Easily Italian Meatloaf {that is soooo super scrumptious!}
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1 lb. meatloaf mixture {or 3 equal parts ground beef, pork and veal} 1 T. ketchup 3 cloves garlic 1 t. olive oil 1 egg 1 cup Italian bread crumbs 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese salt + pepper
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, minus the olive oil.
Spray glass dish with cooking spray. Take said mixture and form into loaf in a glass dish {I use a 5" x 7" dish, but an 8" x 8" would do, too}. Drizzle with olive oil and bake covered for 1 hour at 350* F. Remove foil and bake at 375* F for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare potatoes. Cut up 1/2 sweet onion and place in mixing bowl {I heart mixing bowls, see?}
Then add a few cloves garlic and diced red skin potatoes to your mixing bowl. Add some olive oil, salt + pepper. Mix. Add to another glass dish.
Bake for 1 hour. Remove dishes from oven and enjoy!
SALSA: 6 oz Mango, pureed (can use frozen, but I use a whole Mango) 1/4 cup Red Pepper, diced 1/4 cup Red Onion, diced 1/4 cup Brown Sugar 2 T Apple Cider Vinegar 1/4 t Ginger 1/4 t Chili Powder 1/4 t Allspice
TOPPING: 2 t Salt 3 t Lemon Pepper 3 t Garlic Granules 1 1/2 cups Corn Bread Crumbs 4 T Butter, softened
3-5 Tilapia fillets
Preheat oven to 350. Spray shallow baking dish. Place fillets in dish.
In small bowl, combine cornbread topping ingredients, mixing with hands to crate a crumb texture. Sprinkle over top of fish. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes with a fork.
Meanwhile, combine ingredients for salsa in a sauce pan. Heat on medium heat until warmed through, stirring frequently. Serve with fish.
*When making the salsa, I usually combine all ingredients MINUS the vinegar until I'm ready to heat the salsa. The vinegar really breaks things down and makes it extra liquidy if it sits in there for more than 5-7 minutes. The salsa takes about 5 minutes to heat up.
Japanese Steak Rolls -- ohhhhhhh, yumm! I'll post the recipe below :)
Japanese Steak Rolls --
Ingredients: 1.5 lb Flank Steak 12 whole fresh Asparagus Spears 12 whole fresh Green Onions 6 T Rice Vinegar 6 T Soy Sauce 4 t Sugar 1 T Sesame Oil
Directions: Trim meat and cut it into 2" side strips. Meat should be cut against the grain.
Wash asparagus and snap ends off. Wash Onions and trip ends off. Lay one piece of asparagus and one green onion on a strip of steak and roll it up so the meat is "long" rather than rolled on top of itself and "thick". {I used 2 pieces of asparagus instead of 1.} Place in a large dish. Repeat with all meat.
Combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl and pour over top of meat. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours. Remove meat from dish, keep marinade. Preheat oiled grill or broiler to high. Place rolls directly on grill or on a broiler pan. Cook for 10-12 minutes on each side, turning once. Meanwhile, place marinade in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil for at least 3 full minutes. Serve over meat.
Notes from the cook :) -I added an extra piece of asparagus; once piece didn't seem like enough. So you'll need about 20 pieces of asparagus instead of 12. -I think the meat could be cooked for more than 10 minutes... it was a little pink on the first try and I put it back in the broiler for a few more minutes -I don't like to use a broiler pan, so I used a cookie sheet with a cooling rack to keep the rolls from sticking.
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It snowed here on Sunday night through Tuesday. Ewwwwwwwww. My poor little pink chairs {perfect for Gussy-ing.} Check out the proof:
I feel the need to start this by saying I usually don't get so freaked out/excited over a TV show... but MAN!!!!!! did you see The Bachelor last night? Holy Crap. {DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA}
I was ready at like 7:40 p.m. for it to start; Zack was out in the garage. He came in just a bit after 8 and caught a glimpse... and he was hooked. Soooo, we watched the rest of it together. Me and my garage fixer-upper Man :)
I really do hope The Bachelor is on next Monday night, because if they skip a week I don't know what I'm going to do. I need to know more about this DeAnna coming back into Jason's life, AT THE HOUSE!!! And I need to know which girl gets crazy obsessed, which is pretty obvious if I may say so myself because she {coughSHANNONcough} got all crazy stalker-like last night {and she knew she was getting that way}.
Just watch this for yourself: Remember to turn the music off at the bottom of my blog. {And remember to watch Jason's expressions. Eeek.}
I'm hoping to set up my sewing machine and/or room tonight. That would be pretty wonderful. I know I've been talking a lot about sewing lately but haven't actually done it yet. It's mainly because things have been very busy with us lately. Traveling and holidays. I also want to set up my sewing room once I have everything together... I'm a "do it once and do it right" kind of girl. So I'm just waiting for the right time. And the right lighting to I can photograph some new things ;o)
I made a new dish for dinner last night.
Santa Fe Chicken Salad Ingredients:
lemon pepper grilled chicken, cooked then diced
home-made ranch dressing
mango peach salsa
southwestern corn
black beans, drained and rinsed
lettuce
Directions:
Pound the chicken breasts to make them a little thinner, seasoned with lemon pepper and grill on the George Foreman for about 12 minutes or until cooked through.
Wash and dry lettuce, tear into small pieces.
Arrange lettuce on large dinner place.
Add corn, black beans, and chicken.
Drizzle ranch dressing over all, top with a big scoop of salsa.
It was really, really, good. Right Zack??? :)
I only used one chicken breast, since it was so large, but I think next time I'll use two. Zack loves chicken grilled on the George Foreman... He loves the George Foreman in general...
I'm afraid there's not much to talk about today. Zack and I had a very laid-back evening last night. Dinner was served in Heaven, I knitted afterward and Zack did his own thing. Maybe you're wondering what I made for dinner? Alright, I'll share:
Salsa chicken: 1 - 14-oz jar of Salsa (medium is good) 2 T. of brown sugar 2 squirts of mustard
Mix together in bowl. Place 2-6 chicken breasts in a glass baking dish, top with salsa mixture. If you have 2 chicken breasts, you'll have lots of extra salsa topping (great to serve over rice). If you have 6, then you'll have less ;)
Bake for 40 minutes at 325* F.
We also had long-grain rice, flaky butter dinner rolls, green beans & carrots, and a salad. And milk. For my strong bones that I am just POSITIVE are still growing. I have to keep the faith, friends.
I'm proud to announce we are going to a Christmas party this weekend... hosted by our friends Joel & Megan Lane. And their pup, Magglio ;)
OK so I fibbed earlier, I guess I did have a bit to share ;)
~~Eight days and 16 hours until Christmasxoxoxoxo~~
