Meatloaf

Meat Loaf with Bacon

Heat oven to 375.

• · 1 small onion
• · 1 rib celery
• · 2 small carrots
• · 1 T minced garlic
• · 1 t salt
• · 1/8 t pepper

First, whirl the onion, celery and carrots around in a food processer/bullet blender type deal. Then, sauté/sweat vegetables and garlic with salt and pepper for 5 minutes and let cool.

• · 1 C plain breadcrumbs
• · ¾ C milk
• · 2 eggs, beaten
• · ¼ C ketchup
• · 1 T worstershire sauce
• · 2 T grated parmesan or more (up to ½ C)
• · 1 T spicy/grainy mustard
• · 3 T chopped fresh parsley
• · 1 t dried oregano or more
• · A couple splashes of hot sauce
• · 1 lb ground beef
• · ½ lb ground pork

This is the grossy part. Mix everything together with the cooled onion mixture. With your hands until well combined (side note- I know I’m a better wife now than I was when I first got married, because I used to not want anything to do with any kind of ground up meat. Now, look at me mixing raw meat with my bare hands!*)

• · Red pepper flakes
• · Slices of bacon

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or something, and shape a loaf with the meat. Don’t make it too big, or it will take forever to cook. I only baked half of the mixture because it makes a lot, and I’ll just make meatballs with the rest later. Before you put it in the oven, sprinkle red pepper flakes on the part you want to be spicy :) :), then lay slices of bacon on top, if you like, or your husband likes. (I did it in sections: my section had red pepper flakes and non fatty bacon pieces. Mark’s had no spicy stuff and a lot of bacon, because he can get away with that sort of thing) Now put the meat in the oven and cook for about an hour or so, or until the meat is done.

* I wouldn’t recommend bare hands. Please use gloves, and remove all rings, especially beautifully polished diamond rings.

I don’t know what to serve on the side of this… mashed potatoes??? Salad for sure. Rice? Toast? Anything works, I’m sure.

Meatballs: 350 for 20 minutes

http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2011/01/cookbook-of-month-recipe-bacon-wrapped.html

Shrimp Fried Rice

Fried rice is Mark's favorite thing I make. It's funny, because when I told Mark I was going to be making fried rice for dinner the other night, he looked so confused and kept asking what else we were having. I thought, "ya... just fried rice... does that need anything else on the side??" Mark wouldn't stop asking me what else I was going to make, and so finally I was like "Mark, I'm having fried rice for dinner, you can have whatever you want." He was still confused, and now mad.

I cooked.

He came.

After one bite he said it was the best thing I've ever made!! Then he proceeded to explain that where he comes from, fried rice is a small, side dish type food with just the rice and veggies. I told him that where I come from, the fried rice is the main attraction, full of big veggies, eggs, and meat... a full mean in itself! haha anyway, it was delicious, and a learning experience, as are many of our meals together. :)

Shrimp Fried Rice

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
2 stalks green onions or white onions, minced
4 cups leftover rice (NOT FRESHLY COOKED)
¾ cup frozen veggies (peas/ carrots/corn), defrosted
1 tbsp. soy sauce or more

Directions:

Make sure the shrimp is de-thawed, de-veined, and shell-less. When you’re ready to start, begin to sauté the shrimp in a wok pan thing in some oil. Don’t overcook the shrimps. Just about 30 seconds on each side. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat on the pan to medium. Add the beaten eggs to the pan and stir quickly, to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through but still slightly runny in the middle, remove from the pan and move to a plate. (Maybe the same one as the shrimp).

Wipe the pan out with a paper towel and return to higth

Use paper towels to wipe the pan clean and return the pan to high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, swirling to coat. Once the oil is very hot, add the green onions to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the rice to the pan and mix well to combine with the green onions. Spread the rice out evenly over the pan and let cook without stirring, until you hear the rice grains sizzle, about 1 to 2 minutes. Toss the rice a bit with your spatula, and again spread it out over the cooking surface.

Drizzle the soy sauce all over the rice, and toss again. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked shrimp and eggs, and the sesame oil to the pan. Toss to combine all the ingredients well with the rice. Let everything heat back up again until the rice grains are sizzling again. Add additional soy sauce to taste, if needed. Serve.

There's my fried rice, all ready for lunch the next day!

http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.com/2011/02/shrimp-fried-rice.html

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

I am at a sister's retreat this week. We are making TONS of delicious food and sharing recipes and it is SOOOO much fun!! Each of us have a night to plan the menu, and everyone helps cook.Tonight was my night, yay! I will blog about the other things we made tonight later. This is what we had for dessert: Peanut Butter Brownie bites! :) :) :) Were they good? YES. Easy? The EASIEST.

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

Ingredients:
1 box brownie mix, plus amount of ingredients the recipe calls for (oil, eggs, water)

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C peanut butter

1. Make brownies according to package instructions. Underbake them by just a few minutes, so they're really soft... not runny or gooey. Just really soft.

2. Allow them to cool completely. Once they're cooled, using a cookie scoop, scoop sections of brownie and roll them into balls.

3. Place on a wax paper covered baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze until completely chilled. I left mine in the freezer overnight.

4. Melt chocolate and peanut butter together in the microwave or in a double boiler if you're anti microwave.

5. Dip brownie balls into chocolate/peanut butter mixture, covering completely. You can do this with 2 spoons, toothpicks, fingers, or all of the above.

6. Place dipped brownie ball on a wax covered cookie sheet and allow to cool completely or put in the freezer for a bit. Embellish as you please, with sprinkles, drizzled chocolate, nuts, etc. and enjoy!


Here are everyone's comments:
very rich
8 of 10/ 4 of 5
very chocolate-y
for peanut butter chocolate lovers

in short, we loved them!

http://zumfressen.blogspot.com/2010/04/peanut-butter-chocolate-brownie-bites.html

Chicken Salad

Ok, after you make the Salmon Dill Chowder and you have some fresh dill leftover, make this. If you didn't make the soup, go get the dill specifically for this, because it's amazing. Usually you put chicken salad in the middle of 2 pieces of bread, right? Well I saw someone suggest you put it inside a green pepper. I tried it and it was great. YayChicken Salad

• 5 Boiled Chicken Thighs or a Rotissere Chicken from the grocery store (hello FLAVOR!!!)
• 2 stalks of Celery or more, chopped
  
• 3 Green Onions, chopped
  
• Some Grapes, sliced
  
• 1/2 C Mayo
• 1/2 C Yogurt or Sour Cream
• 1 T Brown Sugar
• 1 T Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper (why do we still add this in recipies? Isn't it a GIVEN?)
• 1 t Paprika
• A dash of Cayenne Pepper for some heat
• A bunch of fresh chopped DILL!!!! (You could also use cilantro)
  

Boil the chicken with a bunch of salt til it's cooked. Then tear it into chunks of desired size of your liking. When it's done, put all of the green onion, celery, grapes, and dill together.
In another bowl mix together the mayo, yogurt/sour cream, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper, paprika cayenne, and dill. Pour this over the chicken and veggies and mix until you get the consistency you like. Chill in the fridge for at least a couple hours for flavor enhancement. Then eat it, die, go to heaven. YUM.

Why would you NOT make this? It's too good not to.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/05/chicken-salad-the-way-i-like-it/

Red Beans and Rice

I now live in the south. Kind of. Ok, maybe not, but I still see southern cooking a lot around here. I've been trying to learn a few basics, and Red Beans and Rice is definitely one of them! This dish was REALLY good, and really cheap. No picture, sorry.

Red Beans and Rice
EVOO
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper of any color, chopped, of course
14 oz kielbasa/sausage/fully cooked meat

some minced garlic
2 cans red beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 t Creole seasoning (homemade recipe below)
1 bay leaf
1/2 t dried thyme
1 C. water
1 t hot sauce

In a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and celery and cook until softened. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic, and sauté another 2 minutes. Add the smoked sausage, and cook until the sausage begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf, thyme, creole seasoning, beans, and water. Stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer (liquid should be gently bubbling) for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Liquid will reduce a little and thicken. Season to desired heat-level. Serve over rice.




This stuff (Creole seasoning) is amazing, and you can use it on a million things. I sprinkled some on a sweet potato cut up like fries, and they were the bomb diggity. (400 degrees, 20 minutes or so) Also I seasoned some roasted chick peas with it and it was good. But just salt and dried rosemary was better.

Creole Seasoning
2 Tbs celery salt
1 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs coarse sea salt
1 Tbs ground black pepper
1 Tbs garlic powder
1Tbs onion powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp allspice

Mix all ingredients together. Store in an air-tight container. Will last for up to six months.

http://kokocooks.blogspot.com/2011/02/weeknight-red-beans-and-rice.html

Knives and Salmon Dill Chowder

These are my new knives! Cutco! Thank you Lucy Christensen. And thank you mother for birthing me so that I am able to have birthdays.



If my arms look big, it's probably because they are. I need to tone it down a bit on the biceps. haha

Salmon Dill Chowder

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 large potato, diced
• 1 t salt
• ¼ t pepper
• 1 C water
• 2 C milk
• 1 lb. salmon
• 2 T dill
• 1 T butter
• 2 T olive oil – onion, celery & potatoes

Salt, pepper – cook with _ softened 5-7 minutes

Stir in water beginning to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer. Add milk. Simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender 4-5 min. stir in salmon and dill and butter until salmon is cooked 3-4 min.

Thank you, Kathleen Knight, for this recipe. :) Suzanne, Shantelle: do not make this soup this week, because it might be my presentation at the sister's get together.

I give this this recipe a 5 out of 5.

Valentine's Week

Warning: This is what your kitchen will look like if you decide to make 2 kinds of cookies at the same time in a small kitchen:


How do you mess Rice Krispies up? I don't know. But I did it. Luckily I was able to save the sugary buttery goodness from the trash with a few extra marshmallows. Hopefully after a few more years of marriage I can master this staple. This is what's left of it:

The edible Valentine is the absolute best kind of valentine!

My sister, Suzanne told me that she and her husband make their own pizzas on Valentine's Day every year instead of trying to beat the restaurant craziness. GENIUS! Mark and I decided to adopt this idea and tried it for ourselves. Turned out GREAT.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Mix together: (it was easy to hand stir, could probably use Bosch)
1 c. warm milk (I just realized I made it with water. Too funny. Tasted fine that way.)
1 T. yeast
3 T. olive oil
3 T. honey
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, a little at a time

Just mix everything together. It doesn't really need much time to rise. Make the dough, then go prep all the other ingredients, and then it will be READY to ROLL (no but seriously-Get it? Roll the dough out....)!

Roll dough out into two 16" thin crust pizzas. Bake at 450 degrees for about 4 minutes with nothing on it. This is so the middle gets cooked for sure, and also it makes for a delicious crispy crust.

Then load it with toppings, starting with the first listed, ending with the last, (except the cilantro) adding more cheese at the top. Add the cilantro for the last few minutes of baking so it still looks nice and fresh.

For the chicken: 1. Simply mix a pieced apart rotisserie chicken from the story and mix it in your favorite BBQ sauce. 2.Fry chicken chunks in olive oil and mix with 2 T. BBQ sauce.

Things To Put On Top Of Pizza:
Tomato Sauce
Fresh Basil
Garlic Salt
Salt and Pepper
BBQ Chicken
Mozzarella (+Gouda?? = :))
Red Onion
Thinly Sliced Green Peppers
BBQ Chicken (just mix some shredded/chunks of chicken in some your fav BBQ sauce
Cilantro


Ok. This recipe makes 1 million cookies!!! I halved it and I still was able to give plenty away, and also satisfy my personal cookie needs. "Lemon Ricotta Cookies".... sounds crazy, right? Don't worry about it. It works really nicely! They're cakey and lemony and just a hint of sweet from the icing. :) MARK even liked them, and he ONLY likes Chocolate Chip Cookies! (What's his problem??)

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Yields: too many cookies. Like 7 dozen or something, so maybe half it

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
3 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
zest of one lemon

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. lemon juice
zest of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or siplat.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a fork to combine and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well to incorporate, scraping down the bowl between additions. Add the ricotta cheese, the lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix to combine. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.

Spoon the dough onto the baking sheets (about 1 tablespoons per cookie). Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, in a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk until smooth. Spoon a small amount of glaze onto each cookie and spread gently using the back of the spoon. Let the cookies sit to allow the glaze to harden, about 2 hours. Store loosely covered.

http://www.delish-blog.com/2010/06/lemon-ricotta-cookies/

I just love how the lemon speckled icing drizzles off the sides of the cookie..... it's so .... dreamy.


This is a picture of my lovely chocolate chip cookies I made! I am trying to find a favorite CCC recipe, but there are just SOSOSOSO many to experiment with and so many variables. Tell me what your favorite recipe is, please! Requirement: I will only use 1 stick of butter or less per batch. Don't ask why. Maybe because it makes me feel better about my frequent trips to the fridge on my days off for a spoonful of cookie dough. It doesn't help that Mark gets me to make him CCC about once a week, only increasing my trips to the fridge.