Sunday, August 22, 2010

Family Classic Meatloaf

Family Classic Meatloaf

From Kraft.com

prep time

5 min

total time

1 hr

makes

6 servings

What You Need

1-1/2 lb. extra-lean ground beef

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 Onion, chopped

1 Egg, beaten

1 tsp. Dried thyme leaves

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed tomato soup, divided

1/4 cup Chili sauce

Make It

HEAT oven to 350°F.
MIX first 5 ingredients. Add 1/2 cup soup; mix well. Press into 8x4-inch loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.
BAKE 55 min. or until done (160ºF). About 10 min. before the meatloaf is done, cook remaining soup and chili sauce in saucepan on medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.
REMOVE meatloaf from pan; top with soup mixture.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/family-classic-meatloaf-90487.aspx
My Notes:

This the BEST meatloaf EVER! If you don't like meatloaf,try this recipe and give meatloaf one more chance!!
I don't use the chili sauce. Plain ol tomato soup works for me. We usually top our meatloaf with cheese or gravy.
Substitute ground turkey for beef-sooo good.
I add shredded or small cubed cheddar cheese to the mix.This is over the TOP! Bad for the muffin top..haha
Top meatloaf with the following before baking or during last half hour depending on ingredient:
mashed potatoes
cheese
bacon
sauteed mushrooms/onions/zucchini
any combo of the above..
Remember,you might as well make a double batch and freeze one or two....
:)

Cabbage Rolls

CABBAGE ROLLS

Printed from COOKS.COM

2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground pork
3 medium onions, chopped
4 cups cooked white rice
1 cup bacon bits
3 tablespoon butter
3 medium heads cabbage, frozen and thawed
salt and pepper to taste
onion, garlic, basil to taste
3 x 28 oz cans tomato sauce

This is a great recipe for those who do not want to boil the cabbage and brown the meats.Place cabbage heads in a chest freezer for 2 or 3 days prior to day of making the rolls. The night before making the rolls, remove cabbage from freezer and allow to defrost overnight. Remove core from cabbage heads and discard. Line aluminum baking pan with a thin layer of tomato sauce, topped with first few cabbage leaves.
In skillet, melt butter, add onions and bacon bits. Sauté until tender.
Meanwhile, prepare rice as per box directions.
In a very large mixing bowl, combine beef and pork, onions, bacon bits and cooked rice. Add salt and pepper and all spices. Mix together very well.
Peel cabbage from head (the cabbage leaves will virtually fall off), spoon meat mixture onto cabbage leaf. Roll leaf, folding ends in and place in baking dish seam side down. Continue until baking dish is full. DO NOT STACK ROLLS.
Add a coating of butter to the top of each roll. Pour tomato sauce over top. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 90 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes and serve.
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1626,134182-250195,00.html

My Notes:

I don't care much for onions so I used less and added garlic.
I used 2 boxes of Rice A Roni Spanish Rice mix plus a little instant rice instead (this was a TON of filling)
I made the leftover filling into "riceballs" that I baked and froze for a later meal.
We love cabbage and although we liked the recipe I will use spaghetti sauce next time instead of tomato sauce. Also,to the filling, I will add a diced green pepper and more fresh cooked bacon bits instead of premade bacon bits in a jar.
Picked because it was a good "Make Ahead Meal' to freeze for later. The recipe makes about 2, 9x13 pans (two meals).

Recipe Time!

I wish that I were talented enough..... to photograph,share and comment about the recipes I make,all in one blog...but I'm not. I'll work on it but... don't expect miracles. Per request of my friends and blog followers I will start sharing my favorite recipes! For those of you who don't enjoy the cooking part,sorry! Bare with me as I share one of my favorite hobbies :)

"Make Ahead Meal Day"

I am exhausted.

Today I accomplished a small miracle in my kitchen.

I made:

2 meatloaves

2 chicken casseroles

meatballs(for the first time)

2 pans of cabbage rolls(new recipe)

"riceballs"(From the leftover cabbage roll filling)

Double batch of chocolate cookies-some baked and some dough in the freezer for later)

24 vanilla cupcakes

24 chocolate cupcakes frosted with too much chocolate,vanilla and german chocolate frosting.

AND...

Aside from 2 lbs. of beef , 1 lb. of sausage and some veggies from our garden etc that I already had...

I only spent $55 to make it all!

6 meals in the freezer for nights we need a no brainer dinner!

With some practice I could get good at this..

I love saving money

AND

I love no brainers

PS.

Yes I remembered to make sweet little 3 year old Madison a "Carapackage" of cookies and sparkly cupcakes

;)

Saturday, August 21, 2010

My-Day Friday

What did I do today?

I slept in until almost 11am.

I love sleeping in

but I don't like waking up feeling like half the day is already gone.

Chip and I went for coffee and a Milkbone and returned home,

just me and my favorite dog

and our favorite show,

those crazy Kardashian girls...

We also sat in the sun and shared stories with Del and Mikey.

They were setting up to work on the siding and porch overhang today.

Sometime around 1pm I became motivated enough to shower.

Vern came home and we escaped to go garage sailing.

We scored a great REI back back for $10!

Ironically the sale was at Sheila Shannon's house!

(remember the previous post about how I was reading her book and she came to me for a haircut?)

Funny how I keep running into her.

She is sweet as pie :)

We took a detour through the mountains up beyond Mt. Peak.

At a lookout we pulled over to enjoy the view and I snagged a great chunk of moss to take home!

I love free "gifts"from Mother Nature!

(well, except the monthly one..haha)

I was a happy girl :)

As we rolled into the driveway I saw an awesome surprise!

My new solar powered lanterns were hung just the way I wanted them on the back porch!

The guys had pulled a fast one on me..and I loved it!

I hear it was all Del's idea but I know Vern and Mikey were in on it too ;)

I am a lucky girl!

As you can see the finish work is still coming along...I cropped out the lumber/power tool mess in the yard.

I have no desire to remember that!haha

While the camera was out I tried to take a few pics of Chipper but that crazy little dog never seems to cooperate during a photo shoot.

So here he is in one his more popular poses..

"May I have the treat?!"

I didn't even have to cook-

Vern took me out to eat at our favorite spot,The Lee.

A little local restaurant with good food and an entertaining parade of "regulars".

Trevor also works there as a cook/dishwasher but wasn't working tonight.

With full bellies we waddled home and...

There I was again-

snuggled in bed,

this time with my favorite person,

and some of our favorite shows.

Whale Wars I think..

Tomorrow I am cooking "Make Ahead Meals" to freeze for future dinners.

I am buying and preparing fresh beets and also quinoa for the first time in the next few weeks.

These two sound like cheap and simple super foods that might help change things up in our usual ol' menu.

I am also making cookies and cupcakes.

Cute cupcakes.

Cute enough to wow a 3 year old girl..

She requested the "cookie lady" make her some cupcakes too! haha

How can I say no?

Oh I am going to have fun with this!

I will take pics :)

Friday, August 20, 2010

Independence.... Rocks

This was a long week. I wish I had the brain power left to make this a proper blog but...I don't,so bear with me :)

It's the time of year all cosmetologists secretly dread....back to school. Don't get me wrong,I love what I do but this time of year salons are packed with teenagers,one of the toughest age groups to please. Appearance is everything at that age and insecurities run high.

Thankfully it's only about 4 weeks a year and we are half way done :)

A friend of Del's gave us a rock tumbler.We have been needing one badly as we have numerous buckets of agates. This is all a new experience for me and I am super anxious to see all my beach finds polished and smooth. We added about 6 pounds of rocks into the tumbler,4 tbls of medium grit sand and enough water to cover the rocks 2/3.We put on the lid and wah la! Somehow I knew there would be a catch......So you put the tumbler on the machine and it turns and churns the rocks..but get this-you have to leave it on for 24 hours a day for 7 days! WhAt?! I have to be patient?!! That was NOT in the instructions and that's a LONG TIME! Let's just hope that means that they will look especially beautiful because good things take time? So in the meanwhile I sit here listening to what sounds like a little rock slide in our laundry room...and I will be...for 5 more days.Trying not to peek ;o) I'm hoping they look something like this..

Vern's son Trevor turns 18 in a few days.He wants to go to the zoo..I'm thinking they'll try to keep him!Haha Just kidding! I couldn't be more excited to go to the zoo! I have lived here almost 14 years and have never been-that's just stupid!
18 seems to be a bittersweet time for a parent and child. That time when every parent knows that what they have taught their children will be put to the test. The child goes charging off into the world with his new super power of "independence". All the while, the parent knowing how unforgiving and tough the world can be...and how quickly that independence can be taken away.
For a divorced father this is also the joyous time when he gets to stop sending the child's mother support! Yay Vern!! How weird a song just jumped in my head.."Ding dong the....

Let's be clear though-Vern will always be there for Trevor no matter what age he is. He is an awesome father and has always made sure Trevor had nice clothes on his back,food in his tummy and a few bucks in his pocket. The hard part was watching Trevor's Mom drink the support money away at the local bar. We see her rig there 3-5 nights a week if not more. I could go on but I won't. I could blame her for a lot of things but I won't.

I(We) will allow myself (ourselves) to celebrate Vern's (our) "independence" from her. I guess independence does feel good...and I can't blame the kid for wanting to experience it for the first time too,even though I know it's so hard for his Dad :')

We have harvested a cornucopia of veggies from the garden! Cabbage,broccoli,zucchini,green beans,snap peas and one ripe cherry tomato! The sunflowers are 8 feet tall and blooming like crazy! Mother Nature may I have just two more months of sun? Pretty pretty please?! I still have so many summer projects to do and not enough money to start the interior ones yet! I yi-yi-yi-yi....

Right now..Del is making me a grilled ham and cheese sandwich yummmm. Midnight munchies from him are always a cardiac arrest of goodness. I could say no..but I won't. But I do need to say ta ta for now-my sandwich is ready :)