Meatloaf

Let's face it, meatloaf is not exactly the sexiest of meals.  It seems to be the food item that ends up as the butt of every "bad meal" joke on television.  Dry. No flavor. Lots of filler. Gross. The fruit cake of dinner foods. Well, I'm hear to kill that myth and give you a meatloaf recipe that will make meatloaf a welcome addition to your monthly dinner rotation.

Preheat oven to 350

1.5 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1.5 lbs ground turkey (usually 93/7)
1 medium green bell pepper
1 small sweet onion
4-5 crimini mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs (from scratch if you can, it's just toasted bread and some spices)
1 egg
1 3oz jar Hormel Real Bacon Pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Finely chop the pepper, onion and mushrooms and saute them with 1 tbsp of margarine. Once the onions are translucent, add the entire jar of bacon pieces to the mix.  Stir this mixture around a few times, pull it off the heat and set it aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Add the cooled bacon and vegetable mix and stir it in.  Be careful not to over mix. 

Place the mixture in a glass 13x9 baking dish and form the mixture into a loaf shape (should look like an elongated football) and bake, uncovered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Let the meatloaf sit for 5 minutes once it comes out of the oven.  I prefer a brown beef gravy with mine. I'm not a huge fan of slathering my meatloaf in ketchup, but that's just me.  Feel free to make your own gravy, but any of the "add water" gravy packets will do the trick.

BBQ Sauce

BBQ sauce is something that can be so easily made at home, I never understand why people by that bottle stuff at the store.  If you open your 'fridge and cupboards you can easily find everything you need to create a BBQ sauce at home that tastes 100x better than that preservative laden stuff from the store.  And the beauty is almost every sauce starts with 4-5 very simple ingredients and then you add what ever extra ingredients to get the flavor you're going for.  This recipe here is for a sweet pineapple BBQ sauce that is great on pork and chicken as well.  It's a tomato based sauce, similar to those from Kansas City and Texas, not a mustard a vinegar based Carolina style sauce (which I will admit are my favs). This not a dipping sauce.  It's a fantastic marinade and it's best when used for basting chicken and pork as they slow cook in your oven, smoker or on your grill.  If this is the first sauce you'll be making from scratch you're going to find that it's not brown, not super sticky and tastes nothing like what you get at the store and that's because this is what REAL BBQ sauce looks and tastes like.  ENJOY!

Ingredients:
28 oz can of tomato puree
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp brown mustard
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 TBS maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 TBS teriyaki sauce
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple

Bring the tomato, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin to a simmer.  Add the brown sugar, maple syrup, ginger and teriyaki next.  Give it a good whisk to incoporate the sugar.  Once this is all set, add the pineapple (including juices) and whisk.  Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes on the stove. Make sure you taste along the way to see if needs more of anything. And that's it.  Once the sauce is cool, transfer it in small batches to a blender and smooth it out (the pineapple chunks will blend right into the sauce). After that, use it as a marinade or a basting sauce.  It also can be frozen, so if you think you made too much, you didn't.  It will hold in the 'fridge for 5-7 days. 

Here's this sauce on a 2lb pork tenderloin, slow grilled at medium low for 25 minutes (to achieve medium rare).  Pork was marinated in olive oil, salt and pepper for 24 hours and then a cup of the sauce was added 3 hours prior to grilling.  Baste the meat every 5-10 minutes as you grill it.

Update....

Just posted a lasagna recipe from this weekend. I'll be working on one of the many BBQ sauces that I make, so I'll have that at some point this week.  Here's a quick cannoli  filling for those that have too much free time on their hands (like myself):

4-6 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup  mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1cup powder sugar

That's it.  Pretty simple.  Let it set in the fridge for a few hours.  This will easily fill 12 mini cannoli shells (for some reason none of the markets near me sell large cannoli shells).

Sausage and Beef Lasagna

Lasagna is an easy enough meal to prepare.  It can be made the day of or even the day before and just reheated in the oven (you'll just have to adjust the baking time for it being cold, but it tastes just the same). Here's a recipe I came up with that I hope you'll enjoy.

Ingredients:
28 oz can of tomato puree (save 1/2 cup for the baking pan)
6 oz can of tomato paste
1 small sweet onion (chopped fine)
1 medium green bell pepper (chopped fine)
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 pinches crushed red pepper flake
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb sweet sausage
1 lb 80/20 ground beef
18-20 lasagna noodles
30 oz ricotta cheese
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Boil water and a tsp of olive oil for the pasta. Cook until almost al dente. This will depend on the size pot you use, but should be about 15 minutes. Set aside and let it cool.

Start by sauteing your onions and peppers, in your sauce pot, over medium heat until the onions become translucent. At this point add your sausage, beef and garlic and cook until the meat browns.  I don't drain the meat, I think the meat fats add a ton of flavor. Once the beef and sausage has cooked, add the tomato puree and tomato paste and stir it all in to incorporate everything. Add all of the spices at this point, stir and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Place the 1/2 cup of saved tomato puree on the bottom of a 9x12 glass baking dish. Place 5-7 pieces of lasagna on the bottom and then cover liberally with your sauce mixture.  Place 5-7 pieces of lasagna on top of that and cover very liberally with ricotta and then top that with some of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Put another layer of lasagna on top of that and top with more of the sauce mixture (you may have some left over, that's fine). Cover that layer completely with mozzarella cheese.

Place in the oven and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. The cheese in the middle should bubble and be a little brown and crispy on the edges. Let the lasagna sit for 5 minutes, cut and serve. 

Jerk Rub

I forgot about this rub I made last week and it is without a doubt one of my favorite things to eat: jerk anything. Jerk chicken. Jerk shrimp. Jerk beef. Jerk fish. And this rub could not be easier to make. I’ve tried numerous bottled jerk rubs and never been happy with the balance of heat and flavor so I said “screw it, I’ll make my own.” And in truth, this rub is easy and you most likely have everything in your spice cabinet/drawer already. Everything in this rub is equal parts, with the exception of the heat element. Whether you want to use teaspoons, tablespoons or 1/4 cups, this will hold for months at a time and make grilling that much better. Here’s the deal, remember, equal parts of everything, but double the heat:
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Cinnamon
Cumin
All Spice
Nutmeg
Brown Sugar
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Paprika
White Sugar
Oregano
Cayenne Pepper That’s it. This goes great with shrimp and chicken. Marinate in Olive Oil and then rub the meat and let it sit for 12 hours, add some grilled Plantains and some rice. Delicious. Enjoy.

Welcome!

This is a new venture for me.  Some of these recipes I had posted on another blog that was cancelled, so here they are.  Enjoy, comment, I'll even take suggestions for things.  Thanks for visiting.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Very simple cake recipe.  So, easy you'll never buy a boxed cake mix or can of frosting again.  This is the recipe for a 2 layer cake, the cake I made was four layers.  Just double the cake batter portion to make it four layers, but don't make 4 layers at once, nothing good will come from that.

Pre-heat the oven to 350, margarine and flour two 9 inch cake pans

Cake Batter:
Sift these individually into the mixing bowl

1 3/4 cup of AP Flour
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup of cocoa

Then add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
1 cup boiling water

Mix until the dry and wet ingredients until incorporated, then add the boiling water.  Pour into cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out of the center clean.  Cool and a baking rack and then wrap each cake in plastic wrap and let them sit (they'll get super moist).

Frosting:

Chocolate:
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1 pkg of confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup cocoa (more if you desire)
1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter:
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine

Lamb Marinades

Today I’m going to touch on lamb. All I ever remember of lamb is this: oven roasted, dry, horrible smell and mint jelly. About 4 years ago my brother in law got me into lamb and I fell in love. The cut of lamb I like to use is the kabob. If you have the time and money, feel free to use a full leg. I like the convenience of the kabob and it’s a nice lean cut of meat that takes the marinade very well. Here’s a few marinade that can take your lamb from “meh” to “yummy.”

Marinade 1:
This first one I came up with while staring into my ‘fridge looking for something different to marinate flank steak in. After eating it on steak I knew it would go well with lamb.
1/2-1 cup Merlot
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons brown mustard
2 tablespoons minced garlic (if using jarred garlic, use some of the juices)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
splash worcestershire sauce
splash soy sauce
1 shallot, finely chopped (or red onion if you prefer that)
pinch of dried oregano
Rub your lamb with a 50/50 split of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Whisk the marinade and place it in a freezer bag with the lamb. Massage it well and let it marinate for at least 8 hours (I prefer 24).
Marinade 2:
This is more of a mustard based marinade and provides a nice, crisp zip with the addition of red wine vinegar.
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Rub your lamb with a 50/50 split of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Whisk the marinade and place it in a freezer bag with the lamb. Massage it well and let it marinate for 4-8 hours.
Marinade 3:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
pinch of dried ginger
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
dash of soy sauce
handful finely chopped green onion
Rub your lamb with a 50/50 split of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Whisk the marinade and place it in a freezer bag with the lamb. Massage it well and let it marinate for no longer than 2 hours. Anytime you add citrus into the equation things can be tricky. Letting fish and poultry sit in citrus for longer than 2 hours can be bad for the meat. The acids in the citrus will begin to “cook” the meat. Let this sit for anywhere between 1 and 2 hours.

South American Inspired Pork

Today we’re going South of the Border.  Mexican and South American Food are some of my favorite dishes to make.  I love the spice combinations that create some of these tasty treats (especially that little hint of cocoa).  I’m going to tackle pork in this post. Pork is a meat that sometimes inspires, but can also be bland and tasteless.  A good pork tenderloin, when marinated properly can be tasty.  But plain old baked pork chops: yawn.  Boring and sometimes dried out.  We’re going to take the chop AND the loin to school today and add some needed flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:
2 thick cut pork chops (fat on)
1-2 lb pork tenderloin or pork roast
14 ounces crushed tomato
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
pinch of oregano
pinch of cinnamon
dash lime juice
dash apple juice
1 can (4.5 ounces) of chopped green chilies
bagged rice
can of black beans
First thing you need to do is brown your pork.  I used 2 thick cut chops, fat left on (about 1.5 lbs) and a good sized boneless pork loin roast (about 2 lbs).  Cut your pork into large cubes and put them in a hot sautee pan with nothing but Olive Oil and crank it to medium high.  Don’t be afraid to get some crust on the pork.  Let it brown.  This will take 10 minutes or so. Once your pork is done, take it out and set it aside in a bowl.
Next we’ll grab my favorite cooking device: the crock pot.  You can stew this on the stove as well, but I like the crock because you can throw it all in and not have to worry about it.  Take the 14 ounces of crushed tomato and place it in the crock pot.  Add the pork and all it’s drippings to the tomato and make sure all the pork gets covered.  Then pile in your seasonings and chilies and give it a good mix (for more flavor, add some chipotles).  That’s it.  It doesn’t get much easier than that.  Set the crock pot to “Low” and let it cook nice and slow for 4-6 hours.  Give it a stir every now and then to make sure it doesn’t stick.  But if it does, no worries.  That’s just more crispy goodness. Do be careful not to break the pork up too much. We don’t want pulled pork. You want nice, tender pieces of pork.
Heat your beans (I prefer Goya) and your rice.  I don’t mess with rice.  A great rice to pair with this dish is Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice.  The garden vegetable with corn, carrots and peas is perfect for this dish.  This rice has a light flavor to it and is not overpowering like those Lipton rice mixes.  And short of digging and making your own rice, this mix is as close as you’ll get to Mexican restaurant style rice. If you want to add a little to your beans in terms of flavor, I suggest bacon over cheese, but that’s just me.  Just cut some bacon up, cook it in the pan and heat your beans in all that goodness.
Plate your pork, beans and rice, garnish with some chopped cilantro and dig in. Sour cream and guacamole would be a nice touch on the side of you’re so inclined

Chicken Cacciatore and Sausage

Today we’re looking at Cacciatore. Chicken is good. Add sausage and the regular Chicken Cacciatore becomes even better. This recipe could not be more simple, but it is super satisfying. It can be done 2 ways: in a pan on the stove top or in the Crock Pot. I went for the Crock because I didn’t have the time to deal with it on the stove top today.
I added sausage to this instead of chicken thighs. Classic Cacciatore has chicken breasts and thighs, but I wanted to try something different, so I went with sausage instead. Here’s what you’ll need:


3-4 Chicken Breasts
6 small Sweet Italian Sausage
1 28 oz can diced tomato
1 28 oz can crushed tomato
1 large green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
Pasta of your choice
Most Cacciatore recipes call for the chicken to be dredged in flour and then pan sauteed. I chose the “healthier” route and put them in as is, no dredging. Place the chicken breasts, sausage, the entire can of diced tomato and half of the can on crushed tomato, the entire bell pepper (rough chop), half of the onion (rough chop) and all of your spices into the Crock Pot. Place the cover on and heat on low for 5 hours. That’s it. It doesn’t get much easier than that. The pan method doesn’t take as long, but it obviously requires you to be in the kitchen and tending to the cooking process. This makes an equally delicious meal. Like I said, I didn’t have the time yesterday to crank out the other version, so I went with the Crock. Truth be told, I like this version better. The sausage and chicken become fork tender and they both absorb so much flavor from the sauce. Is Crock Pot cooking cheating? Some people may say Yes, I say No. Nothing dries out, everything gets a ton of flavor and you can get things done while still cooking a fantastic dinner. I’ve made this recipe both ways and I enjoy it the same. To jazz it up a little, feel free to throw some mushrooms, capers and white wine in. I’m the only one in my household who likes mushrooms and capers, so I left them out.