Sweet Ketchup- and Bacon-Topped Meatloaf

Adapted from Southern Living 2003 recipe

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork sausage (I used sweet Italian seasoned)
1/2 c soft bread crumbs
1 medium onion
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
bacon
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup molasses

In a skillet on medium heat, caramelize onions, set aside. Pulse 1-2 slices fresh sandwich bread in the food processor, until even crumb is established. Measure out 1/2 cup (remainder can be frozen in a ziplock bag) Meanwhile, mix together eggs, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning & bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Break beef and pork apart, coat with egg mixture. Add onions, and mix together until all coated and incorporated, being careful not to overwork the mixture, because that will make the meatloaf tough.

Heat oven to 375. Line a rimmed jelly-roll or large casserole dish with foil. Freeform the mixture into 2 logs about 6" x 2" Cook 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix ketchup, brown sugar & molasses in a measuring cup or small mixing bowl. After 20 minutes cooking, pour or spoon ketchup mixture evenly over the loaves, then top with bacon lengthwise along the loaf. (I used 3 slices per loaf). Cook at 375 for 50 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.


I even was able to make this egg-free by using Ener-G egg replacer. Using safe bread, it's dairy-free, too.

Coney Island Chili Dog Pie

Here's another from my low-carb website that I visit quite often for recipes...

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/coney_island_chilidog_pie.html

I've perverted it slightly...

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef
1 diced onion
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tbsp mustard (straight from the plastic container)
Dash of hot sauce
1 can tomatoe sauce
1 package hot dogs (I buy the chicken dogs because they are always on sale for less then a dollar, otherwise any kind you get is fine)
2 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use miracle whip)
1/4 cup cream (or whipping cream depending on where you live)
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Brown the hamburger and onion; drain fat. Stir in the seasonings, mustard, hot sauce, tomato sauce and sliced hot dogs. Spread in a greased large pie plate; stir in half of the cheese. Beat the eggs well; whisk in the mayonnaise then the cream. Beat well until smooth. Stir in the remaining cheese. Pour over the meat mixture and spread evenly. Bake at 350º 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

My husband loves this - pair it with a salad, and it's a well balanced meal!!

Spinach Lasagne

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/spinach_lasagna.html

We made up our menu for the week, and I tried out this recipe with a few modifications. Linda's Low Carb Menus has really helped me to stay on track with my eating plan, and it's kept fresh ideas going for the past 8 months so we aren't bored with the food.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 tomatoe
5 mushrooms
1 pkg cream cheese
1 can tomatoe sauce
1 egg
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
cheddar and/or mozzarella cheese
1 pkg frozen spinach
Garlic Powder

Directions:

Prehead the oven to 350 F. Brown the beef with diced onion, chopped green pepper, sliced mushrooms, and diced tomatoe. Add Tomatoe sauce and garlic powder and bring to a bubble. In a bowl, heat up cream cheese in the microwave for about 40-60 seconds until it's easy to stir. Add 1 egg and salt and pepper to mixture and use a fork to blend it all well. For the spinach, I used a strainer and defrosted it under hot water, but it's probably best to have it defrosted beforehand so that you don't have to waste so much water. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can, otherwise it's too watery for the lasagne. Once you've got as much water out of the spinach as you can, mix it with the cream cheese mixture.

To layer the lasagne, put half of the meat mixture on the bottom of an 8X13" glass dish, and then cover completely with the entire spinach/cheese mixture, spreading to the sides. Then put your shredded cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture, and layer the remaining meat sauce on top of that, again - spreading to the sides to cover completely. Then sprinkle entire dish with parmesan cheese and bake in your oven for 30 minutes.

We made a salad to go along with the lasagne, but you can choose to side it with anything you like. I managed to get two lunches made up with it, on top of two adult servings, two child servings, and enough for small leftovers for two adults and 1 child. It was VERY filling!

Pumpkin Soup - DELICIOUS!

Last night's endeavour with the great refrigerator clean-up took me to a new level tonight. I had pumpkin left in the can from my attempts at making a pumpkin muffin in a minute - which turned into two minutes, but was still very good. I decided I was going to make soup though. I have never had pumpkin soup before, so I was worried it wouldn't taste very good. Boy was I ever surprised!

Ingredients:

4 cans of chicken stock
1 can of pure pumpkin
1 diced onion
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup whipping cream
1 lb ground beef
Ground sea salt and black peppercorn (to taste)

Directions:

Place chicken stock and pumpkin into pot together on medium-high heat. Stir together to get it all mixed up, and then add the onion and celery. Boil all ingredients together for just under an hour (or until the celery is not crisp anymore), and while the soup is boiling, you can brown up your beef and season it how you like. You'll notice it's a lot thicker then when you started. This is where the fun begins! If you have a hand mixer (like you would use to make fancy schmancy drinks), you can put it right into the pot and blend. Others prefer to blend in their blender in small quantities, and people who don't want to make a mess - like me - will just leave it all as is and not worry. I added the sea salt and black peppercorn (ground up) to the soup, and then put the ground beef into the pot as well and stirred. Once it was all mixed together, I added the cup of whipping cream and stirred until a consistant colour.

I'm always worried when making up recipes that they will turn out horribly...to date, the only thing I've messed up royally while cooking is a batch of cookies I made for my mother when I was little for Christmas. I was so proud of how they turned out that I didn't want to eat them, so I wrapped them all up and presented them to her on Christmas morning. I was giddy with excitement as she opened it up and marvelled at how yummy they looked. Then she bit into it. She asked me if I had tried them yet, and I was beaming letting her know I wanted to make sure they were all for her. She made me try one. Let's just say I quadruple check the salt amounts when using a recipe now.

This was fabulous though! My husband gobbled it all up and had seconds...and I had seconds, and placed the rest in the refrigerator for my lunch tomorrow.

Mexican Casserole

Easy Mexican Casserole
Submitted by: ANDREALF63 via www.biggs.com
Ground beef, salsa and chili beans are layered with tortilla chips and sour cream and topped with melted cheese in this tasty dish.
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cups salsa
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, drained
3 cups crushed tortilla chips
2 cups sour cream
1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Stir in salsa, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in beans, and heat through.
3. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread crushed tortilla chips in dish, and then spoon beef mixture over chips. Spread sour cream over beef, and sprinkle olives, green onion, and tomato over the sour cream. Top with Cheddar cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Meadows Taco Salad

This is a recipe from my MIL. It's not necessarily a recipe, but just all the ingredients you need to make an awesome taco salad :o)

Ingredients:

1 head Romaine Lettuce
2-3 different coloured peppers diced
1 stalk of green onion chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg Taco seasoning (or just chili powder and cumin like i normally do)
2 diced tomatoes
Shredded Cheese (however much you want)
1 can kidney beans
1 bag Tostitos
1 tub sour cream
French Dressing

Directions:

Brown ground beef with kidney beans til cooked (I like to add diced onions to this mixture as well). Add taco seasoning and simmer until dissolved. While simmering, prepare lettuce for salad and any other ingredients that need some slicing.

To serve, put lettuce onto a plate, then add your vegetables, then crunch up the tostitos on top of that. Follow with the meat mixture, shredded cheese, and sour cream. If you want dressing, the French dressing is a great addition.

Variations:

We've been adding salsa, refried beans, and guacamole. YUMMMM. It's basically a layer salad, but with yummy taco ingredients.

Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/02/spaghetti-meatballs/

submitted by BFF Jamie

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• Meatballs:
• ¾ pounds Ground Beef
• ¾ pounds Ground Pork
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ¾ cups Fine Bread Crumbs
• 2 whole Eggs
• ¾ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan
• ¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Splash Of Milk
• ½ cups Olive Oil
• Sauce:
• 1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole (28-ounce) Can Whole Tomatoes
• 1 whole 28 Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
• ½ cups White Or Red Wine (optional)
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
• 8 whole Fresh Basil Leaves, Chiffonade (optional)
• 2 pounds Spaghetti, Cooked To Al Dente

Preparation Instructions

To make the meatballs, combine meat, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and a splash of milk in a mixing bowl. Mix together well with hands. Roll into 25 1 1/2-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.
To brown the meatballs, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs 8 at a time, turning to brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel after each batch. Set meatballs aside.
In the same pot, add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes, or until translucent. Pour in whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and wine, if using. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and parsley. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add meatballs to pot and stir in gently. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring very gently a couple of times during the simmer.
Just before serving, stir in basil if using.
Serve over cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan.

*** personal note: this is the ultimate preggo craving for me right now!!***

The Best Burgers

Now, some of these measurements are a little sketchy, because I eyeball a lot. These can be grilled, or pan-fried.

Makes 6-8 burgers, depending on size

6-8 slices bacon, uncooked
2 slices white bread, or fine-textured wheat
About a cup of milk
2-2.5 lbs ground round or chuck (85/15 or 90/10)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1-2 tbs teriyaki sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lay bacon out on a foil-lined jelly roll pan so that no pieces overlap. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Set bacon aside, and drain on paper towels

Meanwhile, place bread in a large bowl, and slowly pour about half the milk over top. Begin to mix with your hands, forming a liquidy paste. Add more milk if it gets too gummy. Bread should be nearly dissolved, but the mixture should still have some substance to it. Add meat, soup mix, teriyaki and liquid smoke. Add 2-3 tablespoons of rendered bacon grease. Mix together to bring everything together, but do not overmix. Form into patties, about 6 oz each (the size of a baseball). 2.25 lbs will yield 7 burgers.

If you are pan-frying the burgers, heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and add about a tablespoon of rendered bacon grease. Don't crowd the pan--there should be space around all the burgers, otherwise they'll steam and not cook. Cook burgers on one side without moving them, about 5 minutes. Turn burgers over, there should be a nice deep brown crust on the burgers. Reduce the heat to medium low, and continue cooking 5-7 minutes, or until juices run clear. Cook in batches until all burgers are done.

To grill burgers, preheat gas grill, or charcoal. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, flipping several times, depending on how fast or slow they are cooking.

Serve with bacon, barbecue sauce and cheese.

Crockpot Pot Roast

This recipe can be dairy-free. The ingredients I've used and listed by name are dairy-free, but you need to read labels yourself, especially if you're cooking for someone with allergies.

1 boneless chuck roast (3-4 lbs or more)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 TBS Italian herb mix
1 TBS cooking oil
Red wine (about half a cup)
8 oz sliced button mushrooms
1 can Great Value Beef Gravy (Wal-Mart brand) OR Campbells Golden Mushroom Soup OR Campbells Beefy Mushroom Soup OR Campbells Beef Broth

Rub beef with salt, pepper and Italian herb mix. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it is lightly smoking, add the meat to the pan. Do not move the meat, but let it sit and caramelize on one side. When the meat will lift easily from the pan (after a few minutes), flip and repeat on the other side. When seared on reverse, add meat to the crockpot. Turn stove off, pour wine into hot pan to deglaze. Scrape up all the bits of fond in the pan and allow the wine to thicken. Pour wine/fond mixture over meat. Add mushrooms, and cooking soup to crockpot. Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or until meat falls apart.

You may also add sliced or chunked carrots, potatoes and onions to the crockpot.

To eat leftovers (if there are any!), heat meat and liquid on the stove. Add a little water to thin the liquid. Simmer on low-medium until heated through. Add 4-8 oz of Tofutti brand Better than Cream Cheese or Better than Sour Cream for a stroganoff-like mixture. Serve over rice or pasta.