Mix & Match Meatloaf

This was a really fun recipe my husband found in Food Network Magazine. He really likes meatloaf so I'm always looking for new versions to try. This recipe is a mix-and-match recipe so you can choose what you like!

I placed an asterisk next to the ingredients we chose for our meatloaf, since we know that was good! For our bacon bits we bought the large bag of bacon bits out at Costco so instead of putting strips of bacon on top of the loaf I sprinkled more bits on top. Post in the comments what combos you guys try. Did you like it? Did you wish you had tried something different?

Meat
Choose 1 & 1/2 lbs from the meats listed, any combo:
*Ground beef*
*Ground turkey*
Ground veal
*Ground pork*

Binder
Choose 1 cup from the binders below, choose one:
Breadcrumbs
Instant rice (uncooked)
Cornflakes
Crackers or *croutons*, crushed
Fine bulgur (uncooked)
Oats
Instant potato flakes (only 1/2 cup)
Quick-cooking barley (uncooked, only 1/2 cup)

Vegetable
Choose 1-2 cups from the vegetables below, choose one:
*Carrots*, shredded
Spinach, frozen chopped then thawed and squeezed dry
Swiss chard or kale, finely chopped
Bell peppers, finely chopped
Mushrooms, finely chopped
Zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry
Celery, finely chopped and sauteed

Herbs
Choose 2 Tbsp of the herbs below, any combo:
Parsley
*Chives*
*Basil*
Thyme

Mix-In (Optional)
Choose 1/2 cup, pick up to two:
Raisins or prunes, chopped
Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
*Cooked bacon*, chopped
Pickles or gherkins, chopped
Canned green chilis or pickled jalapenos, chopped
Walnuts, chopped
Roasted red peppers, chopped
*Shredded cheese* (up to 1 cup)

Remaining Ingredients
The rest of these ingredients go in the meatloaf regardless of the other ingredients you chose:
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
2 eggs
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 & 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Place each of the chose ingredients in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix with hands until just combined.
• Shape in to 9 x 5 inch oval loaf and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Top with strips of bacon, if desired.
• Bake about half way, approximately 30 minutes.
• Brush top and sides with a glaze (recipes listed below) and continue baking approximately another 25 minutes. Thermometer in center of loaf should read 160 degrees.
• Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Glazes

Classic: Mix 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 tsp brown sugar, and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

*Garlic-Herb*: Mix 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 grated garlic clove, and 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning.

Spicy BBQ: Mix 1/4 BBQ sauce, 2 tsp honey, 1 tsp chipotle chile powder, and 1 tsp cider vinegar.

Tangy: Mix 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 Tbsp apricot preserves, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp rice vinegar, and 1 tsp ground ginger.

Oven-Fried Ranch Chicken

I'd never made any sort of fried chicken before, so this was a first for us. We found this recipe in a southern supper part of a Food Network magazine and it looked too tempting to pass up. It was absolutely fantastic and is now one of our favorite chicken dishes.

We're not big fans of chicken on the bone so instead of using whole chickens we used boneless skinless breasts and thighs. It made the prep so much faster and easier than it might have been had we used whole chickens too.

Note that part of this dish has to be prepared at least three hours ahead of time.

1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped and chopped
1 & 1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
2 - 2 to 3 lb chickens, each cut in to 8 pieces
3 & 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, preferably panko
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
Fresh ground black pepper

• Whisk the buttermilk, mayonnaise, half the thyme, 1 tsp paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl.
• Add chicken and toss to coat.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours (or overnight).
• Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line two baking sheets with foil and set a wire rack on each (I used my cookie cooling racks). Coat each with cooking spray.
• Combine breadcrumbs, chives, remaining thyme, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper in a shallow bowl.
• Remove chicken from marinade and dredge in breadcrumbs.
• Place dark and white meat on separate racks, skin side up. Coat chicken with cooking spray.
• Place dark meat on bottom rack and bake until crust is golden and thermometer in thickest part of meat reaches 165 degrees, about 50-55 minutes.
• Let cool on wire racks, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and serve.

Because we used boneless skinless thighs rather than boned pieces we had fewer pieces and it cooked a little faster. We only used one rack and placed it in the center of the oven. It only took about 35 minutes to cook. I also turned the chicken about half way through to keep the panko from burning.

Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

I prefer red potatoes, so when I saw this recipe in Food Network Magazine I had to try it! I made it with dinner while my parents were over and we all agreed they could pass for restaurant smashed potatoes... that amazing!

My only tip is don't turn away from the half-and-half while you're heating it, even for a second! I turned to check the temperature on our meatloaf and when I turned around it had already boiled over, and it was only on medium heat.

3 lbs red potatoes, unpeeled

1 Tbsp, plus 2 tsp kosher salt

1 & 1/2 cups half-and-half

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1/4 lb)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

• Put potatoes and 1 Tbsp salt in 4 qt saucepan with cold water to cover. 
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer covered for about 25-35 minutes (until potatoes are tender). Drain.
• In small saucepan heat half-and-half and butter.
• Blend potatoes with electric mixer on low to break up.
• Slowly add hot cream and butter to potatoes, mixing on lowest speed.
• Fold in sour cream, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Stove Top Lasagna

I made my husband help me go through magazines and pick meals this week, this was one he chose. It's from a Food Network magazine and it was great! It's super fast and easy and you don't have to do any prep work ahead of time.

A lot of meals this week were a mixture of multiple ground meats (including this one) so I bought pork and turkey in bulk from Costco (we already have ground beef from a cow we bought at the fair). I separated them in to approximately 1 lb bags and stuck the leftover in the freezer so I don't have to buy meat quite so often! I like to buy their prepackaged chicken as well, comes in packs of 6 with each pack holding enough chicken for two people.

Kosher salt

7 lasagna noodles

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for drizzle)

1 lb ground meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal)

2 cups tomato sauce

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

3 cups baby spinach

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella

6 Tbsp grated parmesan, divided

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

• Preheat the broiler.
• Fill a pot with salted water and bring to a boil, add noodles and cook until al dented (about 11 minutes).
• Drain, transfer to a cutting board, and halve crosswise.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add ground meat, and cook stirring until browned.
• Add tomato sauce and red pepper flakes, let simmer about five minutes.
• Add spinach and stir until it wilts.
• Add ricotta and bring to a low simmer.
• Season with salt and remove from heat.
• Toss mozarella and 4 Tbsp parmesan in a bowl.
• Cover bottom of an 8 inch baking dish with layer of noddles. Top with half of the meat sauce and half of the cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of noddles, remaining meat sauce, and remaining cheese. Cover with remaining noodles and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp parmesan.
• Drizzle lightly with olive oil and broil until golden and bubbling, about 3-5 minutes. Top with basil.

Oops, I forgot the basil, oh well!

Caramel Apples

A guy my husband works with took a few vacation days to go apple picking (yeah, he seriously makes GOOD money doing that!) and brought some back. He gave a bag to us so we had a ton of apples to figure out what to do with. We decided to go with caramel apples! The day we decided to do this, my husband came home with more apples too... looks like there might be some apple pie or something in the future as well :)

I got this recipe after seeing a picture for caramel apples in my recent Taste of Home magazine. They had the recipe on their site.

First, make sure your candy thermometer is reading the right temperature. You can do this by boiling a pot of water and putting the thermometer in it. It should read 212 degrees. If it doesn't, adjust the temperature in the recipe accordingly. Example: my thermometer read 205 in boiling water, so the final temperature of 248 should actually read 241. (This is one of those times that I seriously wonder why we don't use the metric system here... water boils at 212F or 100C, freezes at 32F and 0C... firm ball candy is 248F or 120C)

Second, even with our first apple, the dip wasn't quite deep enough in the pan. Maybe doubling this recipe or using a pan that isn't too wide would help with that.

1/2 cup butter, cubed

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

Dash of salt

1 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

10-12 popsicle sticks

10-12 apples

Desired toppings (nuts should be chopped)

• Wash and dry apples, remove stems, and insert popsicle sticks into top.
• In a large saucepan, melt butter.
• Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil.
• Stir in milk, cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm-ball stage).
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
• Dip each apple in to hot caramel mixture, turn to coat.
• Dip bottom in desired topping.
• Place on greased wax paper or parchment paper until set.

Chicken with Arugula Pesto

I found this recipe in one of my Food Network magazines. Originally I bought all of the correct items and was going to make it exactly as the recipe read... but by the time I got around to making it half of the food wasn't looking too great so I threw it out and winged it with what I had, haha. On top of that, I was in a hurry trying to do 100 things at once so I kind of changed how this is cooked so my hands would be free for other things. I'll give you the original recipe and then tell you what I changed!

Kosher salt
6 ounces orecchiette
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut in to pieces
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3 cups baby arugula
1/2 cup firmly packed fresh parsley
2 Tbsp almons or hazelnuts, toasted
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp water
4 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 medium tomatoes, halved
2 tsp whole-wheat breadcrumbs

• Bring pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook as directed on the box. About three minutes before pasta is done add the green beans.
• Drain pasta and beans and rinse under cold water. Toss with half of cheese, 1 Tbsp olive oil, lemon zest, and salt.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Puree the arugula, parsley, nuts, lemon juice, water, remaining cheese, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and salt to taste in food processor. Transfer to a boil.
• Pound chicken to about 1/2 inch thick, transfer to foil lined baking sheet and season with salt. Rub all over with 1/4 cup of pesto and broil, turning once, until cooked through (about 4-5 minutes per side).
• Arrange tomatoes, cut side up on another baking sheet and broil for 2 minutes. Spread with pesto and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Broil until golden (about one more minute).
• Serve chicken, tomatoes, and pasta with remaining pesto.

Ok, as you can see, this doesn't really look like the instructions say it should! My husband doesn't like tomatoes so we didn't use those and the green beans were looking pretty bad so I ended up using the broccoli we had. I also made a couple more changes!

• We couldn't find orecchiette so I ended up buying shells since they were kind of similar. I could not find plain arugula either. All the store had was a pack of arugula and spinach together, so the pesto is actually arugula and spinach.
• I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and cooked the chicken (we like to use both breast and thighs) for about 30 minutes while I prepared the rest of the meal. I did not pound it flat before I cooked it either.
• I threw some lemon juice in the pasta mix to add a little flavor.
• Then as things were getting close to done I put the pesto on top of the chicken and topped with the bread crumbs (we used panko instead) and some almonds and switched to the broiler. I left it in for another 5-10 minutes, or until it started turning golden brown on top.

My only tip is to be careful with the salt. For some reason it seems when I cook with Kosher salt things get saltier way faster and pesto is one of those things we've noticed seems to be too salty! I dialed it waaaay back for this meal and it was a lot better than it has been in the past.

Chocolate Torte

This is a dessert that has always been made for family gatherings or camping. I'm not sure where the recipe originally came from, I just always remember my mom having it. When I was little I used to like to take a piece and mix it all up in my bowl and eat it that way :)

When you go to buy the ingredients, make sure you get instant pudding. I don't know how, but I've managed to get the pudding you have to cook, not once, but twice!

Crust
1 & 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix all ingredients together and press in to bottom of 9 x 13 pan.
• Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.

Topping

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

12 oz cool whip

2 small packages chocolate instant pudding

3 cups milk

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• Blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 cup cool whip. Spread over cooled crust.
• Mix pudding and milk until soft set. Spread over cream cheese mixture.
• Cover with remaining cool whip and sprinkle with walnuts.

Banana Bars

An old neighbor gave me this recipe. It is an absolutely fantastic recipe. When my husband saw I was making it for the trip, his response was "Yeah, but what is everyone else going to eat?!" Haha :) It is always a favorite wherever we take it!

In my picture you'll notice I made it in a 10 x 14 pan. I did this because my oven isn't big enough to fit the pan called for in the recipe. It works both ways, so make whatever you prefer. The larger pan makes them pretty thin, but also means it makes "more" bars.

Bars
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 & 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 medium sized ripe bananas

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix together the butter and sugar until creamy.
• Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and blend.
• Add flour, baking soda, and salt and blend.
• Blend in mashed bananas.
• Pour in to greased 10 x 15 x 1 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp vanilla

3 & 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar

• Blend all ingredients together adding powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
• Top cooled cake and refrigerate.

Macaroni Salad

My mom has made this side dish for a few BBQs or family gatherings. It is fantastic, so for a recent trip I had to get the recipe from her. It was in one of her cookbooks, a church potluck collection.

Note that this recipe is HUGE! I halved it and still filled that bowl in my picture. Unless you literally need to feed an army, I would suggest always halving it. I will leave the recipe it's original size because it leaves some of the numbers a little more round.

The one thing I found difficult was actually finding the pimientos. I wasn't sure exactly what they were, let alone where in the store to find them. I knew they had something to do with olives (turns out they are the red things stuffed in green olives). In our local store I found them on the same area as the canned olives and peppers in a short little jar. Also, I purchased the ham already cooked and diced in the meat section of the grocery store.

2 lbs uncooked elbow macaroni
12 hard cooked eggs, chopped
2.5 lbs cubed fulled cooked ham
16 oz frozen peas, thawed
3 cups sliced celery
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 oz diced pimientos, drained
4 cups mayonnaise

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• Place in large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours.

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

I made these cookies for a bachelorette party a couple of weeks ago. You can see the recipe for the cookies and the poured icing here: Sugar Cookies with Poured Icing

Because I wanted them to be a little more decorated, I had to find a good icing for piping. I had never piped icing before so I looked up a few recipes online and kind of made up my own. I wanted an icing with some flavor in it, but I couldn't find any that used meringue powder, which is what I had. So I used this base recipe and replaced some of the water with some vanilla extract.

3 Tbsp meringue powder
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
6 Tbsp water (replace some with vanilla, lemon, or other extract for flavoring)

• Beat all ingredients together on low for 7-10 minutes or until low peaks form.
• Keep frosting covered with a wet towel as it dries out very quickly!

The pink frosting is the poured frosting and the grey is the royal. I piped the edge grey, poured the pink in, and then did the decorating after the top of the pink had set up a little bit.

If you can't tell, they're booty shorts and bras :)