Paula Deen Night!

Tonight I decided to try out two of Paula Deen's recipes I saw on her show recently. They both looked so good I had to try them. They are of course a little on the heavy and rich side but small portions go a long way and the flavors were amazing.

For the main course I made her Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf. As a rule I am not a huge bacon fan especially in recipes but this was not bad and it did not overpower the food, only enhanced it. I changed the recipe very slightly by increasing the meat to a pound and a half and using equal parts ground beef and ground turkey and using less bacon. You always have the option of leaving the bacon out of the recipe of course.

For the side dish I made her Cheesy Noodles. This was delicious but a little definitely goes a long way. The only change I made to this was I used Angel Hair pasta instead of the fine egg noodles.

I made up some quick garlic rolls to go with the meal. For these I just melted 1 stick of margerine and added 4 cloves of finely chopped garlic. I took small dinner rolls and sliced each one in half. I brushed each half with the butter mixture, making sure to get bits of garlic on each roll. I then topped each one with just a pinch of freshly grated parmesan cheese. I placed these in the oven for about 15 to 20 until slightly toasted on the top.

BACON CHEESEBURGER MEATLOAF
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
3/4 lb. lean ground turkey
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
12 oz. low fat sharp cheddar, grated
3/4 C Eggbeaters
1/2 cup bread crumbs, toasted
1/3 cup lite mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 cup french fried onions
2 slices of stale bread (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the ground meat and next 8 ingredients, mixing well.

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, add the brown sugar to the remaining ketchup mixture.

Shape meat into a loaf and place in a roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 50 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake another 15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

OPTIONAL: To soak up any grease, place the slices of bread on the roasting pan and shape your meatloaf on top of the bread. After the meatloaf is done you can remove the bread and discard, taking most of the fat from the meat with it.

CHEESY NOODLES
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 cup low fat or fat free sour cream
1/2 grated onion
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
8oz. angel hair pasta
1 cup grated parmesan, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Break the angel hair into 3 pieces to make short noodles then cook as directed.

Mix together cottage cheese, sour cream, 3/4 of the parmesan, grated onion, Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt. Add noodles, combine and place in greased casserole. Sprinkle top with remaining grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 minutes.