Meatloaf 'n Biscuits - You know Southern Comfort Food

You know I love me some good home cookin'. Nothing says comfort and home like meatloaf. As long as you don't really think about the name meat loaf. Meat. Loaf. Bleck, sorry.

My kids even love meatloaf. Seriously. LOVE it.

Plus meatloaf goes really well with mashed potatoes and biscuits. Homemade buttermilk drop biscuits. Mmmm.

So, I tried these new recipes from here. They're awesome and so is her blog.

SAUCY MEATLOAF

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 egg - beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used whole wheat, increases the fiber)

2 oz. tomato sauce

1 medium onion - minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1.4 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

---Sauce---

4 oz. tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp. vinegar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tbsp. worchestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375°. In a bowl combine beef, egg, bread crumbs, tomato sauce, onion and spices. Mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients, don't over mix. Mound into a loaf shape and place into a high sided baking dish, just larger than the loaf.

In the same bowl combine the sauce ingredients: tomato sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, mustard and worchestershire sauce. Mix to blend in brown sugar, then gently pour over the loaf. Bake 60 - 75 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then slice and serve with more sauce on each side.

Serve with mashed potatoes (the sauce is really good as gravy for potatoes).

BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS

2 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk - COLD

8 tbsp. unsalted butter - melted and cooled slightly

2 tbsp. unsalted butter - melted for brushing tops

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475°. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl combine the cold buttermilk and the melted and slightly cooled butter. Stir until buttermilk forms clumps.

Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from side of the bowl.

Using a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop level amounts and batter and drop onto greased baking sheet. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, approximately 12 - 14 minutes.

Brush biscuit tops with remaining butter. Transfer to wire rack or serve.

Thai Dessert

I will get around to posting my pictures of the fridge one day. Until then, enjoy one of my favorite desserts that my husband introduced me too. Mangoes are so good right now so try this soon. This recipe has been adapted to just use jasmine rice instead of the hard to find true sticky rice. During a morning sickness couple of months I ate this quite a bit... for a meal. That's healthy, right? This serves six people that are not eating this for a meal. =)
Thai Sticky Rice with Mango (Kow Neuw Mamuang)
1 cup uncooked Jasmine Rice
1-13.5 oz can Coconut Milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ripe mangoes

In a medium saucepan bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice and briefly stir. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 15 minutes or until water is just absorbed.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan, combine Coconut Milk, sugar and salt. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
Add the hot Coconut Milk sauce to the cooked rice. Stir until mixed.
Lightly press plastic wrap onto mixture in saucepan to cover. Let rest 30 minutes at room temperature.
Peel and slice the mangoes.
With large spoon or ice cream scoop, spoon the sticky rice onto plates and garnish with mango slices.
If desired, you can top with coconut syrup which is also excellent with banana pancakes the next day.

Coconut Syrup
1-13.5 oz can Coconut Milk
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, firmly packed

In a medium saucepan, mix Coconut Milk with sugar. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently until reduced to 1 1/2 cups of syrup (about 10 to 15 minutes).
Cool to lukewarm and serve, or refrigerate for later. Coconut syrup will keep in refrigerator for one week.
My favorite Thai Recipe website is: Thai Table. Give some recipes a try!

Yogurt Update

I did try this recipe with 2% milk on the last batch. It was a bit runnier than the batches I've made with whole milk; I tried adding some unflavored gelatin (without reading the instructions) and it didn't really work well. I think I'll try this again, but use powdered milk to thicken it up instead of the unflavored gelatin. (or I'll try using the gelatin correctly...)

I'll update again after my next batch, which may be awhile - soccer season just started and I'm crazy busy!

New Project For You

I spent last week stocking up on great deals on meat (a staple at our house, sorry vegetarians...I bought vegetables too). Saturday I spent packaging and preparing a fridge and freezer full of food. Seriously, you'll see the pictures below.

While I was packaging ground beef, roasting turkey, soaking beans and culturing yogurt I thought of a fun little project for all of us. (Yes, that means me, Karen and you, the four readers that we have)

One of the blogs I enjoy reading features a look inside someone's pantry each Saturday. And, since we've purchased our shelving for our new pantry and I can actually see the end of the pantry-less tunnel, we're going to do something similar. Now, since I don't yet have my pantry (unless you count the shelves pushed against the wall in my dining room...I don't) we're doing fridges instead.

I took pictures of my fridge and freezer...UNEDITED...and made a complete inventory of what was in my fridge Saturday night at 10 p.m.

I want you to do the same and send it to me. C'mon, it'll be fun, plus you might find some random thing in the back left corner that you'd forgotten about. Right?

So, send all pictures and lists to me at the email listed on my profile. I can't wait to see what you keep in there!

Here's my list...(sorry it's long)

Fridge

2 gallons 1% milk

2 gallons 2% milk

1/2 gallon buttermilk

24 oz. sour cream

24 oz. cottage cheese

8lb. 10 oz. container Pace picante sauce (medium)

lemon juice

apple juice

quart homemade buttermilk syrup

1 container cool whip

1 pint heavy whipping cream

homemade cream cheese frosting (blue)

homemade cranberry mustard

chopped green onions

container full of roasted turkey

6 cool whip containers of homemade plain yogurt

1 big long venison summer sausage

baking soda

18 oz. sliced mushrooms

4 lbs. medium cheddar cheese

30 ct. package corn tortillas

2 pkg. bologne

8 string cheese

1 pkg. hot dog

1 1/2 lbs. mozzarella cheese

1 lb. sliced ham (sandwich)

1 1/2 cubes margarine

26 store bought yogurts

32 oz. velveeta

2 pkg. refrigerator buttermilk biscuits

grape jelly

dill pickles

homemade hot fudge sauce

leftover fried rice

leftover breakfast (pancakes, poached eggs, ham)

64 oz. applesauce

2 dozen eggs

cauliflower

broccoli

zucchini

cabbage

carrots

asparagus

limes

green onions

sliced ham (for St. Patrick's day "green eggs & ham)

2 cubes butter

7 pkgs. cream cheese

oyster sauce

wasabi horseradish

soy sauce

spicy brown mustard

worchestershire sauce

honey mustard

parmesan cheese

Stubb's BBQ sauce

caramel sauce

yellow mustard

Miracle Whip

Masterpiece BBQ sauce

Catalina dressing

ranch dressing

thousand island dressing

italian dressing

sweet pickle relish

Freezer:

ice

2 half gallon containers vanilla ice cream

2 lbs. butter

2 lbs. monterey jack cheese

2 lbs. colby jack cheese

2 containers limeade

vanilla and chocolate almond bark

otter pops

3 ice packs

ham hock

1 loaf banana bread

1 package tabasco chocolates

20 lbs. ground beef

1 pkg. mahi mahi

2 pkg. tilapia

1 frozen pie crust

1 container homemade split pea soup

1 bag tator tots

1 huge container yeast

1 (18 pk.) pancake and sausage on a stick

2 pkgs. frozen whole strawberries

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach

2 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli

6 lbs. chicken breast

6 cool whip containers cooked black beans

2 beef roasts

2 pkgs. boneless pork ribs

5 lbs. frozen shrimp

1 pkg. smoked sausage

72 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

6 pkgs. hot dogs

1 turkey breast

1 pkg. ground italian sausage

2 pkg. backstrap venison

1 venison summer sausage

1 pkg. frozen mini bagels

Sunny with a Chance of Delicious Meatballs

Want a delicious meal your kids will beg you for again and again? Don't mind getting your hands a little dirty in the process? Great!

SWEET & SOUR MEATBALLS

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup crushed crackers (I used a combination of saltine and Townhouse)

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons onion, minced

2 tablespoons milk

salt

pepper

1 tablespoon oil (I used extra-virgin olive oil)

2/3 cup chili sauce

2/3 cup grape jelly

Mix ground beef with crackers, egg, garlic, onion, milk, salt and pepper. Form mixture into meatballs, approximately 40. Heat oil in frying pan and brown meatballs on all sides. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Combine jelly and chili sauce; pour over meatballs.

Heat, stirring occasionally until jelly is melted. Simmer 10 - 12 minutes until sauce has thickened up, basting occasionally.

I decided to take another route with this and put the meatballs in the crockpot after browning. I covered them with the sauce and turned the crockpot on low. I'll serve tonight with seasoned brown rice, a side of steamed broccoli and garlic bread. Mmm!

Tortillas

I really need to work on my taking food picture skills. FLOUR TORTILLAS
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4-6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard
about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add vegetable shortening or lard. Or use a combination of half lard, half shortening.
Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening or just do it the old fashioned
way and use your hands. I actually just used my paddle in the Kitchen Aid.

Next add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky. You do
not need very hot water. You'll need to switch to your bread hook if using a Kitchen Aid.

Knead the dough for a few minutes.

Now you will pull off pieces of dough to form about 12 small dough balls. Let them
rest covered for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like.

Now you can roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Cook each side just a few seconds on a hot griddle or a skillet.

Crockpot Yogurt, because you asked...

Take this:

Put it in this:

To make this:

Yummy, creamy homemade plain yogurt made in your crockpot!

I know Karen posted a great yogurt recipe here, but I'm an absolute chicken when it comes to measuring temperatures with a thermometer. I go for easy. Seriously easy.

Here's the secret recipe, which I adapted from the one found here. You can easily 1/2 this recipe for a smaller family, or one that doesn't eat as much yogurt as we do.

Homemade Crockpot Yogurt

1 gallon whole milk (I've only used whole, but this week I'll be trying it with 1%, I'll let you know)

1 cup store bought plain yogurt with live cultures (or if you've made it before keep a starter)

frozen/fresh fruit for flavoring

crockpot

blanket or large towel

I typically start this process mid-afternoon. This allows me to do all the steps before I go to bed and I wake up to a crockpot full of nice creamy yogurt. Trust me, it's the best way - unless you want to get up really early.

Turn crockpot to low.

Pour milk into crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

Leaving the crockpot lid on, unplug crockpot and let sit for 3 hours.

After 3 hours scoop out 4 cups of the milk and stir in one cup of yogurt starter/store-bought plain yogurt.

Pour mixture back into the crockpot and stir.

Put lid back on crockpot, leave it unplugged, and wrap the entire crockpot with a heavy towel or blanket to insulate.

This is where you can go to bed for 8 hours...or you can just wait.

After 8 hours you'll have yogurt. Easy, eh? It is thinner than store-bought yogurt, but it has all the same nutrients with less of the bad stuff, like sugar. If you want, you can add a packet of unflavored gelatin after you add the starter to thicken it up more. You can also try adding some powdered milk to thicken it.

You can blend fruit into the yogurt after it sets up. I keep mine plain and add flavorings upon serving it.

The yogurt will store in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. Remember to keep 1 cup for a starter.

More Oatmeal... in pie form

You're welcome.

OATMEAL PIE

1 oatmeal pie crust, prebaked

4 eggs
3/4 c sugar
2 T flour mix (like Bisquick)
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/2 c maple syrup
1/2 c corn syrup
2 T butter, melted
1 t vanilla
1 c rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs well, then add sugar, flour mix, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine, then add maple syrup, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. Fold in oats, pour into prepared pie crust and bake 45 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

-

OATMEAL PIE CRUST

1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (I used oat)
1 1/2 cups Quick cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1 1/2 cups Brown sugar packed
1 cup Butter softened
1 cup Walnuts chopped, optional

Combine flour & baking soda; stir in oats & brown sugar. Cut in softened butter, mixing well, using your hands if needed to combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Press into two 8-inch pie pans or a 9x13-inch baking pan.
If using precooked filling, bake pie at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Will make enough crust for TWO 8-inch pies or used as a crust for bars (apple, lemon, etc)
Recipe can be halved or doubled easily.

Popcorn Popping In the....

Freshly revived, circa 1985? hot air popper, recently acquired from the in-laws...

Mmmm.

Seriously. Other than last week, when my Mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe and popped popcorn on her STOVETOP...I couldn't tell you the last time I had air (or stove) popped popcorn.

I don't eat a lot of popcorn anyway. My husband doesn't care for it, the babies might choke on it, and the kids just wipe their fingers on anything other than their napkins. We don't eat a lot of it. But it's good. And I'm all about easy. Like microwave popcorn easy...

But last week we had Caramel Corn. Homemade, really good, sticky, chewy caramel corn. And the kids needed a snack tonight, so I brought out the air popper for some fun and an encore of Shane's cousin's easy recipe.

Look good? It is.

Want easy? It is.

Caramel Corn a la Nicole

5-6 cups popcorn

1/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

Bring butter, sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a medium saucepan. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over popcorn. Stir, and serve.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have a new favorite Cinnamon Roll recipe. Beware! You will not be able to eat only one. That is why I don't even have a picture. They disappeared.

I made this recipe with a cream cheese frosting.

Yummy in my Tummy! Thanks Ree!