Meet the Meatloaf, You’re Newest Friend::

I must admit, it was difficult to get back into the swing of blogging after my week off for spring break (potentially my last…don’t want to talk about that).  This meatloaf has got me excited to cook, yet again!  My first stab at meatloaf involved an entire bottle of barbecue sauce, lots of ketchup, and generous amounts of brown sugar.  Needless to say, it didn’t make it to the blog.

This recipe however came out great.  Inspiration for this recipe came from a recipe I found on Epicurious for turkey meatloaf.  However, it was not until I was grocery shopping that I realized that ground turkey had nearly as much fat as ground beef, so I decided to go for the real deal.  (There is ground turkey breast which is nearly fat free, but it is much more expensive.  I can’t vouch for its flavor, though I would bet that it’s not nearly as tasty as beef.)  Once I realized I wasn’t actually making a turkey meatloaf, I really ventured from the original recipe, adding additional spice and sweetness.  The final product was a recipe which I will definitely repeat.

What you will need:

• Cutting Board
• Large Knife
• Peeler
• Bowl
• Measuring Cup
• Rimmed Baking Sheet

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped
• 1 Cup Zucchini, Coarsely Grated
• 3/4 Cup Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped
• 3/4 Cups Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Cup Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 1/5 lbs Ground Beef
• 1/2 Cup Peach Preserves
• 1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease the baking sheet.

Use the peeler long ways on the zucchini to make thin strips.  Cut the strips to be short pieces.  Place one cup in the bowl and discard any extra.

The peeler/knife method worked well, but a larger grater would also do the trick.

Chop the onion and parsley finely and add to the bowl.

Chop the parsley finely. As you can see I did not use the stems.

Add the ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, chili sauce, and garlic to the bowl.

Add the ingredients to a large mixing bowl as you prepare each one.

Wash your hands–they are your mixing tool so do it thoroughly!

Mix the ingredients with your hands, making sure to evenly distribute the zucchini, onion, and other ingredients.

Iron Chef?

On the pan, form a loaf 2-3 inches high, 8-10 inches long, and about 4 inches wide.

Bake for 20 minutes.

My lovely assistant (my hands were dirty)

While baking, make the topping.  Combine the mustard, preserves, and brown sugar in a bowl.

The topping is very simple, yet stands out in this recipe.

After 20 minutes, remove the meatloaf from the oven and cover with the topping (make sure you get the sides too).

Return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Thanks Hannah & Grant for being my guinea pigs!

You too Chad! Glad you're back!

Cornflake Crusted Ranch Chicken

Anyone who knows me well knows that chicken usually isn’t my entrée of choice. Aside from Chicken Marsala, the chicken I like is usually greasy, fried, or both.  So, when I came across this recipe, it seemed like it may be a healthier version of the crispy comfort food we all love.  While it didn’t really remind me of fried chicken, it was tasty none-the-less.

I added more spice, seasoning, and a ranch twist to the original recipe.  The final product was well received by my guests!

What you will need:

• Medium Sized Bowl
• Large Ziploc Bag
• Large Baking Sheet

Ingredients:

• 16 Ounce Container of Regular or Light Sour Cream: Don’t use fat free!
• 1/2 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper: I used about 1/4 tablespoon and think it could have used a bit more; however, this depends on personal preference.
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder or Italian Seasoning: I used garlic, but Italian seasoning would serve the same purpose.
• 3 Cups Crushed Cornflakes
• 1 Packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
• 3 Chicken Breasts, Halved, Trimmed, & Pounded: Halve the chicken breasts, trim the fat, and pound with a meat pounder or other heavy, nonabrasive object. Pounding the chicken makes the pieces tender and of even thickness.
• 1 Tbsp Butter: Used to grease the baking sheet.

Instructions:

Wash your hands well, as you will be using them to crush the cornflakes.

Place the cornflakes in the bowl and crush throughly.  Add the crushed red pepper and garlic powder or italian seasoning, and mix.

Seasoning the corn flakes with plenty of garlic powder will add a lot of flavor to this dish. I recommend being generous with the pepper if you & your guests are fans of spice! (I crushed the flakes even smaller than what is shown in this picture.)

Directly in the 16 ounce container of sour cream, mix in about 3/4 of the ranch dip packet.

Avoid dirtying another dish by dipping the chicken directly into the sour cream container.

Dredge each chicken breast in the sour cream and place it inside the ziploc bag. When all the chicken breasts are coated in the sour cream, empty the remaining contents into the bag.  Store in the refrigerator until 40 minutes before you plan to serve the dish.

Allow the chicken to marinate, if possible, to enhance absorption of flavor and moisture of the chicken.

Preheat the oven to 350 °Fahrenheit. Grease the baking sheet.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. One at a time, remove chicken pieces from the bag and place in the bowl of crumbs. Flip to cover both sides.  Make sure each breast is covered with a generous amount of sour cream before coating in the crumbs. Place the crumb-coated chicken breasts on the baking sheet.

The chicken, prior to baking.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven & serve.

The cornflakes should form a crust around the chicken.

I served with a little bit of ranch dip and grated colby cheese, not necessary, but a nice addition.

Thanks to Michelle & Evan (you too, Grant) for coming to dinner and being the guinea pigs of new recipes!

Italian Night: Thick, Creamy Chicken Marsala

You probably won’t be guzzling a bottle of Marsala wine before your next night out, but it sure makes for one mean Italian dish.  So long as you like mushrooms, this recipe is for you.

In Chicken Marsala, chicken breasts are pounded so that they are thin and tender.  They are then floured, braized, served with a Marsala Sauce.  In this recipe, the Marsala Sauce is based from a roux, then spiced up with herbs, garlic, and Marsala wine.

A roux is a cooked mixture of flour and fat.  It is used as a thickener in sauces, particularly Italian and French, and in soups and gravy.

Allow yourself about 45 minutes to prepare this dish your first time, more if you are especially slow. Vegetarians, this dish may be for you! Simply replace the chicken with firm, sliced tofu, or, do like me and forgo it altogether (I just eat the pasta and sauce, though I still make the chicken for everyone else).

What you will need:

• Large Knife
• Cutting Board
• Large Saucepan
• Serving Dish
• Newspaper
• Plate
• Fork or Tongs
• Whisk
• Spoon or Spatula

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Marsala Wine: This is usually found near the olive oil and packaged similarly. No ID necessary for purchase, but it’s not something you’d want to drink.
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1-2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil, Chopped
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1 Package Mushrooms, Sliced: I bought a 12 ounce package of whole white mushrooms.  You can buy the mushrooms presliced, but they do not last as long when stored uncooked in the refrigerator.
• 4 Tbsp Butter, Salted
• 2-4 Cloves Garlic, Minced: This is sold in a jar, but you will get a better flavor if you mince a few fresh cloves just before cooking.
• 1/2 Can Chicken Broth
• 1/2 Small Container Heavy Cream
• 1 Container Fresh Linguine: I used the Buitoni Brand, which is available at most grocery stores.  I highly recommend using fresh pasta.  Even the most undiscriminating palate will be able to taste the difference.

Find Buitoni fresh pasta in a refigerated case at your local grocer.

Instructions:

First, prepare all the ingredients.

• Slice the mushrooms, chop the fresh basil, and mince the garlic.
• Halve the chicken breasts (as if into two slices of bread) and trim off any fat. Pound the pieces with a mallet or spoon to make them evenly thin and tender. The pieces should be about 1/4 inch thick.
• Combine the flour, pepper, dried basil, and salt. Place the mixture on a plate, large piece of wax paper, or cutting board.

In the saucepan, melt the butter. While it is melting, flour each piece of chicken.  Make sure that chicken’s entire surface is thinly coated with the flour.

The chicken is coated in the seasoned flour before braising.

When melted, add the chicken to the pan. Brown the chicken on each side, then transfer to the newspaper.

While making the sauce, place the chicken on newspaper to absorb any dripping butter.

Add the olive oil, mushrooms, fresh basil and garlic to the pan.  Stir.

Add the chicken broth, stir, and allow to simmer for a minute or two.

I made my roux unconventionally. Usually the flour is combined with the fat, but I created more volume by first adding 1/2 a can of chicken broth.

It is now time to thicken the sauce.  First, start stirring with the whisk. While stirring, gradually add about half of the leftover seasoned flour used to coat the chicken.

• Whisking continually while gradually adding the flour prevents it from clumping.

Add the Marsala wine and stir in. Add the cream. Stir. Turn the heat all the way to low.

Cook the fresh pasta. Be sure to follow carefully follow the instructions on the package because fresh pasta usually cooks for just 2 to 3 minutes or less. Drain the pasta.

Place a piece of chicken on a bed of pasta. Top with a generous spoonful of sauce.  Garnish with fresh or dried basil if desired.

Serve the chicken with a spoonful of sauce over a bed of fresh pasta. Delish!

Dig in!

Originally he only came to keep us company, but James couldn't resist!

Barbecue Brisket

For those of you who have little experience cooking red meat, brisket it a great place to start. Gauging the amount of time to cook steak can be difficult for a beginner.  You don’t want the meat tough and dry, but you want to make sure that the cow has stopped mooing.  With brisket, this aspect of red meat is not an issue.  As long as you keep the meat moist, it’s pretty hard to mess up.

Brisket can be made many ways. I am familiar with numerous recipes that incorporate onion soup mix. I have a favorite that is made with a chili sauce, but i’ll save that recipe for next time. The following recipe came out great, especially since it’s difficult to cook BBQ while living without a grill!

What you will need:

• Mixing Bowl
• Plastic Wrap
• Tin Foil
• Casserole Dish
• Spoon: For mixing and redistributing the sauce while cooking
• Large Knife
• Cutting Board

Ingredients:

• 1 Beef Brisket: The following recipe should make enough for up to 3 lbs. of meat. I used a 1.3 lb brisket, so some minor adjustments may need to be made. If you can’t find any small cuts of meat at the store, ask to have one cut in half.

For Dry Rub:

• 1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
• 1 Tsp Sugar
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Cumin
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Pepper

For Cooking Sauce:

• 1 Cup Beer or Champagne
• 1.5 Tsp Liquid Smoke
• 1 Bottle of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce: I like the “Hickory & Brown Sugar” and “Sweet Vidalia Onion” varieties
• Hot Sauce
• 1/8 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg: No need to measure, just sprinkle a little in.

For Topping Sauce:

• BBQ Sauce
• 1 Tsp Liquid Smoke: This can usually be found at the grocery store near the BBQ sauces.
• 1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar: Cider Vinegar works too, but I had none in the house
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• Hot Sauce: I did not add any, but if you like your BBQ spicy, go for it!

Instructions:

Combine the nutmeg, sugar, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and pepper to make the dry rub.

Rub the entire mixture evenly over the brisket.  You do not need to rub the fat side.

Evenly cover the brisket with the dry rub.

Wrap the brisket tightly with plastic wrap to keep the air out.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

After 3 or more hours, remove the brisket from the refrigerator, unwrap, and place fat-side up in the casserole dish.  Try to use a dish only a little bit larger than the piece of meat.

Combine the ingredients for the cooking sauce. Add hot sauce to your liking (I used 2 liberal dashes).

Pour the sauce over the brisket. Cover the dish tightly with tin foil. Bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 1 1/2 hours.

• If you are using a larger brisket, bake for about 3 hours.
• About every hour, you should remove the foil from the dish and redistribute the sauce over any areas that are not immersed.  This helps to prevent dryness.

The brisket, which bakes almost totally immersed in cooking sauce.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 30 minutes.

Remove from the dish and slice the brisket.

Replace the slices to the casserole dish.  Recover and return to oven.

Allow to bake for another 1-3 hours, but make sure that the slices are covered with the sauce periodically.

• If you are uncertain as to cooking time, test a slice. The meat should be easy to cut and tender when chewing.
• Remember, it is hard to overcook a brisket when cooked in this fashion. When it is immersed in a liquid and tightly covered it will not dry out.
• I baked my brisket for 1 1/2 hours, sliced it, returned it to the dish, and stored it in the refrigerator overnight.  The following day, I baked it for 2 – 2 1/2  hours.

Combine the ingredients for the topping sauce before serving.

Serve the brisket directly from the casserole dish, with the topping on the side.

The final product, shown served with Sweet Potato & Squash Mash.

Brisket is complimented by starchy side dishes. Try serving it with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or flavorful rice.

If this recipe sounds complicated, feel free to ask questions!