Meatloaf and Cheese Grits

Ah meatloaf. Some people love it, some people hate it. I grew up loving the one mom and dad would make, but I can see how some people might not care for it. Everyone makes them differently. Some put raw onions in, some put sauteed onions in, some don't use onions at all. Some use breadcrumbs, others use pieces of bread. Glazed or unglazed. Blabbity blah. Meatloaf is delicious. And anyone who says they don't like it just hasn't had the right one. If you like burgers you like meatloaf, you just don't know it yet.

And would you believe I've lived down here this long and I haven't tried grits yet? Yes, I finally made some grits and while I enjoyed them, Sean didn't seem to care for the consistency. So I probably won't make them too often. They were really good, but so rich.

Don't be intimidated by the meatloaf. I probably won't make another one till I get a proper drip catching pan. Also I definitely will halve the recipe. It's several days later and there's still a fair amount left. We should finish it off tonight or tomorrow though.

Ground beef, salt, seasoning salt, milk, bread, parmesan cheese, fresh flat leaf parsley, eggs, thin bacon strips, ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard and tabasco. Phew what a mouthful! And oh what a delicious mouthful it turned out to be.

First, you pour your milk over your bread slices. Kinda gross sounding but it works.

Set that aside and mix your ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard and tabasco. I didn't add the full amount of sugar in the recipe because I know Ree likes her things a little sweet and I thought 3 tbsp was plenty of sweetness. I also wound up tossing some Worcestershire sauce in there later cause I loves it so much.

Set it aside.

In a bowl, put all your ingredients.

Mix it up real good. Mine was pretty moist, I might've squeezed a little of the milk out of the bread before tossing it in but it all worked out.

Shape it into a loaf.

My poor cookie cooling rack. It needed so much help after this.

Then wrap it in bacon! Oh yes, it's getting good now. Mmmm bacon.

Then spread some of that yummy glaze all over it.

And pop that sucker in the oven.

And here it is, later, all sliced and on a plate. Beautiful.

It definitely made a bit much though and I wound up having to put it back in the oven after I cut it open right in the center and realized it was not quite done. Time to invest in a meat thermometer!

Pioneer Woman's Meatloaf (original recipe here. She makes it look so easy)

• Meatloaf:
• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 6 slices White Bread
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• ¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
• ¾ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ⅓ cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
• 4 whole Eggs Beaten
• 10 slices Thin/regular Bacon
• Sauce:
• 1-½ cup Ketchup
• ⅓ cups Brown Sugar (I wound up using 3 tbsp)
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• Tabasco To Taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)
 Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.
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 It sure was good. And the second the meatloaf went into the oven, I started on the cheese grits because they also had to bake for about half an hour.

In a perfect world, I would have cleaned up the counter more before this shot, but I WAS COOKING, DARN IT. Grits, cayenne pepper, eggs, chedder, butter and far too much garlic. Oh far too much garlic.

Make your grits according to package instructions. Mine took about 5 minutes.

Oh and you know what neither the recipe nor the package instructions tell you? That when you add your grits to the water and it tells you to cover and cook for 5 minutes, that FOR THE FIRST FEW MINUTES IT MIGHT BOIL OVER REALLY FAST. And boy did it ever. So I had to watch in horror as my element got more and more gross and smelled bad while my grits cooked. Alas.

Yummy.

Then do that thing you do while you're making custard where you slowly incorporate some hot liquid or grits or whatever into a beaten egg to temper them so they don't cook as soon as you add them to the pot.

These are grit eggs, trust me.

Add them back into the pot and add your butter pats. Stir until melted.

Then add your cheese, garlic and seasonings. Stir until incorporated.

Pour into a generously buttered baking dish and bake!

Yummy!

I'll note I halved this recipe and it still made a good amount.

Cheese Grits (original recipe from Pioneer Woman's cookbook) Serves 12

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups uncooked quick or regular grits
• 4 eggs
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoons
• 3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (or other cheese)
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 Preheat the oven to 350F. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to 9 cups of water in a large saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat, and pour in the grits. Stir to combine.

Cover and finish cooking according to package directions. Quick grits take less than 5 minutes, regular grits take about 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat when the grits are done. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. To temper the eggs before adding them to the hot grits, add a couple of spoonfuls of hot grits into the eggs. Begin stirring immediately and continue stirring until the mixture is well combined.

Pour the egg mixture into the grits. Stir constantly to incorporate the eggs into the grits. Add the butter and stir until melted.

Next, add the cheese and stir until melted. Add the garlic and cayenne. Stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Pour the grits into a well-buttered baking dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the grits are hot and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Grits will become firmer as they cool.
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And thus, dinner was delicious.

The meatloaf was tender and full of yummy ingredients, the glaze and the bacon made every bite so good.
The little nuggets of bread.. Mmmm.

The cheese grits were creamy, delicious, and I really kinda liked their consistency. However, I added enough garlic for the whole batch instead of half, because I always add extra garlic and it's never been an issue. Until now. They were still really good. But boy were they garlicy and rich. The next few meals I ate them, I added a little sriracha hot sauce to cut the richness. It helped a lot.

Meatloaf and grit adventures complete. For now! Also, I say yummy a lot. I need to stop that.

Bow Tie Lasagna and Monster Cookies

Saturday evenings are usually the one day of the week where Sean's friend Garret comes over and we order in, but ordering in can get expensive. So this week I whipped up something easy and delicious. Then later we had a crazy craving for cookies, and went out to buy ingredients and I didn't get out of the kitchen until after midnight. But there was cookies. And they were good.

Also I was so busy you don't get any cast of characters shots today. Nyah.

Brown a pound of ground beef in a skillet, drain the fat.

Boil a box of noodles, drain and dump them in.

Add a little olive oil, 3 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt

Then once that is mixed together, stir in some mozzarella cheese and some sour cream. Or in my case, some cottage cheese. CAUSE IT JUST FELT MORE LASAGNA-Y.

It was cheesy. And simple.

I love how stringy mozzarella cheese gets.

Sean had seconds. I was amazed. Garret had fourths.

Bow Tie Lasagna (original recipe here, but I first found it on Ree's site. Of course.)

• 1 pound Ground Chuck
• 5 cups Bow Tie Noodles (or 1 pound of pasta)
• 3 cups Spaghetti Sauce (or Pizza Sauce, Whatever You Prefer)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or More, Make It To Your Taste)
• ½ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• ½ cups Sour Cream (or ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese)

Fry ground chuck in small pan. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.

After noodles are cooked, drain and toss into skillet with meat. Mix in your spaghetti sauce.

Add your seasonings, cheese, and sour cream. Fold together and allow it all to combine and melt together, over low heat, for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
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Yummers. The guys wouldn't stop raving about it. Just goes to show, the fanciest stuff isn't always needed.

Now, are you ready? Ready for COOKIES?!

I know I am.

Eggs and two kinds of sugar in a bowl! Mix it up!

Add softened butter, peanut butter, vanilla and salt!

I'll note I was doing this with just my arm so mixing the butter in took a bit of elbow grease. You could probably do the beginning part of the recipe with a mixer but after this step here, it will become too thick.

Nice and mixed up. And tasting really good.

Then add your M&Ms, chocolate chips, and raisins.

So pretty.

Then dump in 4 1/2 cups of quick cooking oats and 2 teaspoons of baking soda and mix well. Then you're done. Yeah, it has no flour. I guess it's the oats, peanut butter and eggs that give it substance. It's so good and chewy.

Scoop and bake!

I'm not sure why they're called monster cookies. Maybe everything cookies. They weren't very monster-y in size or anything. But who cares! They're delicious.

Monster Cookies (original recipe here, from Paula Deen)

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional (Not optional for ME. And I upped it to 1/2 cup. I'd probably use even more next time.)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal.

Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.
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Been a busy weekend. And last night I made meatloaf and cheese grits. Recipe to follow this week. Boy it made a lot of meatloaf, I really should have cut it in half. Oh well, leftovers week! 

Chedder Corn Chowder and Parmesan Rolls

This is the meal I made for mom while she was visiting. It was delicious and I'm sorry to say that I was so busy cooking that I missed a lot of photo opportunities. So you can just look at what I have and read the recipe. It was minorly time consuming but everything I do takes forever, especially when I've never made it before. The recipe I'll post will be the whole one, I halved it. The halved recipe made a ton of soup too so unless you're feeding 12 people, you probably should too. I tweaked it minorly as well.

Bacon! My first time working with bacon. Potatoes, onion, garlic, half and half, butter, chicken broth and corn. Oh and chedder. Whoops forgot to put it in the picture.

First I diced up the bacon and my onion and garlic.

While my bacon was cooking in the pot, I diced my potatoes.

Then I cooked my onion and garlic in the bacon fat. I had set aside the bacon for later.

Then I added flour and spices.

After my roux cooked for awhile, I added my potatoes and chicken broth.

After that simmered for about 15 minutes, I turned the heat down, added my frozen corn, the half and half and the cheese. I also didn't think it would be thick enough so I mixed a little flour with some water into a thickener and added that in for the last bit of cooking time. Mmmm. Oh and then I dumped all that bacon right back in. Yeah, you heard me.

And there you have it, chedder corn chowder!

...

Whoops, that's just a bird from the zoo. Let's try that again.

And there you have it, chedder corn chowder!

It also happened to be St Patrick's day so I had a green drink in honor. Key Lime Cream! Ooh it was yummy.

Oh and if you're wondering about those parm rolls. Well, they were nothing special. I had leftover frozen dough balls from when I made those amazingly delicious pepperoni rolls, so following the instructions for Pioneer Woman's buttered rosemary rolls, I proofed them in the oven, when they were done I covered them in melted butter and instead of rosemary, I used parmesan cheese.

And then I baked them.

And then we ate them! They were pull apart and nummy.

Now he's the soup recipe. I got the original from Ina Garten's cookbook but I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com to look at reviews. The biggest complaint was that it was too soupy at 12 cups of chicken broth, so when I halved the recipe I only added 4 cups instead of 6 to start. Then I realized I had a lot of potatoes and added the other two cups. And then probably a little more. You can always thicken a soup up if it's a bit thin.

Oh and even though I halved the recipe, I used a full pound of bacon. And skipped the olive oil. And used a lot less onion.

Chedder Corn Chowder (original recipe from Ina Garten)

• 8 ounces bacon, chopped
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 12 cups chicken stock
  
• 6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
• 10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 pound sharp white chedder cheese, grated (I used regular)

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

If it isn't cheddery enough for you, add more chedder! If it needs more tumeric, add some more. Play with it and check your seasonings. Sean and mom loved it, and so did I.

Yum.

Make it for your mommy today!

Strawberry Coffee Cake

When I first started looking at food blogs, and I mean like, the second blog I ever looked at, the one I checked from beginning to end and became obsessed with, was a cute little blog written by a sweet lady named Sherry. It was called "What Did You Eat?" and I'm sorry to say that by the time I got there, the most recent post was a memorial her husband had put up because she had lost her life to a sudden heart attack, though apparently she was no stranger to health problems by the end. Anyway my point is that I loved this woman's blog and it got me started on my road to blogdom. I know I go on and on about Ree (Pioneer Woman), but Sherry's blog will hold a place in my heart and I plan to make more of her delicious food. Her blog is where I found this cake's recipe and I thought of her while I made it. (Even though she got it from another friend's blog. Har.)

Oh boy. This cake was good. And super easy. And I mean that. The longest part was making the crumbley topping and that was only annoying because the butter started to melt. I could have put it back in the fridge for a bit but I was in a hurry. I made this cake while mom was visiting and the 6 people besides me who tried it all thought it was really good. You should try it too, it took no time to whip up!

If you leave it covered and on the counter, the topping will lose some of its crispness from the moist berries underneath and it isn't quite as delectable as the first few days so try to polish it off quickly. Next time I make it I'll store it in the fridge and see if that helps. Maybe I should have done that in the first place. OH WELL.

I didn't make a cast of characters shot because I was in a hurry. Butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, milk, eggs, and strawberries. Honestly the only thing I had to buy for it was the berries, everything else was on hand.

Dry ingredients in a bowl. Sift them if you're fancy. One day I'll be fancy.

Yeah I know, shadow. SORRY I AM NOT AMAZING AT TAKING PICTURES. The lighting in my apartment is so all over the place. I quit.

Slice your berries in half! The recipe calls for 3 cups of berries and I found that one of those packages you buy from the store was almost exactly enough to make a layer over the top of the batter with only a few leftover to eat.

Wet ingredients and melted butter. Oh I just realized I forgot to take a picture of the crumbles and the making thereof. Oh well. You'll all figure it out, it's pretty simple.

Mix your wet and your dry ingredients together till combined. Smelling so yummy already. I love cinnamon in baked goods, it makes me happy.

Pour that batter into a greased 9x13 pan or baking dish and layer all your strawberry halves on top. Isn't it pretty?

Take your crumbles from the fridge and spread all over the top.

Then bake! Oh the finished cake is neat looking. Little pools of berry juice, bits where the cake has risen up over everything. Boy is it good.

Do yourself a favor and make this today. Or tomorrow. Just make it.

Strawberry Coffee Cake (original recipe by Butta Buns, recipe gotten from here)
Crumble Topping

• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 stick of margarine (stick form is necessary), cold from the fridge  (I'm a hopeless butter fanatic--so I used it instead.)

To make crumble topping, sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Place the margarine in the center of the bowl and sprinkle a little of the sugar and flour mixture over it. Place all 10 fingers on the stick and start crumbling it by making cat-kneading gestures with your fingers so the margarine turns into little pea sized bits. If you need a visual, refer to this little fella. Keep crumbling until the stick is completely whittled down.
Keep the bowl of crumbles in the fridge until you’re ready for it.

Strawberry Coffee Cake

• 2 c. flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. margarine, melted (Again, like Paula Deen, I use butter!)
• 3 c. strawberries, sliced

-Sift the first four ingredients together in a bowl and set aside
-Whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted margarine together in a bowl.
-Add the mix of wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients.
-Beat together with a handheld mixer until well incorporated.
Pour into a pre-greased 13×9 pan. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top of the batter. Sprinkle the crumble toppings.
Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes.

Thank you for this great recipe, Butta Buns and thank you Sherry for the delicious cake and for starting my addiction to food blogs.

Soooo gooooood.

Also, I miss my mommy. :(