Meatloaf- Variation on a Theme...

Okay, who has not made a meat loaf? Meat loaf is one of those really comfort foods, especially when you have hot (or cold) meat loaf sandwiches the next day! For me to begin to present the recipe for how I make meat loaf would be impossible... it is different EVERY time I make it. Literally, when I say I use everything BUT the kitchen sink in my meat loaf.. sometimes that is true. There are some constants... ground beef ( or a mix of sausage and ground beef), salt ( I have a soy sauce fetish, I try to use soy sauce more often whenever I can), pepper, bread or bread crumbs, eggs and inevitably an onion is diced up and thrown in as well. As far as anything else goes... well.... let's see... Ketchup, Mustard (Dijon, dry, yellow, grain, you name it!) Bacon slices, fresh mushrooms, cheese stuffed, Dry Onion Soup Mix, rosemary sprigs and bacon on top while baking, garlic, roasted garlic, it goes on and on it truly does. The one thing I have never ever done, or tried, has been the baking of some kind of tomato product on top of the meat loaf, although people swear by it. I do present a recipe here for fun and frolic. So here are 2 recipes. The first one I have tried and is a delicious, basic meat loaf. If someone tries the second one leave me a post and let me know how you liked it!


Basic Meatloaf

This delightful, nourishing dish has a British flair to it and is very yummy. I would add more salt to the loaf than the recipe calls for.....

2 cups Freshly made Bread Crumbs ( or dried)

1 onion, chopped fine

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2 tsp, Dry Mustard

1 1/2 tsp. Soy Sauce ( or salt, again, add more than the recipe require otherwise it comes out under seasoned)

1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1/2 to 3/4 cup Milk ( Be careful with this, start with the 1/2 cup see how the mixture feels, if you need to add more but no more than the 3/4 cup otherwise the loaf will not set and will crumble when you go to slice it!)

Mix everything together in a bowl. Form into a loaf. Bake for 1 hour to an hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. You can also just put it into a loaf pan if you are so inclined. Now what you can do with this is put 4 strips of raw bacon on the top, just make sure to tuck the ends either into or under the loaf, and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary under the bacon would go nice as well. (Thank you 2 Fat Ladies for that yummy idea!!)


Tomato Meat Loaf

1 can Campbell's tomato soup
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. minced onion
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, divided
1 egg, beaten
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. water

In bowl, mix thoroughly 1/2 cup soup, beef, crumbs, onion, 3 teaspoons Worcestershire, egg and pepper. Form into a loaf and bake at 350 for an hour to and hour and 15 minutes. combine remaining soup and Worcestershire, water and reserved drippings, in a sauce pan and heat through to make sauce. I know people who also put a layer of ketchup on top of the meatloaf or Heinz Chili Sauce and bake it that way as well! The chili sauce is delicious! Never tried the ketchup...

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut up

Vegetable Shortening and Butter

Garlic Salt

Season Salt

Pepper

1 Green Pepper, sliced into strips

1 Large Onion, sliced into strips

2 cans Tomato Soup

1 can Tomato Sauce

1 can Mushrooms, drained

2 T. Italian Seasoning

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced (garlic press)

1 soup can of water (Judge how much water you need)

Directions:

Turn burner onto medium high heat.
Melt shortening and butter together (2 to 1 ratio) season with garlic salt, season salt, and pepper while browning. Remove chicken. Saute onion in same grease. Till soft then add green pepper, saute for 2-3 minutes more over medium to medium low heat. Remove veggies, pat dry with paper towel if TOO greasy. . Drain off excess grease, leaving a scant teaspoon in the pan. Toss in the garlic and saute, but do not brown. De glaze pan with a little water, chicken stock or red wine if you wish, scraping off the brown bits from the bottom. Add the 2 cans of tomato soup and the tomato sauce, Italian seasonings, the onions and peppers, bring to a boil. Then add the chicken back into the sauce, cover, reduce to simmer for 1 hour to 90 minutes until chicken is very tender. Serve with noodles, salad and/or garlic bread.

Mom's Broccoli/Ham Casserole

I'm not 100% sure where mom got this recipe from, but I always looked forward to her making it whenever we had leftover ham in the refrigerator. What's really nifty about it is the Bisquick crust.. it sorta seeps into the ingredients like a giant sponge, and it just makes the whole thing very comforting.

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees.

For the crust:

2 Cups Bisquick

1 1/2 cups milk

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Whisk till fairly smooth with a few minor lumps remaining.

For the Filling:

2 cups leftover ham, cubed or chopped into pieces

16 ounces broccoli, steamed and cooked. ( mom used frozen)

2 cans Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 cup of Milk

1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder

Steam you broccoli and drain. Mix all the ingredients together in a 9x13 (or somewhere along those lines) un greased baking dish. Pour the crust mixture over the top. ( Yes it will be a liquid, yes it is okay) Place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes until the crust is cooked and golden. Serve hot!

Bodhi's Coca Cola Ham Glaze

1 can of coke

1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar

a sprinkling of dry mustard


Mix altogether and baste the ham with it.

Marinated Round Steak or Chuck Roast

Delightful! Delicious! De-Lovely! And oh so tender and full of wonderful flavor!!

Mix Together:

2 t. Onion Flakes ( or onion salt)

2 t. Season Salt ( or Celery Salt)

1 tsp. Garlic Salt

1 tsp. Black pepper

1 teaspoon White Horseradish

1 tsp. Dry Mustard

4- 6 ounces of White Vinegar

6- 8 ounces Vegetable or Cooking Oil

Cut slits into the meat on both sides. (about 1/3 of the way through and 1/2 an inch apart) Cover meat with marinade, and put in refrigerator to sit. ( Overnight is optimal, but the longer the better, at least 2-3 hours minimum)

Place on hot grill until desired doneness. Spread leftover Marinade across the meat often while grilling! Yum- Yum!!

Barefoot Bob's Shrimp Scampi with Linguini

Over the years I have tried many a recipe for Shrimp Scampi. And let me tell you, it felt like a Goldilock's nightmare from hell. This one was too lemony, this one the sauce was too thin, this one did not have enough garlic, this one had enough parsley in it to the point you thought it was pesto. But THIS one, ( my recipe) that i FINALLY developed after years of trial and error, was just right! Linguini or Angel Hair work the best with this recipe.

2 tsp. Kosher Salt ( or to taste)

3/4 pound Linguini

4 1/2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

2 1/2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil ( I use Colavita)

6 cloves of garlic, finely minced or passed through a garlic press

1 pound large shrimp ( about 16) peeled, deveined, and tales removed. (I use frozen most of the time, just thawed out and rinsed)

1/4 tsp Freshly Finely Ground Black Pepper

1/3 cup chopped flat leaf Italian Parsley

1/2 lemon, zested

The juice of one freshly squeezed lemon

1/8 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

Prepare Linguini according to package directions. Reserve some of the cooking liquid. ( use at least 1 tablespoon of kosher salt in the water while cooking the pasta, i add more salt) In a saute pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and olive oil over medium low heat. Now, here is my personal little trick to making the sauce a little thicker which is the way I enjoy it... melt your butter first, then slowly drizzle in your oil into the butter a little bit at the time, like you are making a mayonnaise... this emulsifies and thickens the sauce. Add garlic, saute for one minute until garlic is fragrant. Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 tsp. of Kosher Salt, and the black pepper. Saute until shrimp turn pink and are cooked ( about 5 minutes for fresh and 2-3 minutes for thawed frozen shrimp) Remove from heat, add parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice and red pepper flakes. Toss in drained, hot pasta (there maybe some leftover). Put in a small amount of the pasta water, just a little, toss to combine, check for seasonings and serve hot!

Pani (Sticky) Chicken or All Virgins please report to the altar for further instructions!

What the hell is Pani? Well, after all these years (although I'm convinced right now, this is not the meaning that my mom and Uncle Bill meant) Pani is the plural form of the Czech word panna meaning "Virgin". So here we have it... Virgin Chicken! I REALLY have to call or email Billiam of Tell ( Uncle Bill) and ask, what I suspect is it was supposed to maybe mean something closer to Bosia ( there goes my bad polish spelling again that google is not helping me with) All I know is that Virgin Chicken Pan Drippings make some of the best gravy around! The skin is crisp, sticky and the meat is incredibly moist. And according to mom's cookbook, this recipe comes from the kitchen of Uncle Bill!

Brown chicken pieces in Canola oil or Crisco. Move chicken to baking pan, add a LITTLE bit of water to pan drippings in fry pan, stir, pour pan juices over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 90 minutes, depending on size and amount of chicken.

* I NEVER remember mom making it this way. She used to take the raw chicken, throw it on a pan, no foil, MAYBe put a little butter on each piece, used a little season salt and MAYBE garlic powder, a little pepper if she was in the mood, sprinkled on top of the chicken and put it in the oven at 350 degrees until the juices ran clear from the chicken!

** Take 4-6 T. of the drippings from the baking sheet (depending on how much gravy you want to make) put in a sauce pan with equal amounts of flour making a roux. Cook the roux until the blonde stage. ( or until the flour smell goes away and it smells almost nutty) Add 2 chicken bouillon cubes or chicken base to taste or add chicken broth ( or water if using base or bouillon) until you have a nice gravy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn on low and simmer 5- 10 minutes, adding more liquid if needed. If you want a richer gravy, add a little cream or half and half near the end. Put dry or fresh parsley in for flavor and color. Also a squeeze of fresh lemon juice is nice as well, to taste. Serve this dish with white rice and green beans.