Mini Meatloaves

This may be the most requested dinner in our house, which is super strange considering that my husband does NOT like beef.  But yet, the beef's flavor is diminished when combined with the sausage and homemade BBQ sauce, and he likes it!  I typically make the whole meatloaf mixture, and freeze whatever's leftover to make meatballs but have also made it into burgers.

Since I last blogged about this recipe in 2007, and it doesn't even have a photo, I figured it was time for an update (not that this is an awesome photo).  I love this recipe, and in its most recent appearance, my four year old helped me cook (though he wouldn't go on and reach his hands into the raw meat, but he did touch it).  I love that I can use ground turkey if it's cheap or turkey sausage, I can use raw onion or dried onion depending on what I have.  I've used a variety of different spices, depending on my mood.  This time around, I used some fresh garlic as well as some garlic powder.  You have to eyeball a few things, like the amount of bread crumbs you use, and the baking time--definitely keep an eye on them after 30 minutes!

 Little Meatloaves Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian-style seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound Italian turkey sausage
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, bread crumbs, milk, cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, Italian-style seasoning, garlic salt, ground beef and ground sausage. Mix this together well and form into individual loaves. Place the loaves in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Mix this together well and spoon some of this sauce over each loaf. Garnish each loaf with some Parmesan cheese and seasoning to taste.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 60 minutes.

Skillet Meatballs and Noodles in Creamy Herb Sauce

Do you have a go to source when making your meal plan?  For me, it's usually the folks at America's Test Kitchen.  I purchased the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook a few years ago on a whim when Borders was closing and things were priced well, and it quickly became a bible for me.  It gave me confidence in the kitchen, such that I started baking and then even participated in the Tuesdays with Dorie baking challenge.

For my birthday, my husband gave me a subscription to Cook's Country magazine.  I've had some big hits with this subscription.  When I saw this recipe in the October/November issue (yeah, it sometimes takes me awhile to look at everything), I put it right on the meal plan.

The first thing my husband said was, "They lied!" because it took me close to an hour to put it together.  I actually laid out all my ingredients, measured them, and re-read the recipe (like you're supposed to) before I started cooking, which took I guess 10 minutes.

The verdict on this one was that we really liked the noodles and the sauce, but weren't really over the moon about the meatballs.  I thought they were kind of dry and had a strange flavor.  When I was browsing through some blogs today, I noticed that Taste of Home Cooking had a similar problem when she made the recipe.  Very weird; ATK recipes very rarely fail!

Recipe (thanks to Taste of Home cooking for the C&P!)
Skillet Meatballs and Noodles in Creamy Herb Sauce
Cook's Country magazine, October/November 2010

1 pound ground beef (85% or so)
1 package garlic and herb Boursin cheese
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
8 ounces egg noodles
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives

Combine beef, 5 tablespoons Boursin cheese, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl and knead gently until combined. Form mixture into 1 inch meatballs. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook meatballs until well browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer meatballs to plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan.

Cook onion in reserved fat until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add broth, noodles, and wine and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to med-low, and cook, stirring often, until pasta begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add meatballs and simmer, covered, until meatballs are cooked through and noodles are al dente, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in remaining Boursin cheese and chives. Season with salt and pepper.

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 1 1/4 cups water I used beef broth
  
• 5 1/2 pounds pot roast

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
2. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

I have made this once before, and raved about it. I made it essentially the same way I had made it before, and it was just fine. I wouldn't say I was nuts about it, and our guests seemed to like it, but also didn't really RAVE about it.

The good thing about this one, though, is that it was very easy to make. There are a TON of reviews on allrecipes of this one, and many people give suggestions for improvement, so I imagine some of them are going to improve this.

I also tossed in some quartered potatoes, celery, and carrots with the roast, and I used a 4 pound angus rump roast.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

From allrecipes.com, see the original here.
Ingredients

* 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 1/2 cups beef broth
* 3 potatoes, diced
* 4 carrots, sliced
* 1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

I made this for "lunch club" at work, partially (erm, largely) due to my husband's dislike of all things beef. I messed up modified the recipe by adding a whole can of beef broth, only using 2 potatoes, and using 2 stalks of celery. It was a little bit too much broth, I thought, but after taking the first serving, I decided that wasn't the case at all, and was glad I had done it.

This was a really flavorful stew, and I will certainly make it again. If you go to allrecipes and read the reviews, someone name Corinne made a bunch of modifications to the base recipe, but I'm not a fan of cooking meat before putting it in a slow cooker, so I went with the original recipe! When I make this in the future, I will add a can of mushrooms (almost did that this time, but, um, forgot) and a can of tomatoes--not sure if stewed or whole would work best. I also might take Corinne's modification of using a package of stew mix, although I love the idea of setting the spices on my own.

The good thing about lunch club is that you get the benefit of the opinions of several coworkers. First, they all commented (as did some students who could smell it in the hallway) on the delicious aroma of the stew. It's funny, you bring a crockpot into work and people think you're a domestic goddess. I heard feedback from two others who ate the stew, and they both commented (unsolicited) that it was really good.

In short, this beef stew isn't like Mom makes, but it's pretty good nonetheless... and until I get around to bugging Mom for her recipe, or finding one that comes close, this is a delicious (and fairly easy) stew!!

Pioneer Woman--BBQ Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes

Meatball recipe here.
Mashed Potato recipe here.

This was pretty tasty. I think I added a little too much milk for the amount of meat I had, but they turned out good anyway. I found it's really important for the oil to be hot enough; mine wasn't in the beginning and those first few fell apart. I also had way more than I needed, so froze some for future use; we'll see how that goes.

The potatoes. I stopped before putting them in the oven. BAJ said they tasted pretty much like my regular potatoes, but I think he wasn't really paying attention and focused on the not enough salt aspect. I thought they were tastier than my normal mashed potatoes, although I didn't add quite enough half and half. I have no potato masher, so wanting to follow PW's advice as much as possible, I skipped the mixer and mashed with a fork--just like my ancestors did.

Pictures coming soon!

Not So Sloppy Joes

This is from Real Simple's Website.

I'm not sure if I've ever made it with beef, but I know that I typically make it with ground turkey or ground chicken, and it's always good that way.

This time around, I saved half the meat and used it for tacos the next night. I liked it a lot, but BAJ said he likes the meat as sloppy joes better--not that he doesn't like it as tacos, though. I suspect it's because the meat doesn't taste like typical mix taco meat.

Simple, good, and makes multiple meals? Works for me!

Not So Sloppy Joes

Recipe here

I don't remember when I made these, but I've definitely made them this year. I don't know why I forgot to blog about it.

We really like this sloppy joe recipe. It's not as saucy as Manwich and the like and has a nice hint of cinnamon (in Sloppy Joes? WHO KNEW??)

I almost always make these with ground turkey, since hubby doesn't like beef so much.

I've also turned the mix into tacos once or twice... I love cooking once for two meals!

Little Meatloaves

allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup crushed buttery round crackers
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian-style seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cracker crumbs, milk, cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, Italian-style seasoning, garlic salt, ground beef and ground sausage. Mix this together well and form into individual loaves. Place the loaves in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Mix this together well and spoon some of this sauce over each loaf. Garnish each loaf with some Parmesan cheese and seasoning to taste.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 60 minutes.

This is a standard in our house. I make the mixture and freeze it in thirds. I make meatballs and hamburgers with the leftovers. I typically make this with ground turkey instead of beef or with turkey sausage. We weren't nuts about turkey as a substitute for both.