A Ridiculously Fast, Ridiculously Good Ragu!

It's cold.  It's gloomy.  It's time to make a rapid ragu!

I got this recipe from the fabulous Nigella Lawson's cookbook, Nigella Express.  It's nothing short of amazing.  Beef?  Check.  Bacon?  Check.  Cheese?  Oh just give me my heart attack and be done with it!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons garlic oil
• 1 cup cubed pancetta (or bacon if you don't have pancetta handy)
• 1 pound ground lamb (I used a meatloaf mix)
• 1/4 cup caramelized onions *available at gourmet and specialty stores as Onion Confit, or recipe follows
• 1/3 cup Marsala
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup green lentils
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup grated red Leicester or Cheddar, optional

Directions:

• Heat the oil in a wide, medium-sized saucepan, and fry the pancetta until beginning to crisp.
• Add the lamb breaking it up with a fork in the bacony pan as it browns.
• Tip in the caramelized onions, Marsala, tomatoes, lentils and water and bring the pan to the boil.
• Simmer the ragu for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Sprinkle over the cheese before serving, if using.

Caramelized Onions:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups sliced onions (about 2 medium size onions)

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until the onions are a deep golden brown and soft, about 25 to 30 minutes. Make sure to use a gentle heat and cook the onions slowly so they don't burn. Onions will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week

 

I served this over angel hair, and Kyle ate the leftovers sans pasta for lunch the following day.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Sneaky Meatloaf

I know we've visited meatloaf before.  I promise you though, this meatloaf is a little bit different.  I did the usual with the ground meatloaf mix (lamb, beef, and pork), egg, and breadcrumbs.  Here's where we get a little sneaky...I pureed a bunch of yummy steamed veggies- peas, broccoli, carrots, celery and onion.  I topped it with pasta sauce, and there you go!  A super simple, super healthy, and incredibly easy dinner!

You need:

• 1 pound meatloaf mix
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 carrots
• 1 medium onion
• Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• Ketchup
• Broccoli (I use about a cup)
• Peas (I use a little less than a cup)
• Pasta Sauce
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

• Chop the celery, carrots and onions.  Sweat (cook until fork tender- you'll see moisture released as you do this) the celery, carrots and onions.  Steam the broccoli and peas. 
• Puree all of the vegetables.
• In a large bowl, add the vegetables, salt and pepper, egg, and a good squirt of ketchup.  Add enough breadcrumbs to bind it together so it's not slimy, but moist and firm.
• Preheat your oven to 350-degrees.
• Drizzle olive oil onto a baking sheet
• Form your meatloaf/spice/breadcrumb mixture into two small logs.
• Cook at 350-degrees for twenty minutes.  Top with pasta sauce (or if you don't like pasta sauce, my girlfriend Laraine swears by barbecue sauce- I've tried it and I've gotta say, it's a great change of pace, and is super yummy), and cook for 15-20 more minutes.
• Wait about five minutes so that you don't lose its juiciness, and serve.

Enjoy!

Mama's Meatloaf for the Fearful Eater

No matter how long you know someone, or how well you think you might know them, it always seems that there's always something new out there to surprise you.  For me, it's just how little my husband ate growing up.

The other day, I wanted meatloaf, and he responded with "I don't eat meatloaf.  It's disgusting."  I looked at him like he had three heads!  "What?  Didn't you eat it as a kid?  It's all the things you like..meat, ketchup.  Meat.  Ketchup?"

Needless to say, he conceded that he also didn't like spaghetti growing up, and now that he's an adult, he absolutely loves spaghetti and meatballs, so he agreed to give the meatloaf a try.  His reaction?  Yummo!  He liked it so much, he brought the leftovers to work for lunch!

This is a ridiculously easy way to make a meatloaf.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean beef (we usually get 90/10, but if that's too lean for you 80/20 is okay too.)

3/4 cup bread crumbs

(4) sprigs thyme (only use the leaves)

(1) egg

1/4 cup chopped, carmelized onions (I prefer Vidalia)

Dash of salt and pepper (optional)

Ketchup

This is what all of the ingredients in the bowl should look like:

Directions:

• Chop onions and put in a lightly oiled cast iron skillet on medium heat (I use a sprinkle of olive oil).  Cook the onions until they are a light golden brown.
• Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Mush them together with your hands or a fork.  You don't want to make it too dense though, otherwise the meatloaf won't be as light as it should be.
• Mold the meatloaf into an evenly wide and tall log.
• Put the mold in a lightly oiled/greased pan.
• Cover the top of the meatloaft with Ketchup
• Turn the heat in the oven to 350 degrees.  After the oven is preheated, place the meatloaf in the oven for 30 minutes.

Shazam! You have an easy peasy dinner!  This also reheats great for lunch!

Variations:

• You can add cheese to the mixture.  Parmesan for a more Italian flavoring!
• You can use spaghetti sauce, or plain tomato sauce.  I used ketchup because it's one of Kyle's favorite dippings sauces, and I don't add any salt to my meatloaf, so this gives it that extra kick it needs.
• Meatloaf mix makes the best meatloaf.  I used lean meat in this recipe because it's cheaper and easier to find.  Plus it's one of those things that's almost always on hand.
• You can add dried cranberries (I saw this on Dr. Oz the other day).
• You can also add the ketchup to the mixture if you want a tomato taste throughout.
• To make it totally different, if you have extra brown gravy, you can pour that overtop while it cooks for some yummy meaty goodness!
• If your kids hate onions, just use onion powder, or use a cheese shredder for the onions.  I've used a cheese shredder for onions with a lot of people who like the flavor but hate the texture.  It works every time.
• My friend Laraine suggested using barbeque sauce in place of the ketchup if you don't have a ketchup loving household.  I used to do this when I nannied and the little boy I nannied for hated ketchup, but would eat barbeque sauce on everything. (which really, can you blame him?  the stuff is kind of awesome!)

This is what the meatloaf will look like before you put some ketchup on it and pop it in the oven:

I'd have completed pictures of the meatloaf if Kyle hadn't dove into the sucker when I'd left the room for a minute!  I'm making this again this week, so I'll post more pics soon!