Mini Meatloaf

It's dinner time and in between playing airplane with the cardboard box from my little birthday present of a Le Crueset canister set repurposed to an airplane/rocket, I needed to whip soothing up fast. 

I looked in my refrigerator and saw a thawed pound of meat. It snowed today and this beach-raised-California-girl-turned-Hoosier is looking for some comfort food. My mom always made the best meatloaf. Well, she was at work and I was about 1 pound short of meat for the whole recipe, so I Googled and found this! 

Yummy Mini Meatloaf Recipe

Credit for this little gem of a find comes from my blessed life.

Yields: 10 mini loaves

1 egg

1/2 c. milk (I used whole)

1 c. cheese (All I had was an organic Mexican blend, but cheddar or gouda would be amazing)

1/2 c. oats

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. onion powder

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. salt

1 lb. ground beef (I used bison meat as we are looking for lean red alternatives and it's locally raised here in Indiana)

Glaze: ketchup, mustard (I used dijon), raw or brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray a muffin pan with a non-stick oil.

In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, cheese, oats, oregano, onion powder, garlic and salt.  Add ground meat and mix well.  This is best done using your hands and fingers.

Evenly divide the meat mixture in muffin pan with about a palm-sized ball.  In a small bowl, mix ketchup (~ 1 1/2 c.), a tad of mustard (a good squeeze) and a teaspoon of sugar.  Evenly divide the glaze over each mini meatloaf.

Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes or until meat is done. I paired it with some mashed potatoes and sautéed kale to round out the meal.


According to the writer of this recipe, you can freeze the left over patties for future uses (thaw and heat.) 

In other birthday news, we have begun a little updating in our kitchen. We added some backsplash and some under lighting so I can see a little better while in the kitchen. 

before

after

To come will be a new floor (to show less child-produced dirt) and a built in banquet for family kitchen time. What is the favorite thing about your kitchen space? What inspires you?

Squashed

Here's another meatless Monday recipe for you. I have been cooking away doing some holiday baking (my Mother's recipes to come), and was so exhausted I threw together this little "everything but the kitchen sink" recipe for a quick Monday night meal. This one also satisfies all the vegans out there if you omit the cheese.

Spaghetti Squash with Kale, Tomatoes, and Parmesan

Adapted from epicurious.com

Ingredients

3-pound spaghetti squash

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

3-4 chopped shallots or a small sweet yellow onion

1 minced garlic clove

One bunch of de-ribbed and coarsely chopped Tuscan kale

2-3 ripe tomatoes (or ½-1 pint of sliced cherry tomatoes)

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

3-4 TBS of white truffle oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

To prepare the squash

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. If you have or need a little time, bake at 350°, face down in a glass dish in about 1/4 cup of water. If you need to get dinner done quick, microwave in the glass dish in water and covered with plastic wrap (to steam). Your squash is ready when soft if pressed. Let it cool a bit before removing the spaghetti with a fork or spoon.

In a medium skillet heat the oil or butter on medium/high, add the scallions and cook until they are sweating. Next add the garlic (as to not burn it). Then add the kale and tomatoes and cook until the kale is wilted. Add oregano and salt and pepper. Turn heat down to low and allow to simmer while you scrape the squash with a fork to form strands. Finally add the salt and pepper as well as drizzle the truffle oil and give it a good mix through before placing the tomato mixture on top of the squash. Sprinkle with the parmesan and serve warm. 

Our Bird-less Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, I served as my mother's sous-chef so that I can learn all the traditional dishes of her home county during our brief visits to our state. This post is in honor of my mom Gisela.

German-style Rouladen

from Gisela Stowers

Ingredients:

4-6 Milanese cut beef steaks

salt and pepper to taste

German Style Mustard

½ lb of bacon

2-3 Large sweet German barrel pickles

1 Beef bouillon cube (I like Knor)

1 TBS Cornstarch

Cold Water

Cooking twine (May also use toothpicks)

Directions

Lay out each steak and salt and pepper one side. Then thinly spread a teaspoon of mustard. Take one strip of bacon and two quarters of a sweet pickle and roll up into a beef roll.

Secure with twine or toothpicks.

In a deep skillet with high heat vegetable oil, brown each side. Then add 1 ½ to 2 cups of water (depending on number of rolls) and one bouillon cube. Simmer on medium low for 1 to 1 ½ hours until the meat is tender, but turn the roll half way through. Then remove the meat from the skillet.

In a small bowl, whisk cold water into cornstarch little by little until its dissolved. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture into the remaining liquid in the skilled until desired thickness of gravy is achieved.

Serve warm with gravy. It is best along side mashed potatoes or German dumplings.

 Happy Thanksgiving!