Mini Meatloaves

This recipe was originally from the Food Network Magazine and I changed it up a little. You can never really go wrong with meatloaf and there are so many ways to make it that I never get tired of trying new versions. I used the leftovers from this meal to make some yummy Panini's. I took a sub roll and spread it with Onion and Chive Cream Cheese then placed slices of the meatloaf and provolone cheese and onion. I put it in the panini press until the bread was crispy on the outside. It was very good! Almost better than the original meal :)

MINI MEATLOAVES
1 cup breadcrumbs
½ cup uncooked oatmeal
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 med. onion, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
2 pounds meatloaf mix (ground beef and pork)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1 to 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix the breadcrumbs, oatmeal, milk, parsley, egg, Worcestershire sauce, onion, chili powder and garlic in a large bowl. Add the meat, season with salt and pepper and mix with your hands until combined. Shape into 8 or 9 oval loaves.

Place on a greased baking sheet or large shallow baking dish. Whisk the ketchup, sugar and vinegar in a bowl and brush over the meat. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Easy Peasy Burrito Casserole

I got this recipe from a wonderful website called Mom! What's for dinner. It was delicious and super quick and easy to make. I did not change much from her original recipe.

EASY PEASY BURRITO CASSEROLE

6 Frozen shredded beef burritos or Chimichangas
1 Can of 98% fat free Cream of chicken soup
1/2 C Light sour cream
1 C Shredded cheddar cheese
1 Small can of diced green chilis
1 Small can of sliced black olives
Salsa

Preheat oven to 350

Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with cooking spray and place the frozen burritos in the dish side by side. Try not to let them touch each other.

In a medium bowl stir together the soup, sour cream and diced green chilis.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top and then add the sliced olives.

Bake for 25 to 30 min until the cheese is all melted and the burritos are heated through.

Spoon salsa over each serving if desired.

Salisbury Steaks

I have been making this recipe since I was young. I think I found it in an old Betty Crocker cookbook. It's very easy but so tasty!

SALISBURY STEAKS
1lb lean ground beef
2 slices of white bread, cubed
1 small onion coarsly chopped
1 can of Golden Mushroom soup
1/4 cup oatmeal (uncooked)
Cracked pepper
Garlic powder

In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients except the soup. Mix well with your hands until everything is combined. Open the can of soup and add about 1/4 of a cup to the meat mixture. Save the remaining soup aside for now.

Shape the meat mixture into 4 to 5 oval shaped patties about 1 in. thick and place in a greased shallow baking dish.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

While it is baking take the remaining soup and add about 1/4 of a cup of water to it and mix well. After the patties are done baking remove from oven and spoon the soup mixture over each patty and bake an additional 15 min.

Pizza Burgers

I was first introduced to Pizza Burgers at summer camp. For 10 summers I went to a wonderful summer camp in Maine and during the last few years I was a counselor and worked in the kitchen. It was there I found out how they made them. After I stopped going to camp I lost the recipe and could not find anyone that knew what was in them so I went about trying to recreate them myself. This recipe comes pretty close. These were a favorite with my kids when they were growing up. Very easy to make and very tasty.

I used Texas Toast to make these but in the past I always used hamburger buns, either works fine.

PIZZA BURGERS

1lb lean ground beef
1lb ground turkey
2 cans Campbells Tomato Soup
1 Tbl. sugar
1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 teas. Italian seasonings
10-11 slices of Texas Toast or about 7 or 8 hamburger buns split in half

Preheat oven to 400.

Brown the meats together in a skillet, breaking the meat up into very small crumbles. When cooked through drain any grease from the pan and add the Tomato Soup and mix well. When heated through add the sugar and the cheese. Mix thoroughly and allow cheese to melt. Cook another 10 minutes or so and remove from heat. Set aside. If you are using Texas Toast then toast each slice in the toaster and arrange on a large cookie sheet. If you use the hambuger buns then place each half face up on the cookie sheet and put in the broiler until toasted. Be careful not to burn them.

Whether using the buns or toast scoop a good size spoonful onto each slice. Spread over toast until you have about a half inch layer on each. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve hot. If you use the Texas Toast slice each one in half before serving.

**NOTE** You can also substitute 1 small jar of pizza sauce for one of the cans of soup.

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.

Taco Salad

I got the idea for this from Kalyn's Kitchen and I only changed it a bit here and there. As usual I used turkey meat instead of beef but I found you really can't taste the difference with all the seasonings in there. I also use a light cheese and of course a light ranch dressing but I put out regular ranch for the rest of the family. When I can find them I get the low sodium black beans to help with the sodium content because the taco seasoning tends to have a lot of salt.

I find this tastes best when the meat is still a bit warm (not hot) and the lettuce is cold and crisp. Perfect for those hot summer days but also good on cooler cloudy days like today. This is also a great way to stretch your meat by adding more of the salad fixings which helps your budget :)

TACO SALAD

=== meat/bean mixture ===
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 tablespoon oil
1 can black beans
1 T chile powder
1 tsp. ground cumin

=== for salad ===
3 cups romaine lettuce, torn, washed
ranch dressing
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup grated low fat cheese
1 cup diced onion

Dump the can of black beans into a colander in the sink, then rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. (This removes some of the undigestible carbohydrates that can make beans hard to digest.) Let drain while you cook meat.

Heat olive oil in large heavy frying pan, then add ground meat, breaking apart into small crumbles. Cook meat over medium high heat until well browned. When meat is browned, add beans, and seasonings and simmer for about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before using on salad. (This can be made ahead and frozen. To use after freezing, thaw and then reheat for a couple of minutes in a microwave.)

To assemble salad, put lettuce in large plastic bowl and toss with desired amount of dressing. For each salad bowl add some of the lettuce mixture, add slightly warm beef/bean mixture and top with diced tomatoes, diced onions and grated cheese. Toss and eat!

Meat Loaf With Tomato Relish

Meat Loaf is one of those recipes that everyone makes differently. My kids were always asking me to write down my meat loaf recipe but I found it was hard to put down on paper exact measurements because I don't know that I ever made it exactly the same way twice. Just like Spaghetti Sauce or a good stew, you just throw in a little of this and add a bit of that. Oh I had the basic ingredients that I would add each time but I also experimented a lot over the years too.

This is a meat loaf recipe that I don't make as often as my personal one because it takes a lot of prep work but every now and then when I feel like changing things up a bit I will make this version. It comes from Tyler Florence of The Food Network and I saw him make it a couple of years ago. He said this was his dad's recipe for Meat Loaf. The only thing I changed in this is Tyler's recipe calls for putting a few strips of bacon on top of the meat loaf and baking it until it is crispy. I don't add bacon to mine but everything else is the same.

MEAT LOAF WITH TOMATO RELISH
==== Tomato Relish ====
extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 clove garlic
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, & diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup
3 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
salt & freshly ground black pepper

==== Meatloaf ====
3 slices white bread
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 eggs or 1/2 Cup egg substitute
leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut crusts off of the bread and tear into chunks.

Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften.

Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.

Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.

This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. To test, fry a small 'hamburger' patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish.

Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that it cooks evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side. Unbelievably moist!

Ortega Fiesta Bake

I thought I would make something a little spicy tonight and this is an old favorite of ours. I can't even remember where I found the original recipe but I have been making it for years. I lightened it up a bit by using turkey meat and low fat cheese and when making the cornbread mix I used egg substitute and skim milk.

I apologize for the horrible photo, but I am limited in space so I have no camera angles or lighting to choose from and all my dishes are packed away.

ORTEGA FIESTA BAKE
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 cup onion; chopped
3/4 cup mild salsa
2 T. taco seasoning mix
1/4 cup water
1 can whole kernel corn; drained
3 whole canned jalapenos; chopped
1 8 1/2 oz.pkg corn muffin mix
2 cups low fat cheddar cheese; shredded
1 4oz. can diced green chilies

Preheat oven to 350°F

Brown meat in skillet and drain. Add onions, taco seasoning, water, salsa, jalapenos and all but 1 cup of the corn. Cook for 10 minutes. While that is cooking make the muffin mix according to package. The cornbread mix I use calls for one egg and 1/3 cup of milk. I use egg substitute for the egg and fat free milk. Then add one cup of the cheese, the remaining 1 cup of corn and the can of green chilies, mix well.

When meat is done spread evenly on the bottom of a square or small rectangle baking dish. Sprinkle on remaining 1 cup of cheese and add the cornbread mixture, spreading evenly over the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.