My Best Meatloaf

When I was younger, one of my favorite meals was meat loaf, with a side of rice and some broccoli. And, of course, lots of gravy! Thursday night was meatloaf night in my house growing up. And, once my mother returned to work, she would often rely and my sisters and I to do most of the prep work for dinner. When it was meatloaf night, I used to prefer to take over in the kitchen.

My mother used to buy three pound packages of ground turkey. I always added bread crumbs, ketchup and an egg or two. And after that, I would go wild. I would grab every herb and spice I could find in the cabinet, and dump it into the mix. And, invariably, it would taste pretty darn good.

Then my Mom discovered the recipe for meatloaf featured on the back of the onion soup package, and that became our go to recipe for our favorite comfort food dish. I carried it over into my own house when I moved out. Sometimes I would use a mixture of meats (pork, veal and beef) sometimes just beef, and on occasion, turkey. But the add in ingredients were always the same: Italian seasoned bread crumbs, water, ketchup, eggs and onion soup mix.

The one day, I was looking through a magazine and saw a recipe that called for V8 in lieu of ketchup. I tried that recipe, and really loved it. With a few of my own personal touches, I came up with this tasty meat loaf recipe.

3 lbs. ground beef (you can use meatloaf mix or ground turkey if you choose)
12 oz. can V8 vegetable juice
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Using your hands, thoroughly mix all ingredients together. Press into a loaf pan. Cook at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes
Note: I say the parmesan is optional only because I left it out by mistake this time, and it still turned out delicious!

BBQ Short Ribs

I had never had short ribs until I was introduced to them by a room mate a few years ago. This is the recipe she used, and which she taught to me. I do not eat them very often, since they are kind of expensive and a bit fatty, but I do enjoy them when I make them. When I do cook them, I make sure to refrigerate the leftovers in two separate containers (the meat goes in one and the gravy goes in the other). After cooling them overnight, you can discard the thick layer of fat that accumulates on the top of the gravy) I actually prefer the leftovers, because they are less greasy!
4 lbs. bone in short ribs
2 tsp adobo
½ cup white vinegar
1 bottle barbecue sauce
1 sliced onion

Put short ribs in deep pot or dutch oven. Add adobo, vinegar, onion and barbecue sauce. Add enough water to cover by an inch. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook on low 3 hours or until meat is falling off the bone tender.

Pork Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy

6 pork cutlets (or boneless pork chops)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp. horseradish
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle pork cutlets with salt, pepper and garlic powder> Heat oil in a large skillet. Sear pork cutlets of chops in oil on both sides. In a bowl, mix together cream of mushroom soup, milk, horseradish and worcestershire sauce. Place pork cutlets in a oven safe casserole. Pour mushroom soup mix over the cutlets. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Roasted Chicken

So, today I decided to make a roasted chicken. Since I live alone, I used a small fryer (about 3 lbs). First, I rubbed the chicken with about 2-3 Tbsp. of olive oil. Then I sprinkled about 1/2 tsp. of adobo, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme and two packets of sazon and rubbed it into the chicken. Then I put the chicken in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The chicken SHOULD HAVE been done at this point, but unfortunately the BREAST took longer than the legs to cook. When I checked the temperature of the thigh, it was 175, while the breast still had a tinge of pink inside it, and only read 164 on the thermometer. I think the problem was that the chicken MAY NOT have been fully defrosted in the breast area when I popped it in the oven. So, I raised the temperature of the oven to 400 and roasted for 15 more minites. After that, the breast read 178. I was worried it would be dry (since I have been told you should only cook chicken to 170 degrees, but it was not. It was perfectly moist and delicious, with a nice crispy red skin. While I am not a huge fan of roasted chicken, I really did enjoy this!

Deviled eggs

So, I decided that I was going to make deviled eggs for the Fourth this year. Never mind the fact that I have never made deviled eggs before... I LOVE them... in fact I love ANY kind of egg dish. So, I searched for some good ideas online.... came up with something pretty darn good too... of course, I had to go through the usual drama with peeling eggs... I have tried using fresh eggs, I have tried using older eggs, I know my cooking method is perfect, and I always make sure to cool them down in running cold water, but I still end up tearing some of the eggs apart.This time I peeled 15 eggs, totally ruined 3, knicked about 6 and had about 6 perfectly peeled eggs. Of course, they all taste delicious anyway, so it is all good! Anywhere, here is what I came up with... some really tasty deviled eggs.

12 peeled hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. dried chopped onion, reconstituted in a Tbsp. of water, then drained
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Cut each egg in half, remove the yolks into a bowl. Add the mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, curry powder, dijon mustard, onion and pepper to the yolks. Mash the eggs and mix THOROUGHLY, until the mixture is smooth. Spoon the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Refrigerate overnight, then serve.

Sausage and Peppers

My grandmother used to make sweet Italian sausage with peppers often when I was younger. It was one of my favorite meals. But, I never seemed to be able to cook the peppers the way that I liked them without burning them before they reached the desired tenderness. So, I tried roasting them in the oven first, THEN sauteeing them, and ended up with the results I wanted. This recipe does take quite a bit of time, but it is well worth it.

8 links sweet Italian sausage
8 red bell peppers, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
8 oz can tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a sheet pan, place sausage on the pan. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes. Set aside. Toss bell peppers with olive oil. Place on sheet pan, cook in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Place onion in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Heat up a large skillet on medium heat. Add the peppers to the skillet (make sure you also use all of the juices and oil from the pan) Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute about 15 minutes or until the peppers are very tender, stirring often. Meanwhile, slice the sausage into disks. Add sausage and tomato sauce to the peppers and onions. Cook an additional 10 minutes, stirring often. Serve with fresh Italian bread.