Famous Family Meatloaf

Ingredients

2 large eggs

¾ cup milk

⅔ cup fine dry bread crumbs

¼ cup finely chopped onion

2 TBSP finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp salt

½ tsp dried leaf sage or 1½ tsp fresh sage, finely chopped

⅛ tsp black pepper

1½ pounds lean ground beef, lamb, or pork

¼ cup ketchup

2 TBSP packed brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

INSTRUCTIONS 

• In a medium bowl combine beaten eggs and milk; stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, sage, and pepper. Add ground meat. Using clean hands, mix lightly until well-combined. Lightly pat mixture into an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan.

• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 to 75 minutes, or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees.  Spoon off fat.

• Combine ketchup, sugar, and mustard in a clean bowl; spread over meat. Bake for 10 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into eight or ten slices. 

NB: This is the meatloaf from our kids' childhood. Lots of memories. Traditionally served with freshly made applesauce and freshly mashed potatoes. 

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Per serving (1/8 of recipe):

Calories.   ~254 kcal

Protein.      ~20 g

Carbs.         ~10 g

Fat.             ~15 g

Fiber.          ~0.5 g

Sodium.     ~450 mg

Classic Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

½ cup uncooked rice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
¾ medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ pound lean ground beef
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 bell peppers, tops and cores removed
¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack (substitute a goat cheese for the dairy intolerant)
Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

 

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 400 degrees.

Step 2: Cook the rice in a small saucepan according to package instructions.

Step 3: Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, saute the onion for about 5 minutes until tender. Add in the tomato paste and garlic. Stir and continue to cook for another minute until aromatic. Add in the ground beef, breaking up the meat using a wooden spoon, and continue to cook for 6 minutes more until no longer pink.

Step 4: Stir in the cooked rice and the diced tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano, then simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid slightly reduced.

Step 5: In a 9 x 9 inch baking dish, put the peppers on the bottom cut side-up. Drizzle with oil and spoon the mixture to the peppers, incorporating up to half the Monterey Jack cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese neatly over the tops.

Step 6: Use foil to cover the dish and place it inside the preheated oven. Bake for about 35 minutes until the peppers are soft. Remove the cover and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Step 7: Remove from the oven and garnish. Serve warm.

Meat Stew

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil 

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced. 

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced. 

1/2 cup carrots, sliced thinly. 

1/2 cup celery, sliced thinly. 

1 cup turkey broth. 

1/4 lb lean hamburger, cubed.

1 ea Italian sausage link, cubed. 

4 slices bacon, cubed. 

1/2 roasted chicken breaks, cubed. 

1/2 cup roasted tomatoes. 

2 tsp dried sage. 

1 TBSP Herbs de Provence. 

Salt, to taste.

Lemon drop pepper, to taste

Instructions

Fry hamburger, sausage and bacon until thoroughly cooked. 

At the same time, saute garlic and onions in olive oil in a separate pan until tender. Add carrots and celery to saute.

Blend tomatoes with 1/2 cup broth to create a tomato paste. Add to saute mix. 

When the carrots and celery begin soften, add the rest of the turkey broth and bring to a simmer. Add all the meat. Add the spices and simmer until flavors are well combined and the stew has thickened. 

Serves 2 or 3.

Low Carb Chili

INGREDIENTS

1½ pounds lean ground beef

2 slices bacon, diced

½ medium red onion, chopped and divided

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large ribs of celery, diced

1 2 TSBP pickled jalapeno slices

6 ounce can tomato paste

14.5 ounce can tomatoes with green chilies or Mexican seasoning (or fresh tomatoes & peppers)

1½ TSBP Worcestershire sauce

2 TSBP chili powder

1½ TSBP cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp oregano

1 pinch of ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp cayenne or habanero powder

1 bay leaf

INSTRUCTIONS

•Heat slow cooker on low setting. Or cast iron stockpot.

•In a large skillet (or in the cast iron stockpot) over medium-high heat, cook bacon to half-done. Add ground beef, salt & pepper, half of the onions, half the minced garlic. Once the beef is browned, drain grease.

•Transfer ground beef mixture to slow cooker, if you’re using one, or continue in the cast iron stockpot. Add remaining onions, garlic, celery, jalapenos, tomato paste, tomatoes and chilies (with liquid), stewed tomatoes (with liquid), Worcestershire sauce and the spices.

•Stir until all ingredients are well combined.  Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Mediteranean Burgers

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh oregano
¼ cup coarsely chopped olives. Best if you mix green & black
2 TBSP chopped red onions
1 egg, raw
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves
2 TBSP fresh basil chopped
salt and pepper to taste


Muck it all together. Sorry, you want use your hands for this. Yeah, it’s a mess, but it’s worth it.

Shape it into two patties and fry it in a good old fashioned cast iron skillet. Serve on a whole wheat hamburger bun with the usual condimental accessories.

Serves two.

Barbecued Steak Stuffed with Thyme, Ginger & Bacon

Ingredients, per serving:

1 ten-ounce sirlion steak, thick cut. (Actually any boneless steak that is of sufficient quality for barbecue is fine.)
3 strips bacon, mostly cooked (still chewy)
1 TBSP red onion jelly
1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves, washed, chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely shredded
1 ounce Mozarella cheese, sliced
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
While the barbecue is pre-heating at a high heat, slice through the steak, leaving one edge connected ("butterfly fillet"). Season with salt and pepper inside and outside.

Spread Red Onion Jelly thickly on one side of the steak. Layer the shredded ginger and chopped thyme over the jelly; then the bacon and cheese.

Close the steak, and press it firmly with a spatula to keep it closed.

Place on the hot barbecue, and immediately turn the barbecue to medium-low. Cook until done in the center (at least 140 degrees). Serve with fresh veggies, baked potato, and red ale or stout.

Comment: less thyme. More jelly (double it). More ginger, or a better way to capture its flavor. Consider other cheeses: white is right, but needs more zing: Parmesan-Reggiano? Asiago? Romano? Maybe Bleu? Add some garlic. Consider food processing herbs w/ garlic (coarsely) and maybe some lime juice.

Feta Oregano Burgers

Ingredients:

½ pound lean ground beef
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh oregano
¼ tsp chili powder
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Muck it all together: sorry, gotta use your hands for this. Yeah, it’s a mess, but it’s worth it.

Shape it into two patties and fry it in a good old fashioned cast iron skillet.

Serve on a whole wheat hamburger bun with the usual condimental accessories.

Serves two.

I love the mix of flavors in this. This is a small recipe: two modest, quarter-pound burgers, but the flavors really pop here. This is one time where dried oregano just won't do as a substitute for the fresh: it isn't a spice, it's an ingredient. I served this with fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice and it was a big hit.

Overloaded Pancakes

Ingredients (using “guy vocabulary):

• Some Krusteaz pancake mix.
• Some water.

Mix up the pancake mix – as much as you’d usually use – until it’s slightly runnier than usual.

• Some deli ham, thinly sliced and chopped pretty small. I like to use quite a bit. If I use the pre-packaged “thin sliced meat” then I use four or five slices per 5” pancake.
• Some cheese, either shredded or chopped small. I use a couple of ounces per pancake. And this is one place I really like the basic bargain-bin cheddar cheese.

Of course, you’re probably making several pancakes, so use a lot of meat and a lot of cheese. Yeah, I know that’s a lot of content, but trust me, it’s better that way.

• Butter to fry it in.
• Peanut butter (Come on! You don’t eat pancakes without peanut butter, do you?)
• Honey, heated until it’s runny. (Microwave it for a bit; don’t let it boil.) This is better than maple syrup, which is pretty much only flavored sugar water anyway. Unless you have the real thing!

Pre-heat a good ol' cast iron frypan. (Lesser frypans are acceptable if you don't have a well-seasoned black iron pan. Save up your nickels and get one at Goodwill for two bucks.) Put the butter in: when the butter sizzles, the pan’s hot enough.

While it’s heating, stir the meat and the cheese into the pancake with a big spoon. You can add more adulterations if you like.

You can go sweet:

• Some cinnamon and sugar.
• Or brown sugar.
• Or maybe some honey.
• A little nutmeg would add some “pop” to it.
• Maybe some pineapple, cut into small chunks. Don’t get carried away with this one; it’ll mess up the pancake.

Or you can go savory. If you’re going this route, it may pay off to fry the ham slices before adding them to the batter. These don’t do so well with the peanut butter, but I still like it with the honey.

• Some green onions.
• Some roasted garlic (this is one place where the roasting pays off big)
• Some dark chili powder.
  
• Crunchy bacon, fried & chopped
• Maybe some fresh thyme, chopped coarsely.
  

Pour the appropriate amount into the hot frypan or griddle. Let it cook like a more normal pancake without fiddling with it until it starts to smell done; you can’t count on the usual bubbles on the top with this. Flip it over, press it flat with the spatula, and let it cook until that side is done.

I like to sprinkle some of the “additional adulterations” on it right after I’ve flipped it: whatever else I’ve added, I put a little of that on top. I also love a fried egg on top, even with the honey. Serve it as your conscience lets you.

Works well with juice or even better with hot coffee.

Savory Beef Meat Roll

In a large frying pan, sauté until brown:
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced,
1 pound stew beef, cubed,
1 pound hamburger (shredded beef would be better, but it's more expensive).
Season with pepper and
1 tsp beef bouillon base.
Cook until brown.

When the meat is both done and well coated in the bouillon base, add
1 can tomato sauce,
bring back to temperature, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes while the sauce reduces and coats the meat.
Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Assembly:

Make bread dough. (See here for a yummy example.) Use either a one-pound loaf recipe, or half of a 2-pound loaf recipe. Roll out on a well-floured board into a sheet 15” x 20”. Mark a line 3” or so from the far end: don’t add any fillings to the last 3” of the bread: that will be used to close the roll and hold it closed.

Cover the dough (except a 1” border and the last 3” noted above) with the beef mix.
Cover with:
1 can black beans, evenly distributed over the surface of the meat. If there’s any liquid, reserve it.
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Roll the loaded dough up from the full side towards the empty 3” end. Seal the ends as you’re rolling so that the stuffing doesn’t roll out. Wrap the 3” over the top, using the liquid reserved from the beans (or water) as glue to seal the roll shut. You should have a roll about 4” in diameter and about 16” long.

Lay the roll, sealed side down, on parchment paper on a large baking sheet.
Sprinkle on the top:
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese. Press it into the surface of the roll.

Let it raise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Bake at 350 until done (expect 40 minutes: I cook it until a thermometer in the center has hit 135 - 140 degrees).

Remove from oven and let it cool completely. Then slice into single servings (I cut it into about eight 2” slices). Put each slice in a freezer bag or heavy duty sandwich bag, and freeze until needed. Microwave on a small plate and serve, or eat it while you’re running off to do something exciting.