Meatloaf

A comfort dish I have never tired myself is meatloaf. I was craving this other day and decided to look up a few recipes. I adapted it slightly and doubled the recipe so I could make one that night and freeze one for later. Even though I HATE touching raw meat this was well worth it. It wasn't greasy and Matt loved it. We ate more than we should have and didn't even get to take a picture, but I will be sure to snap a picture of the frozen one once we bake it. So I added a picture with my new camera...

Meatloaf
yields: 2 smaller loafs

- 2 pound ground beef (I used one ground beef, and one ground pork)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped onion (I used half an onion)
- 2 egg, lightly beaten
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup bread crumbs

1. Mix the ingredients and divide into half. Form each into a loaf
2. Place in Meatloaf pan
3. Bake at 375 for about an hour.

Taco Soup

I had this over at Matt's sister's house one night, and asked for recipe. We have already enjoyed this twice and I made a few changes this time to add even more flavor into the soup. It turned out pretty spicy this time but I did use the hot Rotel which would explain the extra kick it. This a very quick dinner just dump it all in and let it cook all day.




Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 chicken breast halves (I used half a package)
2 15 oz cans of black beans, undrained
2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes or rotel(Mix one rotel and one diced for less heat)
1 cup salsa (whatever flavor your prefer)
4 oz can of chopped green chiles
14 1/2 oz can of tomato sauce
1 can of corn
Taco seasoning

1. Place chicken in the bottom of the crock-pot and sprinkle with taco seasoning.
2. Combine all other ingredients in the crock-pot.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces or shred before serving.
4. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream

Slow cooker beef stroganoff

I had read a couple of recipes for beef stroganoff and none sounded just like what I wanted. So I went out on a limb and decided to come up with something on my own. I always use a recipe so this was a big step for me in the kitchen. I forgot to a take a picture until I was cleaning up, so sorry the picture doesn't look very good!!




Slow cooker beef stroganoff

- 1 lb of top round steak cut into strips (I used stir-fry beef)
- 1 can cream of mushroom
- 1 can of sliced mushrooms or fresh
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cube beef bouillon
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 tsp chives
- Egg noddles to serve it over (cooked separate before eating)

1. Put the beef in the bottom of the crock-pot.
2. In a separate or in the slow cooker add soup, mushrooms, garlic clove, Worcestershire, beef bouillon, water, and sour cream. If done separate add to beef and mix. I saved a dish and threw it all in the slow cooker.
3. Top with some chives
4. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours

Pumpkin White Chocolate Blondies

I have seen these on so many different blogs, like Erin's, and I finally broke down and made them. I am so glad that I decided to make them they are so good. It reminds me of fall and it is something different to use pumpkin in. Even Matt who said he didn't like pumpkin has been eating these every night. I need to work on taking better pictures of food too, but here is my best shot of them.




Pumpkin White Chocolate Blondies

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 package (12 ounces) white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
4. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth 5. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Then add in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Fold in chocolate chips.
7. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 40 minutes.
8. Cool completely in pan.

Pasta Fagioli

I came across this awhile ago, on a year of slowing cooking, and have been meaning to try it. It is similar to Olive Garden's Pasta E. Fagioli. My throat was sore so I decided that it would be the perfect night to try this out, and I glad I did. It makes quite a bit of soup so we have enough leftovers for dinner another night this week and maybe one lunch.

Pasta Fagioli

- 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
- 1/2 large red onion, chopped (I used a sweet onion it was on hand)
-1 cup carrots, chopped
-2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
-1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
-1 can white beans, drained and rinsed ( great northern is the type I used)
-4 cups beef broth (I used 1 can and called it good)
-1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce (I only have a 10 oz jar and used it)
-2 tsp oregano
-1 T Tabasco sauce (didn't have any)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time (I used between 1/2 and 1 cup of pasta)


1. Brown the meat on the stovetop, and drain well. I added some red pepper flakes to the meat since I didn't have any hot sauce to add later.
2. Chop up the carrots and onion. Add it to the empty crockpot.
3. Drain and rinse the beans, and add them.
4. Add the whole cans of tomatoes,the pasta sauce, beef broth, salt, pepper, oregano, and Tobasco sauce. Stir in your meat.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.
6. Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese if you have it.

Shepherd's pie

While shepherd's pie is a simple recipe to start with, I need to make it for the crock-pot since I don't get home until eight every week-end. A year of crock pot cooking came to the rescue with this one. This was such a good comfort meal for a chilly GA day. It took no time at all to throw together in the morning, and it actually had some flavor to it which I find to the problem with shepherd's pie usually. This may not be the best picture but it tasted good!


Shepherd's pie

- mashed potatoes (leftover or I used one package of garlic mashed potatoes, yummy)
- 1 lb ground turkey or beef
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 cups frozen vegetables
- 1 medium onion, chopped finely, or 1 T onion flakes (I used fresh)
- 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika( I didn't have any but added chili powder in the meat)
--1 cup water (I used 3/4 cups since I didn't want it too wet.
--2 cups shredded cheese (used about half a bag to cover the meat)

1. Brown the meat and onion, while browning add spices and garlic)
2. Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray, or use a liner. Put the meat in the crockpot and stir in the frozen vegetables, and a cup of water.
3. Add two cups of cheese on top.
4. Press the mashed potatoes down on top of the cheese and meat. Sprinkle with a bit of paprika.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for about 3
6. Remove the lid and cook on high for 30 minutes to release the condensation and allow the potatoes to brown a bit on top. Everything is cooked already, so you're really just allowing the flavors to meld and the potatoes to crustify.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Matt's favorite cookie is oatmeal raisin cookies, he gets them anywhere he sees them. I have never tired to make them but since he asked and we are newlyweds I figured I would try it out. Much to my surprise these are awesome they are thick and chewy and stayed nice for the few days they managed to stay around. Now the secret to get a chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake them, you can put them on the cookie sheet or I just threw the bowel I mixed them in right in the fridge while I cleaned up some. It only takes a few minutes to really make a difference.

Thick and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
yields: 1-2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)(I left out since Matt isn't a fan or nuts)


1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.
4. Chill the dough
5. Scoop them onto the cookie sheet, with 1 or 2 inches between them.
6. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Salsa Chicken

Talk about a simple dinner, it takes less than five minutes to throw together in the morning then after work five more to make some minute rice and vegetables to serve with the chicken. I would say to try this even if you aren't sure it is so good!!

4 chicken breasts (you may use frozen or unfrozen chicken, it does not matter which)
1 cup of your favorite Salsa
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Add chicken to slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
3. Mix salsa, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup; pour over chicken.
4. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
5. Shred Chicken with two forks and incorporate with all the sauce.

There it is a dinner that takes 10 minutes of your day max to make. I am going to take pictures of the dinners I make this week, so you have some eye candy to look at!!