Yeah, It's Meatloaf.

Yeah, it's meatloaf...  So, I never really liked meatloaf till my Granny Hilda made hers.  It made its own gravy.  I have that stored in my brain, but this isn't it.  This is MY recipe, with some hints of hers in it.  And as always... no exact measurements here... cause that is how I roll.  You may not like everything about mine ... so add something you like to it and take away what you don't like.  Make it yours.... 

What you will need for my recipe:

VEGGIES!  What I used:  1 Small Yellow Squash

                                           1 Small Zucchini

                                           1 Medium Carrot

                                           Shred these veggies.

                                           1 Medium Onion, diced

                                           2 HUGE Cloves of Garlic, minced

                                           1 Jar of Diced Pimentos 

You are going to saute' these veggies until they are tender in a little olive oil or butter, let them cool.

I added some of my "sauce" to the veg mixture.

Also, while sauteing ... take a 16 oz can or larger, of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes and add balsamic vinegar ( I used balsamic ketchup) and Heinz 57... add just a little at a time until it is tangy... let it come up to a boil.  Set it aside to cool. 

Next up, hamburger.  I used about a pound and a half to the veggies I used.  I used a LEAN hamburger.  You can use whatever is on sale.  If the higher fat content is on sale, use a pan that can handle all the fat that is going to come out of it.

I used one beaten extra large egg, even though my grandmother NEVER used eggs.  I also added 2 crumbled up biscuits.  Yes, biscuits.  That is what she used and that is what I use.  Now as you mix this, add some of the "sauce" you made up (make it moist but not overly moist, you need to be able to shape these loaves).  Also add a little celery salt and black pepper. 

If you have doubts about seasoning, take a little bit of the mix and cook it in a pan... taste it.

Once it is all mixed, chill it for a little bit so free hand shaping will be easier.  I never use a loaf pan of any kind.

I used a foil lined baking sheet and free formed 2 loaves.  Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes.  Then, add sauce to the top and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.  You will know it is done when the internal temperature is 160 F.  

Serve sauce on the side as well.  

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are so simple that anyone, any age could make them... and this is what you will need:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla

Simple, right (and yes, NO flour)???

So I mix the sugar, vanilla and egg together then add the peanut butter.  It is so simple you can do it with just a big mixing spoon.  

Preheat that oven to 350 degrees (I used my toaster oven to bake these cookies).  Parchment paper on your baking sheet or pan... if no parchment, foil the pan and spray or butter it.  Next... make cookie dough balls or scoops if you have them.  Whatever size you want.  These cookies do not spread very much, so keep that in mind.  Once they are on the pan, press them with your hands so they won't dome up, take a fork and make a criss-cross design, if you want to.  Baking time may vary depending on whether you want really soft cookies or more firm and darker brown cookies.  It doesn't take long to bake these, so don't walk away for more than 5-10 minutes....  

This recipe made 12-15 cookies for me.  And it is so easy to double or triple... etc.  I added vanilla because it seemed to enhance the flavor of the cookies.

Good luck and enjoy!!!

Ground Beef Burgers on a Tight Budget.

Let's face it, most of us cannot afford beef these days.  Hamburger is outrageously priced.  So, here is what I do with it, when I can afford it.

I prefer a leaner hamburger, but 73/27 and 80/20 are going to be cheaper, YET, if you cook them in a pan, all you have left behind is water and fat.  Believe it or not, I have seen the same out of 90/10 hamburger as well.  I think most chain grocery stores probably label the hamburger all the same, sometimes.  The only way you will know what you really have is if you grind it yourself or actually see your butcher grind it.  But this is for those of us who have to depend on chain grocery stores.

This is for a pound of 80/20.

In the pictures I used one clean plate, plastic wrap, cooking spray and seasonings.

Limit the amount of time you use "working" the hamburger.  The more you work it, the more tough it can get.  My amount was perfect in the package so I made it into a log very quickly and pinched off a little more than golf ball sized balls.

Place your hamburger ball on a sheet of plastic wrap.  You should be able to fold it over the hamburger, leave space in the fold for expanding and shaping.  Now you will press out the hamburger, moving it around as you go, to make a circle.  Spread it out as thin as you would like, trying to keep its shape.  (I am making mine for "loaf bread" LOL).

Now that you have done this, place this onto your plate that you have put plastic wrap on and sprayed the wrap with just a little cooking spray so it will not pull apart your hamburger when you go to take it off.  Then, you will sprinkle your seasonings (I used celery salt, onion powder and ground black pepper) onto ONE side of the patty.

I take the edges of the plastic wrap and cover my first layer.  Then, I will put another layer, if I have one on top, adding a piece of plastic wrap to cover it all, and place this in the fridge to get to know the seasonings for a little bit before grilling.

So, after you let this chill out for a bit, perhaps 30 minutes to overnight if you want to, place your patty SEASONED side up, if there is one and cook it to your desired level of done.

Please keep in mind you can do these patties to your desired thickness.  The way I have shown here is less mess and everything can be tossed and the plate can be used for the done ones being the raw meat did not touch the plate.  Also, you can use whatever seasonings you like, even mix them up into the meat prior to making them into the balls.

You can also put the whole pound into a gallon sized zip bag, flatten it out to your desired thickness..... cut the bag down the seems then make your patties square.  I love that trick.  Great way to make quick sliders!

I hope that this helps someone out there!

Pork In Verde Salsa

So here is my version of Pork in Verde Salsa.

The boyfriend had brought home a pork loin.  By the time I was done breaking it down into a small roast and chops, I had a piece that wasn't really fit for roasting or pork chops.  It was about a pound or so.  I labeled it "for tacos" and put it in the freezer.

Well, I am always shopping for clearance items and trying to be frugal... we can't always afford shopping at the Fresh Market and such.  I ran across Herdez Verde Salsa for under a dollar on clearance and I wanted to try it.

Now, I had a reason to use it.  And with the help of another item found on clearance, Ortega's Green Chiles, I was able to make my Pork in Verde Salsa.

I used a 5 quart dutch oven for this.  I wanted to have room for browning the meat.

In this pot I used about a tablespoon of bacon fat for a little flavor and to help with the browning.  I cut the pork into chunks.  Browned them, drained some of the fat leaving behind probably about a tablespoon or so.  I added diced, fresh garlic, diced onion, about a teaspoon of cumin and ground corriander, to your tastes red pepper flakes, black pepper and just about 1/8 of teaspoon of salt.  I let this mingle in the fat until I could smell it then mixed it into the meat.  I added the green chiles, then the jar of salsa.  I made sure as I stirred that I scraped the bottom getting all the fond off of the pot. It was a little on the thick side so I added just a little water.  You could add low sodium chicken broth if you wanted to, but just add enough liquid to thin it just a bit.  This should cook down to form something that looks like a thick stew.

I let it simmer for about 90 minutes.  Keep an eye on it, it could stick.  For me, 90 minutes was long enough to make the meat tender.  I let it cool a little and I removed some of the "sauce."  I shredded the meat.

So for assembly, I used corn tortillas, Monterey Jack cheese (shredded), cilantro, chopped green onion.  This stuff turned out better than what I thought it would.  So here is a picture of the finished product.

If you decide to try this, let me know how it turns out.  

You could probably brown your meat really well and put all the ingredients in a crock pot and let it go all day.  Serve it over rice if you didn't want to make tacos.  Or use it in tortillas and make enchiladas.  Or just put it in bowl, top it with what I used for this and eat it like chili.  I am really glad I tried this out.  Maybe next time I will do it from complete scratch with fresh tomatillos and all.  This suffices for now though!

Banana Waffles

I just really wanted to incorporate bananas into my batter.  I didn't want to do anything fancy or with nuts added.  So... this is what I did:


2 Cups of a baking mix (in my case, I used Bisquick cause I got a cheap cheap deal on it).
2 Tbsp of Veggie Oil
1 egg
1 1/3 Cups of Buttermilk
2 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
1 Banana, mashed
Just a dash, less than 1/8th of a teaspoon of Vanilla extract

I started out with one banana, smashed it with a fork in my bowl.  This will make it almost into a liquid, especially when you add your sugar to it.  Add your vanilla.  Then blend in your egg and a cup of your buttermilk. NOW... add 1/2 cup at a time of your baking mix ... until you reach a thick, brownie batter consistency.  Use that 1/3 of buttermilk if it is too thick.  (If you want pancakes, thin it out to like a cake batter consistency).

Depending on what kind of waffle maker you have, prep it for use by the directions or however you have been doing it all along.  For my waffle maker, it takes about 1/3 of a cup to 1/2 to fill each square.  Cook by the directions or till it is done to the level you wish.

The way I made them, it made 4 perfectly filled out squares.  And, probably the best waffle I have made in this waffle maker... I did add a few blueberries to my waffles, made them even better!

And if you really like nutmeg, clove or cinnamon that might even make a great addition as well!