Meat Mania

I am a meatloaf lover. You can take just about anything left over in the fridge and throw it in meat loaf. This recipe is one of my favorites. Red potatoes, carrots, and 100% lean beef! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. And left overs are even more tasty! I served it with creamy mashed potatoes. No need for a veggie... they were in the loaf.

I didn't really measure anything so these aren't accurate.

Source: My head :)

Danielle's Meat Loaf

Loaf:

• 1 pack ground beef
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 red potato, shredded
• 3/4 c catchup (put 1/4 aside for glaze)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Glaze:

• 1/4 c catchup
• 1/8 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all loaf ingredients together and place in loaf pan. Round the loaf into a mound and place in oven for about an hour. Meat will shrink a bit and pull away from the sides when done. Mix glaze ingredients together and put aside. After an hour, pull meatloaf out of the oven and drain fat from sides. Once drained, cover loaf with catchup mixture and put back in oven for 10 minutes. Once done, cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Home on the Range

I had chicken and I had hamburger ... left the decision to Joseph. He chose the chicken and requested ranch chicken (his favorite). So I made it for him... with a twist. Delish!

Source: Box of Ranch Dressing Mix



Ranch Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts (up to four)
• 1 packet of ranch
• 1/2 cup of italian bread crumbs (recipe calls for plain bread crumbs)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the packet of ranch and bread crumbs in a bag and mix up before placing the chicken in the bag. Once mixed, place all chicken breasts in the bag and shake it up to make sure that the mixture coats the chicken well. Take the chicken out of the bag and place in a dish. Put in the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until done.

Strawberries and Cream

Joseph surprised me last night by making some yummy Rice Krispy treats. Instead of using regular Rice Krispy's he used the ones with strawberries in them. Definitely made them better! Maybe next time I'll try putting some pumpkin pie spice in them. I also found a great website for different recipies... I never thought about how versatile this simple treat was.

Source: Box of Rice Krispies



Strawberry Rice Krispy Treats

6 cups Rice Krispies with Strawberries
1 package large marshmallows -or- 4 cups mini marshmallows
3 tbsp butter

Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool. Best if served the same day.

Pot Roast Love

I needed a hearty meal today. Something easy to put together but full of flavor. I purchased a roast on Friday and knew that it would be perfect.

So I got some red potatos and an onion cut up on Saturday night and put some carrots and broccoli aside to steam. Sunday morning I took the bag of onions and layered 3/4 of them on the bottom of the crock pot.

I than seasoned the potatos with seasoned salt, garlic salt and red curry (yum!) and layered them on top of the onions. I trimmed the fat off of the meat and salted and peppered it and than put it on top of the potatos. I put the rest of the onions on top of the meat, set the dial to high and took a nap.

Four hours later my house smelled wonderful and dinner was ready. I steamed the veggies and fixed the plates up. The food was sooo good I didn't even have time to take a picture of the perfection. I had to take a picture of the left overs! My husband even commented on the fact that it was waaay better than my last roast. I think it was the curry ;)

Cinnamon Maple Goodness

So I was lazy and didn't want to make my scones from scratch so I bought a mix at Harry and Davids. I was going to a 5K walk for Breast Cancer with some girlfriends (fellow nesties) and thought I would make the scones for breakfast. They were fast, simple, easy and delicious. I used a muffin pan to shape the scones and baked them for about a minute under the cook time so that they would be a bit moist in the middle and they were great. We got some coffee and enjoyed the yummy scones as we walked off the calories!

Veggie Creations

I had to find a good recipe to make for the girls for "Woman's Club" and it needed to be vegetarian. So I started searching for good recipies in Joy of Cooking and Betty Crocker but nothing jumped out of me. So I was flipping the channels and stumbled upon the Food Network. Giada was on so I decided for stay tuned for a bit and see what she was up to. I was so glad I stayed. She was making this delicious looking garlic and citrus chicken but the next recipe was what I was interested in. A spinach and goat cheese pasta. It was definitely the right dish. All of the girls LOVED it and wanted to take the left overs with them.

Source: Food Network

Penne with Spinach Sauce

1 pound whole wheat or multi grain penne 3 garlic cloves 2 ounces goat cheese 1 ounce reduced fat cream cheese 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside. Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.

Give me some spice!

I was searching for a good dessert to make for work and stumbled upon this from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats. This hit the right spot! YUM!

Source: MarthaStewart.com

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice (or 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon each allspice and cloves)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• One (15-ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin puree
• Honey Frosting (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin-pie spice. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, butter, and pumpkin puree until combined. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, and mix gently until smooth.

Turn batter into prepared pan, and smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake 10 minutes in pan, then turn out of pan, and cool completely, right side up, on a rack.

Spread top of cooled cake with Honey Frosting. Cut cake into squares to serve.

Honey Frosting

(Makes 2 cups)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) regular or reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup honey

In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients until smooth.

Pass the Dessert!

I had to make some baked goodies for a church function so I decided to give it a bit of holiday flair. Instead of using those disposable tins, I went to Michael's and bought these dishes for only $1! I wanted to make a few different breads but decided to make a few mini Chocolate Chocolate Chip cakes. I saved one for myself (of course!) and ate it warm. It was AMAZING! Definitely melt in the mouth good.

Source: AllRecipies.com

Lisa's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, water, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool.

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops {Dinner}

I was craving pork chops but had no idea how I wanted to prepare them. I posted on TheNest.com and the girls helped me right away with many different recipies. The one that stood out? Giada's Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops. Easy to make and I had all of the ingredients on hand. How would I rate them? Delicious! I only left them in the pan until gently browned and than popped them in the oven for 20 minutes since I bought 1" chops. But they turned out great!

Source: Food Network



Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
• 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedge.