Taco Meatloaf

So, these can be eaten like meatloaf, maybe with a little salsa on top.  OR they can be wrapped up in lettuce, which is what I did, and eat it like a taco.  OR you can crumble them a bit on a salad for a taco salad!  I personally liked them wrapped up in lettuce, Mike ate them that way (after he saw what a great idea it was) with some tomato.  I got this recipe from someone else on Facebook (Ideal Protein – Lohja, Finland) if you want to look them up, lots of great recipes!

I will be making these again for sure, they were really good and better than when I just made taco meat to put on a salad.  I think it’s something about baking them.

So here are the ingredients for the loaves and another ingredient list for homemade taco seasoning because all taco seasonings I have found have sugar in them!

Quick Meal – Hamburger and Eggs

 

There are some nights, like tonight where I am out late and Mike waits to eat with me.  There are 2 things we almost always have on hand.  Lean Ground Beef and Eggs!

This is over the 8 oz of lean protein, more like 10 oz (maybe a bit more) but like I have said before there are meals where I do go over.  I just try not to make a habit out of it!

So our meal tonight and a quick lean protein meal.  Ground hamburger seasoned, topped with 2 over easy eggs.  Oh and our side of steamed broccoli!  One thing I have learned from this program is yes tastes matters but sometimes it’s about getting your body fuel, so if it’s one of those nights, eggs and beef it is!

We love our Ziplock steamer bags (if we use them for veggies we use them 3 times before tossing them) steam your broccoli, put some sea salt on it and yum!

Steak and Eggs

Okay first thing I am going to tell you is we used Eye of Round.  Yes it’s a tougher steak but it’s also cheap!  We got 2 for $4 and were about 4 oz each.  Tenderizing it or marinading it works best to lose some of the toughness but we didn’t do that… next time I will.  But if you want cheap, go ahead and try it, it’s also a really lean piece of meat!

We had steak, 2 over easy eggs (which makes even the toughest piece of meat taste better) and some brussels sprouts.  It was a good dinner, filled me up for sure and even had a salad on the side.  Anyone who thinks this plan we are on doesn’t fill you up, well they are wrong!

Over Easy Hamburger w/ Brussel Sprouts

Okay so this is a REALLY simple one but still good!  One thing I have missed on the Ideal Protein diet is a CHEESEburger… I crave the cheese and bun!  But we have made due using lettuce as the “bun” etc.  But tonight I wanted an egg on my burger so we did a simple one.

School Beef Burgers

Beef Burgers, Sloppy Joes… whatever you call them there are tons of different recipes for them.  Heck they even have it in a can.  But these everyone seem to love.  My kids are actually pretty picky eaters, and not always do they like what I make.  We have a rule in the house they have to at least try it, which could be a bite or two.  They were not so sure about these, even though they love burgers.

The recipe actually came from my mom’s old school back in Clinton, Iowa.  My family has used it for years for different occasions.  When I realized how much my kids loved them I had to get the recipe from my aunt and start making them at home.  I love them and could eat a couple of them myself so I always double the recipe, but I will post the regular recipe and if you want to you can double it!

This you can either make on the stove for a quick dinner or heat it up int he crock pot for dinner or to take to a pot luck.

Beef Burgers

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 tbsp vinegar
1-2 tbsp onion
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1 c ketchup
1-2 tsp mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Brown and drain the beef, set aside.  Plug in the crock pot and set to low or put the pan on the stove and turn it on medium.  Start adding all the ingredients, minus the beef.  Mix until all combined and then add the beef.  If you are using the crock pot leave it on low and stir occasionally.  I have left mine in the crock pot for about 1-2 hours at the most, after about an hour I would turn it to warm only so it doesn’t start get overcooked.  If you are cooking it on the stove stir it occasionally and once everything is combined and hot I would let it sit for 15 min or so to make sure all the flavors are blended.  Remove and serve on buns with more ketchup!  Hey, we are a ketchup family!