Meatloaf 4 Ways!

I have a confession...when my husband is on business trips, I eat way more popcorn than a normal person would ever consider consuming...and I tend to live on leftovers.

During Kyle's last business trip, I made Laela and I some delicious turkey meatloaf. You might be thinking, "meatloaf? How boring! How on Earth can anyone live on meatloaf for a week?!" Well, let me tell you this- meatloaf is awesome. You can eat it cold on a sandwich (some people like it with mayo, others with ketchup, or some top it with tons of lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and/or pesto). You can eat it hot and steaming with mashed potatoes, veggies, and brown gravy. You can chop it up, mix in some bbq sauce in a medium hot pan until it's well heated, put it on a bun and yum! You've got a tasty sandwich!

My latest discovery for leftover meatloaf may very well be my favorite. I cooked some hericots verts (french green beans) in a medium-hot pan with 2 cloves of finely sliced garlic, 1/2 a roughly chopped tomato, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Once the beans were good and crispy, the tomatoes were oozing flavor, and the garlic was clear and aromatic, I transferred the green beans to a plate.  In the same pan (without turning off the heat) I drizzled a small bit of olive oil (about a 1/2 tsp), chopped the meatloaf to bits (2 servings), threw in 3 chopped up basil leaves, 1/4 cup of chicken broth, and added the other half of the roughly chopped tomato to the mix. I cooked it on medium heat for about 2 minutes, then let it reduce for about 30 seconds on high heat, stirring to make sure nothing stuck to the pan. Man oh man, was it ridiculously delicious. It was like a gourmet meal for the lazy...or the very tired mama.

This meal is proof that no matter how tired you are, you don't have to grab the phone and order that take-out that's just going to make you feel awful.  Sure, it's fine for once in a while, but if you have a life like most people, you're busy, and it's easy to get in a take-out rut.  Do yourself a favor, Drop the phone, and try cooking. This dinner took less than ten minutes to throw together.  The meatloaf itself is only 5 minutes or less of prep.  Plus, the more often you try new techniques and recipes, the more quickly you will be able to get things done in the kitchen.  Be a fearless home cook!

For a really great meatloaf recipe, click here. Just replace the 1lb beef for 1lb ground turkey (I prefer 1/2 dark and 1/2 white for meatloaf).

Once you've tackled that meatloaf, give this one a go! There are more ingredients/steps involved, but it's really delicious! (and it's great for sneaking some vegetables into your anti-vegetable family members!)

Thanksgiving Feast!

I thought it'd be fun to share some pictures of our Thanksgiving feast!

The star of the show, the Turkey:

Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese with Toasted Homemade Breadcrumbs:

Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Honey Glazed Carrots:

Green Bean Casserole:

Sweet Potato Casserole:

Dressing:

Rolls:

Roasted Veggies:

The turkey only took 2 1/2 hours, so I had everything cooked and prepped while the turkey cooked, and then baked and cooked the things that needed to bake off and get reheated while the turkey rested for about 15 minutes.

For Christmas, I'm thinking of making beef bourguinon, but I'm not entirely sure yet.  My brother will be staying with us, and Kyle has a few days off, so I thought it'd be nice to make something really special.

Fry It Up!

I don't know about you, but every once in a while, someone in my house (ahem, Kyle) begs for fried deliciousness.  I usually give in with one fried item (Anniversary Chicken), but this time I gave in with some home made chicken nuggets, some fried frozen French green beans, and some manly corn (yes, I said manly, because my Mom self calls this a grain, not a vegetable.  No matter what anyone tells me.  And I sort of feel like it's always guys trying to convince me it's a veggie.)

Anyway, this meal is painfully easy. 

For the chicken nuggets:

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1 cup flour
• Montreal Chicken Seasoning
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• 1 egg
• Olive oil

Directions:

• Cut your chicken into 3 strips, and then cut those strips into squares.
• Heat your skillet to medium heat, with a few good glugs of olive oil.
• Whisk your egg with a good amount of water.  Make sure they are completely whisked together.
• Sprinkle some seasoning, salt and pepper into the egg wash.
• In another bowl, toss in the flour with some seasoning, salt and pepper.
• Using one hand, put the chicken in the egg wash.
• Put the chicken squares in the flour.  Use your dry hand to toss the chicken in the flour.  Ensure that it has a good coat of flour.  Do this with all of the chicken.
• Put the floured chicken in the hot skillet.  After 2 minutes, turn the nuggets over.  Cook for 1/2 to 2 more minutes.
• When the nuggets are done, put them on a paper toweled plate to soak up the oil.

For the green beans:

I didn't have any fresh beans, so I used frozen ones.  They will not be as pretty as you get in a restaurant, or if you were making this with fresh ones, but they will taste just as good.

You'll need:

• 3 cups green beans
• 1/2 cup flour
• Montreal Seasoning
• 1 Egg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Whisk the egg, some Montreal Seasoning, some water, salt and pepper in a bowl.
• Mix Flour and seasonings in another bowl.
• Put the greeen beans in the egg wash.
• Toss the green beans in the flour.
• In a skillet that has been heated to medium heat with olive oil, add the dredged green beans.
• Keep them moving around in the skillet.  They'll cook pretty quickly. (2- 3 minutes)
• Put them on a paper toweled plate to soak up the oil.

I served this with homemade barbecue sauce, but my husband would shoot me for sharing that recipe, so serve it with your favorite barbecue sauce or honey mustard.  I cooked the corn with a bit of butter, salt and pepper.

Here's what a Mommy and baby portion looked like:

And just for the record, I don't get the whole buying premade chicken nuggets thing.  You can make these yourself, you know what's in them, and they freeze for 6 months to a year.  If your kid won't eat anything but nuggets, make a whole bunch, put them in freezer baggies, and reheat as needed.