a kid was meatloaf, but as I have grown older I have learned to love it! I am always trying to come up with new ways to re-create it and make it better! I also like to, when I can, make things into "mini" forms haha! These mini individual meatloaf's are TO DIE FOR! 

Serves 6 - 230 Calories & 6 WW PointsPlus


Ingredients:

• 6 Medium bell peppers
• 1.5 Pounds lean ground turkey
• 3 Tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped
• 1 Medium white onion diced
• 3 Cloves garlic diced
• 1 Tsp salt
• 1 Tsp pepper 
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 2 oz Tomato paste
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Paprika

 Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
2. Mix all ingredients together except bell peppers
3. Remove tops and core bell peppers
4. Stuff with meatloaf mixture with at least 1/2 inch of room at the top left.
5. Cook at 400°F for 20 minutes then turn down to 375°F 20-30 more minutes
6. Remove from oven and let sit for 3 minutes and then enjoy!

Hope you think these are as yummy as I do! If you remake any of my recipes please tag them with #foodcourtt and make sure to follow me on instagram @foodcourtt!

Happy Creating!

XO, Courtney
 

Coconut Lime Chicken Skewers

Hey Guys!

So the first week I cooked for my clients I made them this dish, and unfortunately I never even tried it! AHHH bad chef, I know! But they kept on telling me how amazing it was so I decided to try to make it again and this time for Joe and I! If I do say so myself this was scrumdidlyumptous! Haha this dish will NOT disappoint! It is kind of high in WW Points but I believe its totally worth it!!

Serves 2 - 417 Calories & 11 WW PointsPlus

Ingredients:

• Zest of 1.5 limes
• 1 Tsp paprika
• 1 Tsp chili powder
• 1 Tsp kosher salt
• 2 Limes juiced
• 1/2 Tsp black pepper
• 5 oz Coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 Cloves of crushed garlic
• 2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Steps:

1. Mixing all of of the ingredients together in a bowl, besides the chicken, whisk together thoroughly.
2. Cut chicken into strips to be able to skewer later (I got 3 strips per breast).
3. Submerge the chicken strips into the marinade and place into fridge for 30 minutes to no more than 3 hours.
4. After your desired marinate time take the chicken out and put onto skewers and pre-heat the grill.
5. SAVE THE MARINADE - it becomes the most delicious sauce!
6. Grill the chicken on the skewers for 6-7 minutes per side. Should be no more than 15 minute total cook time.
7. While your chicken is grilling and almost done, pour the marinade into a pot and bring to a boil on the stove while CONTINUOUSLY stirring it (it will burn, trust me).
8. Let the sauce boil for a solid 3 minutes while stirring it.
9. Then using a mesh strainer, pour the sauce into a bowl and create a silky smooth sauce!
10. Take chicken off of the grill and let sit for 3-5 minutes then serve with sauce and lime slices!

ENJOY! It is seriously finger licking good!

Happy Creating

Please tag my recipes you re-create with the hash tag #FoodCourtt and make sure to follow me on Instagram @FoodCourtt

xxx Court

Turkey Apple Bacon Burgers!

Hey Guys!

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. A lot has happened to me in the last couple of months! I had a new job then it got to be really overwhelming because I had THREE. I moved to a new apartment. And now I am just anticipating a response from my last interview at a property management company! I currently am a new personal chef! I have 4 clients. It truly is amazing to do what you LOVE for work! Anyways, the people I cook for are Paleo Peeps so I will be posting lots of the recipes I have been cooking up for them. Also I will be starting a YouTube Channel with cooking videos in the future! I am going to commit to putting as much focus onto this blog as I can because it truly is something that makes me happy! Be sure to follow me on Instagram @FoodCourtt for the latest news and recipes. I have some giveaways that will be coming up as well!

So here is my BOMB recipe! BTW, Joe said it was "bomb" and that's rare so I am completely soaking every ounce of that up!!

8 Burgers - 217 Calories & 5 WW PointsPlus (Add points and calories for the bun and condiments)

Ingredients:

• 2 Apples (red or yellow preferably)
• 1 Package (12 oz) of turkey bacon
• 1-1.5 lbs of ground turkey
• 2 Cloves of garllic
• 1 Tsp pepper
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 2 Tsp paprika
• 2 Tsp chili powder

Steps:

1. Pre-Heat Oven to 400°F
2. Place all of the turkey bacon on a sheet tray and cook in oven for 10-20 minutes until desired crispiness is achieved.
3. While bacon is cooking grate 2 apples into a bowl big enough to fit all ingredients. 
4. Add all of the ingredients, including cooked bacon and mix together making sure NOT to over mix.
5. Form 8 patties and place in fridge for 5-10 minutes to help them hold their shape.
6. Grill 6-7 minutes per side & ENJOY!

These Burgers were SOOOO good! They would be good plain or with a lettuce "bun" to be more figure friendly! They also are a great make ahead meal to freeze for the hectic weekdays and pop in an oven at 350°F for 15 minutes or so! Make sure to tag all of my recipes you re-create with #FoodCourtt!

Thank You!

Happy Creating!

Auntie Noni's Crockpot Tortilla Soup

Bailey Lynn & Auntie Noni. Man time flies!

Afternoon all! 

So I personally think that the crock pot is the greatest invention known to man! I love cooking and spend hours in my kitchen doing it (I did 7 hours yesterday haha, oops) it can be really therapeutic to listen to music and get to creating, BUT sometimes after a long day at work the LAST thing I want to do is stand on my feet for another hour making dinner! It is also particularly nice because I can just text Joe when I am at work what to throw in there and turn it on and its easy enough for him and way less work for me (; 

Kaiden now & baby Kaiden! Awwww (:

Kaiden with Uncle Joe & Baby Wyatt! Our newest edition, March 2013

For all of you who know me, you know that I am Auntie Noni to my two adorable and wild nephews Kaiden & Wyatt and my sassy and beautiful niece Bailey Lynn! Moving to San Diego was really hard on me because I used to see Bailey everyday. I remember crying just at the sight of her pictures I had hanging EVERYWHERE in the apartment and I would say to Joe I hope she doesn't forget me :( It is truly amazing how much love you can hold in your heart for one (or three) little person(s). She definitely has me in the palm of her hands. The best part about moving here though was being closer to My sister, brother-in-law, Kaiden and Wyatt so I try to focus on the fact that I get to build a relationship with my nephews now like I have with Bailey and I still see her once a week on FaceTime (thank goodness for modern technology!). If I ever opened a restaurant (which is a dream I have along with many, MANY others) I would base my menu on family recipes like my Grandpa's DELICIOUS garlic bread (maybe one day I will post that for all of you!), so that is how this recipe got its name because it is an Auntie Noni Specialty! Hope you enjoy it and if you have any little people in your life, give them an extra "hug squeeze", as Bailey would say, because they grow up way to fast! xxxCourt 

Serves 7-8 (Great for dinner parties!) - Serving size 1 Cup - 268 Calories & 6

His & Hers! Can you guess which one is mine?!

WW PointsPlus

Ingredients:

• 2 (4 oz) Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 cup Black beans (I soak mine over night but drained and rinsed canned black beans with no added salt is perfectly okay!)
• 3 Coves garlic
• 1/2 Large onion (or two small any color is fine!)
• 1 cup Corn (I use frozen organic its cheap and easy)
• 1 can of Crushed tomatoes (no added salt)
• 1 Lime juiced
• 1 cup Low sodium chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tsp seasoning salt (I use Low-Sodium Morton's)
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 - 1 whole seeded jalapeno (optional, keep seeds in if you like it really spicy!) 

Instructions:

For Crockpot: 

You guessed it! Joe's!

1. Throw everything in EXCEPT the corn and jalapeno give it a stir and turn it on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. 
2. Add remaining ingredients 30 minutes before serving.
3. Top with 1/4 an avocado and a few corn tortilla chips or even some low-fat cheese and shredded lettuce! The possibilities are endless! I always shake some tapatio on mine to spice it up even more! 
4. Enjoy!

For Stove Top: 

Trying to watch my figure, no cheese or chips! Go me!

1. Bake or grill chicken all the way through (350 degrees for 30 minutes covered or grilling for 30 minutes!) remove from juices and shred.
2. Bring all other ingredients (EXCEPT jalapeno and corn) in a large pot to a boil 
3. Add shredded chicken and then simmer for 1-3 hours partially covered
4. Add jalapeno and corn 30 minutes before serving.
5. If soup gets too reduced (thick) add water to loosen up (only add 1/4 cup at a time to not OVER add).
6. Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Veggie Chicken Roll-Up with Balsamic Glaze!

Hey There!

Have you ever wanted to impress a dinner guest or even your man with a fancy looking meal? Honey look no more! This DELICIOUS meal is to die for and it really isn't all that hard to put together! By a long shot this is my FAVORITE meal I make right now! It is that good. Not to mention its hearty and healthy. I really hope you love this as much as I do (that's probably impossible haha). Don't forget to use the hashtag #foodCOURTT when you get cookin' with my recipes! Cheers!! xxxCourt

Serves 4 - 182 Calories/Roll-Up (by itself) & 4 WW PointsPlus (by itself)

Balsamic Glaze - 4 Servings - 57 Calories/Tbsp of Glaze & 2 WW PointsPlus

GRAND TOTAL: 239 Calories & 6 WW PointsPlus for Chicken Roll-Up WITH Glaze!!!

Ingredients:

Veggie Chicken Roll-Up

• 2 (5 ounce) Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Bell pepper (you pick the color!)
• 4 Cloves of garlic
• 1/2 Medium onion (you guessed it, you pick the color again!)
• 8 Asparagus sprigs (2 per chicken roll up)
• 1 Zucchini
• 2 tsp EVOO
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 12-16 toothpicks

Balsamic Glaze

• 1 tsp Butter
• 1 tsp EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 1/3 cup Onion/Shallot finely chopped (haha pick again!)
• 1/4 cup GOOD balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp Organic light agave nectar
• 1/4 cup Chicken stock (low-sodium preferred)
• A splash of good red wine (& a glass to drink while you cook yum!)

Instructions:

I like to make the sauce first and then just nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds before serving it but you can most certainly make it 20 minutes before your chicken is done. I would just rather relax and drink my red wine (;

Step 2: Caramelizing Onions/Shallots

Balsamic Glaze:

1. Heat up butter and EVOO in a saute pan over medium heat let heat up (not too hot, be careful not to burn your butter!).
2. Once the butter and oil is heated up add onions/shallots to pan and caramelize on med/high heat for 5-6 minutes until they are a pretty caramel color.
3. De-glaze the pan by adding in balsamic vinegar (make sure your nose is not right over the pan, this can be a little powerful haha)
4. After de-glazing the pan for 1 minute or so add the agave, chicken broth and red wine. Turn up the pan and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Once the glaze begins to boil turn back down the heat to medium (my stove is 1-10 and I put it on 5) and let simmer and reduce to half its volume for 8-10 minutes.



Step 4: Boiling Glaze!

6. It will be a syrup like consistency when it is done. Turn off the heat and move into a separate bowl if making glaze before the chicken, otherwise spoon onto your cooked chicken!

Veggie Chicken Roll-ups:

1. Begin by chopping all veggies (think of McDonald's fries for the size)
2. Heat up 2 tsp EVOO in saute pan and cook veggies for NO MORE than 3 minutes. You just want to get them started not fully cooked. 

   

   Step 1: Chopped Veggies

3. After 3 minutes is up transfer out of pan to a plate to stop the cooking and give them a chance to cool down so you can handle them with your hands.
4. While the veggies are cooling take chicken breasts and very carefully using your knife slice each of them in half horizontally (think hamburger style).
5. Then using parchment/wax paper or plastic wrap cover each breast so they won't splatter and pound them out into about a half inch thickness. You can use a meat mallet with a flat side if you have one, I just use a drinking glass from my cupboard.

   

   Step 4: Slicing Breasts

6. You now should have FOUR chicken cutlets, season both sides with salt & pepper.
7. Now your veggies should be cool enough to touch. Evenly distribute them into the center of each piece of meet and add 1 peeled clove of garlic to each as well. 
8. Carefully grab the two ends of each cutlet and over lap them and close shut by using 3-4 toothpicks to keep veggies inside. Continue this process with all 4 pieces. 

   

   Step 8: Veggie Roll-Ups PRE-Cooking

9. If you are ready to cook them place on the grill for 30 minutes and flipping about half way in-between. You could also cook them in the oven at 350° F for 30 minutes flipping once as well if you do not have a grill. 
10. After the 30 minutes or the internal temperature has reached 165° F make sure to REMOVE TOOTHPICKS & top with 1 tbsp of Balsamic Glaze per breast and ENJOY!!!

**I have made these up to 24 hours before cooking and covered with plastic

Final Step: EAT UP! NOM NOM NOM!!

wrap in the fridge if you would like to prep the night before I would say go for it but make sure you cover them and NO MORE than 24 hours!

These truly are so yummy! 

Happy Creating!!

Limeberrymelon-Pops!

Hello there!!

Living in San Diego, or even just California, it gets pretty hot around this time of year! I have been craving cold sweets like crazy so I have been in my kitchen creating ways to enjoy these treats without feeling super guilty about what I am putting into my body. So yesterday the Limeberrymelon-Pop was born!! I do have to say these are very tasty! I named them these because it sounds a bajillion times cooler then Strawberry Lime Watermelon Popsicles, haha (: I hope you will love these on a hot day, or any day as a matter of fact because they are THAT good! xxxCourt 

Serves 4 - 52 calories & 1 WW PointsPlus

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups strawberries
-1 1/2 cups watermelon
-1/2 lime juiced
-1 tbsp organic light agave nectar

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients into blender or food processor (I have a magic bullet) and blend until smooth. 
2. Pour into Popsicle molds and freeze minimum of 8 hours (I did mine overnight).
3. You can also put a few chunks on strawberry or watermelon into the molds to have fruit chunks in your Popsicle!
4. Enjoy!!

Happy Creating! 

P.S. I got my Popsicle molds at Walmart for $1!!!! Cheap, healthy and delicious?! Hells ya!!

P.P.S. if you recreate any of my recipes hash tag me on Instagram #foodCOURTT so I can see them all!! 

Veggie Burgers

The are much more yummy then store bought veggie burgers and cheaper too, I promise!

Hey All! Tomorrow starts Meatless Monday so I thought I would share with you my home made 195 cal/burger and only 5WW PointsPlus, Enjoy! xxxCourt
veggie burgers! These are to die for!! Not to mention

Black & Kidney Bean Burgers:

Ingredients:

• 15oz Can Black Beans (no added salt/low sodium/or soak regular beans overnight to soften)
• 15oz Can Kidney Beans (no added salt/low sodium/or soak regular beans overnight to soften)
• 1 Bell Pepper (Any Color)
• 1 Onion (Any Color)
• 5 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Paprika
• 1/2 Tsp Seasoning Salt (I use Morton's)
• 1 Tsp Oregano
• 1 Tsp Hot Sauce
• 3/4 Cup Bread Crumbs (I use Panko)

Steps:

1. Drain & RINSE beans.
2. Using a fork or potato masher, mash beans in medium sized bowl until mostly mashed.
3. Very finely chop (or pulse in food processor) bell pepper, onion & garlic and add to beans.
4. In small separate bowl mix together eggs, and all of the seasonings except the bread crumbs.
5. Add eggs and seasonings to beans and fold in together.
6. Add bread crumbs and mix together until well mixed (I like to use my hands (: ).
7. Create 8 even sized patties (I used 1/4 cup scooper) and place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
8. Freeze for 30 minutes individually on sheet tray before stacking together in ziploc baggie.

To Cook:

• In pan on stove top heat up 1 tbsp of oil (I use EVOO) on medium heat and cook 5-6 minutes per side and enjoy! 

I like to serve these on whole wheat "skinny" buns with a slice of pepper jack and avocado! So Yummy!

Happy Cooking.