Ma – the Meatloaf!

Any Wedding Crasher friends out there?! **crickets** My dear friend Kelly passed along her mom’s meatloaf recipe and it was delicious!

I made a lot of meals over the weekend including Ms. Ann’s Meatloaf. I didn’t follow the recipe in its entirety because I didn’t have a green pepper and I totally forgot the cheese. Instead of baking as a loaf I divided the meatloaf into muffin pans then froze the little minis for later consumption.

*Original Recipe
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
¼ cup oatmeal (instant is fine)
¼ cup onions
¼ cup green pepper
1/3 cup cheese
a squirt or 2 of BBQ sauce
¼ (or more ☺) cup brown sugar

Directions
Mush ingredients together very well. “When you think you’ve mushed enough, mush some more ☺”

Pat into baking dish until it’s about 1 ½ in. thick, and not touching the sides of the dish.

Pour1/4 in. of water onto the sides of the meat.

Drizzle ketchup all over the top of the meat so that you can't see the top.

Cook at 350 for 1 hour. “It will always be done after an hour.”

Thanks Kelly! If anyone is interested in the freezer method, just let me know.

Beef Wellington

I found this recipe here and it is a must. I probably say that all the time, but this was really grand. Even Ben liked the Beef Wellington despite being a meat and potatoes only kinda guy.

I didn’t follow the recipe to a T, but it still turned out wonderful! Here are my notes:

-Didn’t have a shallot
-Used a lower grade beef
-Had to improvise Dijon mustard; recipe found here
-Used full sheet of pastry puff

Ingredients
6 oz. button mushrooms
1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small sprig thyme (leaves only)
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus additional for searing steaks
1/2 sheet of puff pastry (1/4 of the box), thawed
2 filet mignon steaks, about 6 oz. each
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
coarse sea salt, for topping

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425.

Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add butter and olive oil to a sauté pan and set over medium heat. Add the mushroom mixture and sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness, or until it’s big enough to wrap around the two filet.  Cut into 2 squares.  Poke the puff pastry here and there with a fork.

Rub the filet with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Heat a skillet over medium-high until very hot. Then, place the filets in the pan and cook for 1 minute, flip, and cook for another minute.

Spread 1 tsp. of the dijon onto a square of puff pastry.  Top with 1/2 the mushroom mixture, and then with 1 seared steak.  Brush the outer edge of the puff pastry with the egg and then fold the pastry over the filet (sort of like wrapping a gift). Seal and place seam-side down. Brush the top with the egg, and then sprinkle with sea salt.  Repeat the process for the second filet.

Bake until pastry is golden and steak is done to your liking, 15-20 minutes.

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PW Enchiladas

Ya’ll, this was a lot of work. At least more work than I’m used to in the kitchen. The end result was delicious, so I guess the work was worth it.

***
Ingredients
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 1 Tablespoon Canola Oijavascript:void(0)l
• 1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
• 1 can (28 Ounce) Enchilada Or Red Sauce
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
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• FOR THE MEAT:
• 1-½ pound Ground Beef
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies
• ½ teaspoons Salt
_____
• FOR THE TORTILLAS:
• 10 whole (to 14) Corn Tortillas
• ½ cups Canola Oil
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• TO ASSEMBLE:
• 3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ½ cups Chopped Black Olives
• 1 cup Chopped Green Onions
• ½ cups Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions
Step #1 – The Sauce
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

Step #2 – The Meat
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Step #3 – Tortillas
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Step #4 – Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Taco Salad

Photo Courtesy Food Network

This recipe comes from Paula Dean and it was delish! I made this two different ways. (1) exactly as proposed below. (2) I mixed the catalina dressing with the ground beef only, then added the other ingredients. I prefer the 2nd way only because I am not really big on a lot of salad dressing on my salads, but apparently it was liked both ways unless people just lied to me:)!

Ingredients

• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 pound sharp Cheddar, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, washed, drained and shredded
• 1 pound lean ground beef, browned, crumbled and drained
• 1 cup salad dressing (recommended: Catalina)
• 1 (7-ounce) bag taco flavored chips, crushed
• 1 cup salsa
• Tortilla chips, to serve

Directions

Combine the tomatoes, cheese, onion, lettuce, and ground beef in a large bowl. Add the salad dressing and mix well. Just before serving, add the taco chips, tossing to combine with other ingredients. Top each serving with salsa. Serve with tortilla chips.

Coffee Crusted Steak Bites

I saw this recipe on Kevin & Amanda's blog and I was somewhat intrigued. I don't like coffee, but she stated even a coffee lover would like this steak.  Her exact recipe is below.  I actually used little steak bites because I was too nervous to spend money on the ribeye steaks and not like it. The recipe had a very interesting taste. One that my unsophisticated palette can even describe. Perhaps robust, but in a good way...

2 (8 oz) ribeye steaks
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
ground coffee (hazelnut)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter

Season steaks with salt & pepper, then cover with ground coffee. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and add the butter and olive oil, and heat until the butter is just browned. Cook steaks for 3 mins on each side. Let rest on a plate covered with foil for 5-10 mins before serving. Enjoy!

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloves

Ingredients
1lb ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 egg
12 saltine crackers finely crushed (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups Mexican style finely shredded shredded four cheese, divided
1 cup salsa

Mix first four ingredients with 1 cup cheese and 1/2 cup salsa.
Press evenly into 12 muffin cups sprayed with  cooking spray. Use back of spoon to make indentation in the center of each.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until meatloaves are done. Top with remaining salsa and cheese; bake 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I left out the cheese and it was still delicious!
Amanda