Meatloaf

This is a modification of the Pioneer Woman meatloaf recipe. I've made it probably a handful of times, and it's tasty (and I'm not usually a meatloaf fan). I make it without the bacon, and have found that it tastes exactly the same, just less greasy. I cut the recipe in half, since it's just the two of us. Also, it has always taken me WAY longer to cook it through than her recipe calls for, and I've made it in three different ovens. So here's my slightly modified version:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 3 slices White Bread
• 1 pound Ground Beef (make it close to room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• 3/8 teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 whole Eggs, Beaten

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup Ketchup
• 1/6 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry Mustard

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. The reason for the close-to-room temperature beef is that otherwise your hands will FREEZE. Plus, it will lower the temperature in the oven and take longer to cook. Don't leave it out too long on the counter though, you don't want bacteria!

Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the top of the meatloaf. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, then pour a bit of the sauce over the top. Slice and serve with remaining sauce. If the meatloaf is still pink inside, keep cooking til cooked through.

Original Recipe: The Pioneer Woman

Au Gratin Potatoes

Another Pinterest recipe keeper! I made these the other night, and they were amazing! The key is the super thin sliced potatoes, which I achieved using my food processor with the circular cutter in it. I think next time I'll change up the Jack cheese for Gruyere, since that's a favorite of mine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick (keep them in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning pink!)
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. In a large bowl, toss the cheeses and cornstarch together until evenly coated.

In a large gratin dish (about a 2- to 3-quart dish), shingle half the potatoes, then sprinkle half the cheese mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on top. Top with the remaining potatoes, shingling them neatly and evenly. Sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper evenly over the top.

Combine the cream and the broth in a large measuring cup and pour the mixture over the potatoes. Top with the remaining cheese mixture and bake until golden brown and a fork inserted into the center slides in easily with little resistance, 75 to 85 minutes. Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes. Serve.

Original Recipe: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie

I found this on Pinterest and had to make it, as I was having a serious peanut butter craving. Let me say, that this is so simple but SO DELICIOUS. I didn't use honey, and I don't think it needs it. It was a little more liquidy than I prefer (I like milkshake consistency), so the next time I made it, I used about a third of the milk. I also ran out of yogurt, and it was just as tasty. So here's my slimmed down version of the original:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of natural creamy peanut butter (you can use more or less to taste)
• 1 very ripe banana, sliced, and frozen (I always keep a bunch of cut up frozen bananas in the freezer)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put ingredients in blender in order given, and blend til smooth. 

Original Recipe: Sally's Baking Addiction

Berry Crumb Cake

This is another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I have made this using just blueberries (like the original recipe), as well as mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). Both ways are scrumptuous!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 stick Butter, softened
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 1 whole Egg
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 cups Whole Milk
• 2 cups Fresh Blueberries (or a combo of berries)

  FOR THE TOPPING:

• 3/4 sticks Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.

Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter. Pour in batter.

In a separate large bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using a fork or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took 42 minutes).

Original Recipe: The Pioneer Woman

Pulled Pork Tacos with Sweet Chili Slaw & Avocado Cream

I just made these last night, and they were wonderful! The sweet chili slaw added a nice zing to the taco, and the avocado cream was a good twist on the usual guacamole topping we do. These will now be in our regular dinner rotation.

I made a few minor adjustments to the original recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5-2 lbs. pork tenderloin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces low sodium chicken broth
• Tortillas, for serving
• Cheese for topping (I had jack cheese on hand)

SWEET CHILI SLAW:

• 2 cups sliced green cabbage
• 3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 lime, juiced

AVOCADO CREAM: 

• 1 ripe avocado, chopped
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons greek yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together the salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Pat the pork tenderloin dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mix on the pork til it's totally covered. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Make sure the skillet is really hot before adding the pork (should immediately sizzle). Sear the pork on all sides just until it is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the pork and place it in the crockpot. 

Pour the chicken broth into the hot pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate the seared pork deliciousness into the broth. Then pour over the pork in the crockpot. Cook for 6-8 hours on Low (Mine was super tender and done at 6 hours).

After the pork is done, remove the top and pull the pork apart with two forks. Toss it well with the broth and then cover it and let it cook for another 15 minutes or so. Taste the pork and season it additionally if desired.

To make the slaw, add the cabbage to a medium bowl. Toss it with the sweet chili sauce and the lime juice, adding in a pinch of salt. You can make this a few hours ahead of time and keep it in the fridge if desired.

To make the avocado cream, add the avocado, lime juice, and greek yogurt to a medium bowl and blend with a fork until creamy.

Assemble the tacos by adding some pork to each tortilla and covering it with a drizzle of the avocado cream. Add the slaw on top and sprinkle on a bit of cheese.

Original Recipe: How Sweet It Is

Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl

This is similar to the Peanut Ginger Quinoa recipe I blogged about last month, but just different enough that it warrants another blog post. Instead of a very strong peanut flavor, it has a bit of kick to it with the addition of the sweet chili sauce. I doubled the recipe, and made some minor adjustments to the original. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 chicken breast
• large handful shredded carrots
• 2/3 cup shelled edamame
• 2/3 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

SAUCE: 

• 4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Cook chicken breast. I put a chicken breast in my small crockpot, covered it with garlic powder, onion powder, sweet chili sauce, and some water to cover the bottom of the crockpot, and cooked on low for 5 hours (or until you can easily shred it). 

Prepare quinoa according to directions. I used low-sodium chicken broth, and it was so much more flavorful than water, so use it if you have it. 

While quinoa is cooking, combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Once quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, mix quinoa in the large sauce bowl and toss well to coat. 

Add in dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix well. 

Original Recipe: How Sweet It Is

Spicy Sausage Pasta

I made the recipe a couple weeks ago, and we both liked it. I cooked the pasta too much, so I'm decreasing the cook time, but other than that, it was delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb smoked sausage
• 1.5 cups diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, Mild
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz penne pasta
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

Add olive oil to an oven-safe skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and onions and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. 

Makes 4 servings.

Original Recipe:  Kevin and Amanda