Monthly Archives: March 2015

Meatloaf Thursday (Wait, Give Me a Chance!)

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Don’t panic!  I know there are meatloaf haters out there, and my kids are probably in that category.  However, I’ve tried a lot of different recipes and finally found something DELISH!  I’ve even made meatloaf cupcakes (thanks @Erin) and they were good and fun as well.  My key ingredient is this, and I went with Hy-Vee brand but there are many others available.  The key is BEEFY ONION soup mix.  Just. My. Opinion.

meatloafI’m all about flavor, so I top with a couple different ketchup-based toppings before baking, and wow, yummo.  Tonight I even topped half with a ketchup/brown sugar topping and the other with a chipotle sauce.  Both were really fantastico – just depends on your liking.  If I don’t add something spicy during the cooking process, MB (the hubster) will add it at the end.  I took a pic of our plate but it didn’t look so wonderful, so you won’t see it here.  However, it was one of our best meals.  I will share recipe for the meatloaf below, but i also served fresh steamed broccoli, garlic/parmesan french bread, roasted red potatoes and some delicious salad with romaine and chopped veggies.

So potatoes:  I took red new potatoes and placed them in a plastic bag with a little water.  Don’t seal the bag and don’t pierce the potatoes.  I microwaved until about done, then chopped them in halves or so, placed in a pie pan covered in foil and baking spray (I DO NOT want more dishes to wash) and added some slices of butter, then garlic salt and Lawrys seasoning.  Throw those in the oven while the meat loaf is finishing.  I did put them on low broil at the end to get a nice crust and they were, well, solid!

The really great part about this recipe is that it freezes so well.  Nothing better than having to not stress about dinner after a long day. Whip it out of the freezer the night before and in an hour, voila!  I often serve this with my amazing cheesy potatoes which I do the same with ….freeze in smaller amounts.

Meatloaf

  • Servings: depends on the size of your dish
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Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray baking pan with non stick spray.

2 lbs. ground beef
1 envelope beefy onion soup mix
3/4 cup “seasoned” bread crumbs  (not Italian, if you can’t buy seasoned, use plain)
2 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup
Seasoning salt, garlic salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients well.  Place in baking dish and cover with mix of ketchup and brown sugar, or chiptole sauce for the spicy people in your life.   Let stand before serving

Easy Pizza Casserole

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Yep, Monday happened yesterday, and so did this go to recipe, that my friend Trish shared with me.  Of course I’ve “edited” it a little but it’s so easy and flexible you can adjust to the likings of your famliy very easily.

So here’s a pic of some of the ingredients:

photo 1Start with a casserole dish coated with cooking spray, and cut your biscuits in half with kitchen shears.  YES, kitchen shears.  A wonderful invention.  I ripped mine off from my mom and they cut everything!  Chicken wings when we fire up the smoker and everything else in between.  Highly recommended!!!!  (shhh, she doesn’t know I have them).

biscuits

addl ingredients

Brown a pound of ground beef with chopped onion, add a little minced garlic at the end.  (Garlic needs to be cooked just until fragrant, not browned.  Burnt garlic should be promptly delivered to File 13, aka trash.)  These are 2 ingredients I added cuz we love tasty at our house!   I should have used fresh garlic, but hey, it’s Monday and I’m tired and I LOVE this minced garlic in a squirt bottle.  Once you brown and drain the above ingredients, I add a little cut up turkey (less fat) pepperoni, warm it up and then add your favorite spaghetti sauce.  Place this delicious dish of sauce and meat on your biscuits, and bake for about 20 minutes or so.

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Love those kitchen shears!

Remove from oven and cover with your favorite mix of italian blend, mozzarella, cheddar, and in this case, I topped with a few ropes of provel (mixture of provolone, cheddar and swiss cheese).  Just use your favorite cheeses and it will be delish!  Bake for about 10 min longer to let the cheese melt and ENJOY!  I didn’t get a pretty pic of this plated because we were starving, but here’s an afterthought pic.  Was so easy peasy and a nice end to the first day back in the work week. Definitely worked for really yummy lunch leftovers today.

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Easy Pizza Casserole

  • Servings: depends on the size of your dish
  • Print
Ingredients:
The following ingredients make a 8×8 or 9×9 casserole, so adjust for your gang!

1 tube biscuits
1 lb. hamburger
Handful of turkey pepperoni, cut in pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of minced garlic
Jar of spaghetti sauce
Choice of various shredded cheeses
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray dish with nonstick spray and cut biscuits into rough 1/3 sizes to cover bottom of dish.  Brown ground beef and onions, add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Drain and add cut pepperoni, cooking until warmed through.  Add spaghetti sauce and spread over top of biscuits.  Cook for about 20-25 minutes or so, then remove from oven and top with desired cheeses.  Return to oven for 10 min or until cheese is melted.  ENJOY!