Fast Meat and Vegetable Meal for Single Girls on the Go

So I played around in the kitchen this week and made something super easy and super yummy. This one should be good for Weight Watchers folks or low carb lovers. This one is easy, and you can swap out whatever veggies you like with your meat or as your side. Add a salad, too, and you have a feast! If you have family and want to extend it further, double the amounts of veggies and/or meat and add some multi-grain bread to the table.

MEAT

• 1 lb. of either extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 packet of ranch dressing seasoning (dry)

Mix together then either make into measured patties or brown in a pan as is. (I left mine loose and chunky to brown instead of patties cause it fills my plate up more. Tricking my brain!)

VEGGIES to Mix in with Meat

• 1 cup of diced onions
• 1 cup of diced bell peppers (I found some already diced onions and bell peppers in the frozen food section. Score!) 
• 1 cup of chopped mushrooms (I used canned mushrooms. Zero prep time, just open and drain.)

I sauteed everything in a pan with Pam cooking spray. Salt/pepper/season to taste, but don't ruin it with too much sodium. I added lots of black pepper and dried minced garlic. After I measured out my meat serving, I mixed in tons of the veggie mix. If you choose to make patties, top the patty with the veggie mix or make it a bed for the patty.

VEGGIE to have on the side

• 1 steamable bag of asparagus or other veggie - NOT the ones with sauce in them. (I shop at Kroger and found a whole section of fresh veggies in steamable bags with zero sauces or seasonings. Cheap, too, and great for out-of-season veggies. Loving my bags of asparagus right now!)

Stick steam bag in microwave a few minutes before your meat and veggies are finished and yummo!

For WW folks, my meat cooked up to about 13 oz., so I split into a 6 oz. serving and a 7 oz. serving. Since I didn't add a salad to my meal, I kept my meat portions large, one for dinner and one as a leftover for the next day. Depending on the meat you choose, it's roughly 9-11 points. That's a lot of meat, but I am a country girl who likes her meat! If you add a salad, too, I suggest dropping to a 3 or 4 oz serving of meat. That will stretch the whole meal, too.

WHY I LIKE IT:

1. My veggies didn't cost me any points cause I didn't add butter or oil! This stuffs me full without making me miserable. I used asparagus both times I made it, so I got tons of fiber, too. DOUBLE WHAMMY!
2. Since I used mostly used pre-chopped items and the steamable bag, the whole thing took me about 15-20 minutes start to finish, including boxing up the half for leftovers to take to work the next day. Super easy and saved me from eating out and absorbing extra preservatives and calories. Saved my $$$, too.
3. Standing up to cook for a few minutes when I get home from work makes me less likely to plop onto the couch for the whole evening. Any movement is better than no movement at all!
4. The ranch dressing packet gives tons of flavor to the meat without adding points to my WW program. NICE!
5. My leftovers look fancier than they really are when I pull them out at the office. Having nice green spears of asparagus on top of beautifully seasoned meats and veggies looks pretty, gosh darn it!

If you play around with this idea and find something yummy, let me know!

Faithfully, fluffully yours,