Mom's Meat Loaf

The Mission:
Make meat loaf for dinner because I've been craving it lately. I use my Mom's recipe, which I've been eating since childhood, though I omit the celery and substitute onion powder for the diced onions. My husband prefers it that way, and if he's going to eat it, he has to like it. I love to top mine with Piquant sauce (recipe at bottom), but the husband prefers his with boring old ketchup.

The Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs ground lean ground beef (or venison)
  
• 2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 2 slightly beaten eggs
  
• 1/4 cup chopped onion (optional if you have a picky eater)
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
  
• 1/4 tsp dry ground mustard
  
• 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning 1
  
• Tbsp Worchestshire sauce
  
• 2 Tbsp chopped celery (also optional)

The Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients with your hands until combined. If the mixture doesn't seem firm enough to form a loaf, add 1/2 to 1 cup of Quaker Oats. Place the meat into a loaf pan and pack down tightly. Form the meat into a loaf shape (higher in the middle and lower on the edges) and place in a preheated 350*F oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the meat is done. Serve with Piquant Sauce, ketchup, or mustard if desired.

Piquant Sauce:
Combine together the following ingredients: 3 Tbsp brown sugar 1/4 cup ketchup 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp dry ground mustard Then heat in the microwave for 30 second increments, stirring inbetween, until warm.

The Results:
I left out the chopped onions and substituted onion powder for my picky eater. It's important to use lean ground beef or else the meatloaf will be very greasy. I've also tried this recipe using ground venison with fantastic results. My husband shared some of his leftovers with a coworker, who just raved about how good it was :)

The Reviews:
Though my husband griped about the meatloaf a bit before hand, he dug right in and cleared his plate. Then he had seconds. Then he ate all of the leftovers. Apparently leaving out the celery and diced onions really made this meatloaf tasty to him. I'm thrilled. Unfortunately, he hid the camera so I couldn't take any more pictures :(

Venison BBQ

The Mission:
To use some of our ample supply of venison to create a hearty meal on a cold, cold Monday. I wanted to make something especially comforting since this particular Monday happened to follow a four-day weekend :) Pulled venison barbeque happens to be a favorite of my husbands, and it was his Dad that told me how to make it. My father-in-law has some very yummy ideas for wild fish and game.

The Ingredients:

• 1 venison roast water
• 1 or 2 tsps of salt
• liquid smoke - optional
• your favorite barbeque sauce

The Instructions:

This is extremely simple to make. I place the roast into my crockpot. I cover the roast with water and add about a tsp or two of salt. If the mood strikes me, I'll add some liquid smoke to the water as well... just a few dashes. (I skipped that step this time.) I'll set the crockpot on low for about 20 hours, since I usually put the roast in the night before. 8 hours on low is just fine if you prefer to assemble the goods in the morning. 30 minutes prior to dinner time, remove the roast from the crockpot, placing it in a glass baking dish. Discard any bones or fatty things from the meat, then use two forks to pull the meat apart until it is in bite-sized pieces. It will look kind of shredded. Serve immediately with your favorite BBQ sauce and side dishes.

The Results:

Delicious as always. Someday I plan on making barbeque sauce from scratch and seeing how it turns out. I served this particular meal with green beans - frozen for me and canned for him, and his favorite biscuits. As an added bonus, I use the leftover 'broth' from the crockpot to moisten up the dog's food. They adore it, and it's pretty healthy once you drain off the little bit of fat. We usually add water to their food anyway, so I consider this to be a special treat for them and a way to recycle for me. This roast yielded about 2 quarts or so of broth.

The Reviews:

I thought it tasted fantastic, my husband was really happy, and I believe the dogs were just thrilled :)

Weekly Menu: January 3 - 8, 2010

I have become complacent in my meal planning and rarely cook any new concoctions.... and even though I tried new things over the holidays, I was too lazy and too busy to spend much time documenting and blogging about them. Oh well! There's always next holiay season :) But for now, there's the start of a new year and a new plan....

In an attempt to get my life back on track, become more organized, and rekindle my love for my kitchen, I'm working hard at menu planning for each week. This ensures that the grocery shopping will be productive, that I won't be stressing out each day over what to make for dinner, meats will be thawed & marinated on time, fresh veggies will not go to waste, and I can generally keep things calm and effective in the kitchen.

So for this week, I have planned on the following meals:

Sunday 1/03/2010:
Shake 'n' bake chicken, frozen peas, fresh carrots, and sauteed potatoes.

Monday 1/04:
Pulled venison BBQ, green beans, and biscuits.

Tuesday 1/05:
Seasame ginger chicken breast, broccoli, and rice with soy sauce.

Wednesday 1/06:
Meatloaf, pinto beans, and california blend veggies.

Thursday 1/07:
Roasted pork loin, butter beans, and steamed cabbage

Friday 1/08:
Venison pot roast with potatoes and carrots (new recipe!), green beans, and a fun dessert... maybe pumpkin custard....

Festive Cranberry Spread

The Misson:
To create a different but fantastic appetizer to take to my Mother-in-Law's house for Thanksgiving lunch. I knew that other people were bringing desserts, so I figured I'd make something different. I'm a huge fan of cranberries, and they're so pretty and festive during the holidays, so when I ran across the recipe for a spread, it sounded like the perfect option.

The Ingredients:

• 1 package - 8 oz - cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup finely chopped dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• Crackers for serving - I used Townhouse
  

The Instructions:
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, orange juice, sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon until fluffy. Stir in the cranberries and pecans. Refrigerate overnight (the flavors will have time to blend together nicely that way). Garnish as desired. As you can see, I left a few pecans and cranberries un-chopped so I could use them for garnishing as well as leaving a small handful unmixed in order to sprinkle them on top. The orange curls added a nice touch, too.

The Results:
It turned out prettier than I thought it would. And though I had some serious problems zesting the orange, I was lucky enough to have two tangerines on hand, so I tried them instead and met with success. They made for pretty curls as well.

The Reviews:
As always, my husband refused to try it because he hates cream cheese. If possible, I sample my food before I serve it, just to make sure that it didn't turn out to be a complete disaster. This was so good that I almost didn't take it with us. I could've eaten the whole bowl myself. I received some very nice complements on it from the other guests as well.

Haitus is over!

Apparently I had no inspiration to cook much over the summer. I shall blame the humidity and the disgustingly hot weather.

Ever since October rolled around I've been itching to try out new yummy recipes. Unfortunately life got in the way and I resorted back to my usual menus and didn't spend much time experimenting.

With November here, I've decided that I can't abandon my hobby any longer! I am going to attempt to juggle my schedule and plan things more efficiently so I can knock out at least one new recipe a week. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I am hoping to host a small dinner party to show off my culinary skills. I'm working hard on the menu and the guest list! If anyone has any suggestions for a side dish or dessert, please feel free to share :)

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

The Mission:
Use up the leftover buttermilk. So I searched through a few cookbooks and websites and found a Banana Cake recipe that sounded fantastic. I love a good fruit based cake.





The Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups ripe mashed bananas
• 2 tsps lemon juice
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/8 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

The Instructions:
Preheat oven to 275*F. Grease and flour a 9x13" pan (or use non-stick). In a small bowl, mix the mashed banana with the lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, then stir in the banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. (This will keep the cake very moist and make it easier to frost.) Frost the cake with the cream cheese icing and garnish with chopped walnuts or pecans.


Icing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
  

Icing Instructions:
Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth then beat in the vanilla. Add the confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.



The Result:
It smelled soooo good. It looked very pretty as well. If I make it again, I will halve the cream cheese icing recipe, since I didn't use it all. I only iced 3/4 of the cake, since my husband doesn't like cream cheese icing. I just found out that I don't like it either, so I'll only be icing 1/3 of it next time!



The Reviews:
I thought it tasted fantastic. Mark really liked it, as did my favorite co-worker. My husband's not a big fan of bananas (now he tells me!) so he wasn't overly thrilled with it. I think he's crazy - haha. I left some for my parents to eat and they both loved it. And to get rid of the extra icing, I sent Mark home with the tub of it. I'm sure he's already polished it off with a spoon :)

Raspberry Baked Brie

The Misson:

Make Raspberry Baked Brie as found in one of my older cookbooks. I never made it at Easter, so I already had all of the ingredients. It looked tasty and seemed elegant, so I figured it would be perfect for my sister's Bridal Shower.

The Ingredients:

• 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 1 round (8 oz) Brie cheese
• 1 Tbsp seedless raspberry jam
• 1/4 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 egg, beaten
• assorted crackers or slices of French Baguette
  

The Instructions:

Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into two 6" squares. Place one square on a cookie sheet and press on the seams to seal. Place the round of brie in the center of the square and top with the jam and the fresh raspberries. On each corner of the remaining square of dough, use a small cookie cutter to cut out a shape and set aside the shape. Take the dough square and place it ontop of the brie round, folding the corners of the dough under. Fold the bottom layer of dough up around the top layer and pinch to seal. Brush with the beaten egg. Place the cut out shapes on the top and brush them with the egg. Bake the brie in a 350*F oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and place on serving plate. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm with water crackers or sliced french baguette.

The Result:

The brie turned out a bit browner on top than I would've liked. I also think that my cookie cutter was too big. If I use this in the future, I'll go buy a teeny tiny cookie cutter (perhaps in the shape of a flower or a heart). I honestly wasn't really thrilled with baking the brie in the crescent roll dough. I'm going to add a "brie bowl" to my Christmas list this year, so I can just bake it with the rasperries by itself and skip the bread part.

The Reviews:

Everyone said that it tasted good and that it looked very pretty. So it wasn't a complete failure, but only half of the brie was eaten. I left it with Mom to finish off.