Meat loaf is a staple at our house - I make it often, and everyone likes it. And it's one of those things you can make based on what happens to be in the fridge and pantry - it doesn't take much planning ahead.
Start with:
2 lbs ground meat (we use elk. You can use beef too, but I've heard turkey doesn't work very well.)
Then you need something to give it texture and hold it together:
1 beaten egg
1/2 - 3/4c. fine dry bread crumbs (homemade bread crumbs are perfect.)
Pile that stuff into a bowl and mix it a bit.
Next you need a liquid - something to make the mixture 'smooshy'. Apple juice is my favorite (leftover from the apples juiced that morning), or you can try tomato juice, milk, beer, wine... whatever's on hand. You'll need about 1/2 a cup. You want it smooshy - not sloppy.
Now comes the fun part:
Chop up some veggies - whatever sounds good. Onion is the norm, but you can also try grated carrot, finely chopped celery, chopped spinach, diced tomatoes, whatever happens to be in the freezer from last year's garden harvest is fine. Corn kernels and chopped olives are tasty too, if you're going for a southwestern style loaf. So toss in whatever veggies sound good - maybe 3/4 c or 1 c. total.
Add in some spices - thyme, oregano, parsley, garlic are all good. Some chili powder for the southwestern effect. Fresh herbs are always the best, but you can use dried or frozen if it's what's available.
Now you mix. Mix like crazy. My mother used to mix with her hands. The thought of doing that makes me gag, so I use a sturdy wooden spoon and smoosh and smash and squish until it's really, really well mixed. The more you mix, the better the texture will be.
Squish the whole bowl full of meat mixture into a loaf pan. Press it down firmly and neatly, then bake it at 375 for about an hour.
If you make your own sauces - ketchup, barbecue, salsa etc. - try spreading some of that on top about 10 minutes before you take it out of the oven.
If there's a bunch of fat, drain it off, then slice up your loaf and serve it. Tasty stuff!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Homemade Hot Pockets
These little things are fantastic reheated for a quick lunch or dinner, and they freeze nicely. Also a great way to use up whatever happens to be lurking in the deli and veggie drawers in your fridge.
The dough:
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp raw can sugar or honey (my original recipe calls for sugar. I used honey last night and it worked out just fine.)
1 cup very hot water
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. fine-ground whole wheat flour, plus more if needed
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar or honey. It will get foamy - this is good - it means the yeast is activated.
In a large bowl (or your mixer bowl, if you have one) add the two cups of flour and the oil. Add the yeast mixture once it is foamy and mix until you have a nice doughy consistency. Add more flour at this point if it's needed. Then knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
Let the dough rest while you prepare your filling ingredients. If you make your own pizza sauce*, this is a great time to use it. Add some cheese if you're eating dairy, meats of your choice, lots of chopped veggies, maybe some chopped bell pepper from the freezer if you saved it from last year's garden. Set all your topping ingredients out on the counter around a wooden bread board, and also set out a small bowl of water.
Divide your dough into four equal portions. Flour your bread board and roll out the dough. It should be thin - less than 1/4", and ideally sort of a rectangular shape. Pile in the fillings - not TOO full, or the hot pockets will explode when you bake them. To wrap it up, think of it as a burrito. Fold in the two short edges first, all the way over the filling. Then fold over one of the long edges. Then dip your finger in the water, run it along the other edge, and roll the whole thing over onto the water edge. This will make it seal up a little better. Now stab your hot pocket with a fork a few times to let the air escape and avoid explosion.
Do that with the other three remaining dough balls, then put them all on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or so until lightly browned on top. Let these cool before you feed them to your starving family!
Total time: about 1 1/2 hours, including baking time.
This recipe doubles and triples easily. Try wrapping them separately in plastic wrap and freezing. If you thaw them first, they can be re-baked in the oven for about 10 minutes at lunch time. (You could microwave them too. We just try to avoid the microwave, you know, 'cuz it's bad.)
*This recipe is from the Colorado Farmer's Market Cookbook, one of my favorites.
Homemade pizza sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups peeled and chopped Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup sugar (I do about 2/3 of a 1/4 cup full... if that makes any sense.)
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (I skip this. I never have fresh parsley.)
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp fennel seed (I've skipped this too without trouble.)
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are soft. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.
Puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Add to the onion mixture with the rest of the ingredients. Return mixture to the stove and simmer over medium heat until sauce reaches the desired thickness. It takes mine about 2 hours.
The dough:
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp raw can sugar or honey (my original recipe calls for sugar. I used honey last night and it worked out just fine.)
1 cup very hot water
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. fine-ground whole wheat flour, plus more if needed
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar or honey. It will get foamy - this is good - it means the yeast is activated.
In a large bowl (or your mixer bowl, if you have one) add the two cups of flour and the oil. Add the yeast mixture once it is foamy and mix until you have a nice doughy consistency. Add more flour at this point if it's needed. Then knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
Let the dough rest while you prepare your filling ingredients. If you make your own pizza sauce*, this is a great time to use it. Add some cheese if you're eating dairy, meats of your choice, lots of chopped veggies, maybe some chopped bell pepper from the freezer if you saved it from last year's garden. Set all your topping ingredients out on the counter around a wooden bread board, and also set out a small bowl of water.
Divide your dough into four equal portions. Flour your bread board and roll out the dough. It should be thin - less than 1/4", and ideally sort of a rectangular shape. Pile in the fillings - not TOO full, or the hot pockets will explode when you bake them. To wrap it up, think of it as a burrito. Fold in the two short edges first, all the way over the filling. Then fold over one of the long edges. Then dip your finger in the water, run it along the other edge, and roll the whole thing over onto the water edge. This will make it seal up a little better. Now stab your hot pocket with a fork a few times to let the air escape and avoid explosion.
Do that with the other three remaining dough balls, then put them all on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or so until lightly browned on top. Let these cool before you feed them to your starving family!
Total time: about 1 1/2 hours, including baking time.
This recipe doubles and triples easily. Try wrapping them separately in plastic wrap and freezing. If you thaw them first, they can be re-baked in the oven for about 10 minutes at lunch time. (You could microwave them too. We just try to avoid the microwave, you know, 'cuz it's bad.)
*This recipe is from the Colorado Farmer's Market Cookbook, one of my favorites.
Homemade pizza sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups peeled and chopped Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup sugar (I do about 2/3 of a 1/4 cup full... if that makes any sense.)
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (I skip this. I never have fresh parsley.)
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp fennel seed (I've skipped this too without trouble.)
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are soft. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.
Puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Add to the onion mixture with the rest of the ingredients. Return mixture to the stove and simmer over medium heat until sauce reaches the desired thickness. It takes mine about 2 hours.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Red Chili
Here's a secret: chili is not supposed to come from a can.
Shhh. Don't tell. ;o)
Yes, it takes all day to make chili like this. The good news is that it doesn't require much supervision, just some stirring once in awhile when you happen to walk by the stove. Just pick a day when you'll be home, and it's not really that much work.
Homemade Red Chili:
3 cups dried beans (pinto, kidney, anasazi, or a mix)
4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 diced bell pepper
1 diced onion
4 cloves garlic
1 lb ground elk (or beef)
1 lb sausage (breakfast or Italian, whatever you like - I use homemade Italian elk sausage.)
chili powder - as much as you like.
Start early: soak the beans overnight, or do a "quick soak" in the morning. Once they're soaked, rinse them and drain them and simmer them in fresh water until they're nearly soft (usually about three hours.) Drain the beans, leaving about 1-2 cups of the liquid in the pot with them. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.
Saute the pepper, onion and garlic until tender. Add to pot. In same pan, brown meat and sausage together, breaking up into very small pieces. Add the meat to the pot once it's finished cooking. Taste, then add chili powder, then taste again, and add some more, until it's just right.
Simmer on very low heat 2-3 hours , or until dinner time. Add a bit of water if it starts to get dry. Don't add salt until just before serving - beans don't soften in salted liquid and you want the beans to get as soft as they will before you put salt in.
---
This recipe makes a LOT of chili - fills my 5-quart soup pot nearly to the top. Either eat the leftovers for lunch the next day, or freeze meal-sized portions to pack in your husband's lunch box. This makes a nice "convenience meal" for the nights when you really don't feel like cooking, too.
Shhh. Don't tell. ;o)
Yes, it takes all day to make chili like this. The good news is that it doesn't require much supervision, just some stirring once in awhile when you happen to walk by the stove. Just pick a day when you'll be home, and it's not really that much work.
Homemade Red Chili:
3 cups dried beans (pinto, kidney, anasazi, or a mix)
4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 diced bell pepper
1 diced onion
4 cloves garlic
1 lb ground elk (or beef)
1 lb sausage (breakfast or Italian, whatever you like - I use homemade Italian elk sausage.)
chili powder - as much as you like.
Start early: soak the beans overnight, or do a "quick soak" in the morning. Once they're soaked, rinse them and drain them and simmer them in fresh water until they're nearly soft (usually about three hours.) Drain the beans, leaving about 1-2 cups of the liquid in the pot with them. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.
Saute the pepper, onion and garlic until tender. Add to pot. In same pan, brown meat and sausage together, breaking up into very small pieces. Add the meat to the pot once it's finished cooking. Taste, then add chili powder, then taste again, and add some more, until it's just right.
Simmer on very low heat 2-3 hours , or until dinner time. Add a bit of water if it starts to get dry. Don't add salt until just before serving - beans don't soften in salted liquid and you want the beans to get as soft as they will before you put salt in.
---
This recipe makes a LOT of chili - fills my 5-quart soup pot nearly to the top. Either eat the leftovers for lunch the next day, or freeze meal-sized portions to pack in your husband's lunch box. This makes a nice "convenience meal" for the nights when you really don't feel like cooking, too.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Ode to Sesame Oil
Have you discovered toasted sesame oil yet? It's been a beloved favorite of mine for a few years now. With a strong flavor, you don't need much to really change the taste of a meal. It's not cheap, but a tiny bit goes a very long way. Keep it stored in the fridge - sesame oil goes rancid quickly, and keeping it cold helps to delay that. Look in the Asian section of the grocery store, near soy sauce and teriyaki.
Stir fry dinners are a regular occurrence around here, especially in the summer when all the veggies are fresh from the garden. Try some carrots and snow peas sauteed lightly in a drizzle of sesame oil, then tossed with raw sesame seeds and served over rice. Or add some sesame to an otherwise plain oil-based salad dressing and it becomes an Asian-flavored dressing: try tossing some chicken into a regular garden salad, then sprinkle on some raw cashews and your Asian dressing, and you've got a tasty main-dish salad.
Stir fry dinners are a regular occurrence around here, especially in the summer when all the veggies are fresh from the garden. Try some carrots and snow peas sauteed lightly in a drizzle of sesame oil, then tossed with raw sesame seeds and served over rice. Or add some sesame to an otherwise plain oil-based salad dressing and it becomes an Asian-flavored dressing: try tossing some chicken into a regular garden salad, then sprinkle on some raw cashews and your Asian dressing, and you've got a tasty main-dish salad.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Stuffed Mushrooms
I think I know more people that don't like mushrooms than any other vegetable I know.
To those people, I offer my condolences.
To the rest of you - have you ever paid eight dollars for an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms? And then the plate comes, and there are about six mushrooms on the plate, and you find yourself sad that you have to share them with everyone else at the table?
I came across this recipe in by Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and altered slightly for taste and health. It's fantastically easy, and you can have two dozen stuffed mushrooms for less than $5.
Stuffed Mushrooms:
24 large mushrooms, stems removed, caps reserved
Chop enough of the stems to equal 1 cup, compost the rest or use them for something else
2/3 c. fine dry bread crumbs (I make my breadcrumbs from leftover bits of homemade bread)
1/2 c. feta cheese (you could use cheddar or blue cheese. We had feta.)
1/4 c. green onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
Saute the mushroom stems, onion and garlic in the butter until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in bread crumbs and cheese until mixture is well blended. Using a 1/4 tsp. measuring spoon, stuff some of the mixture into each mushroom cap. Place stuffed shrooms into a baking dish, bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then serve.
We had these as a side dish to our common meal of salad and baked potato. Definitely worth trying!
To those people, I offer my condolences.
To the rest of you - have you ever paid eight dollars for an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms? And then the plate comes, and there are about six mushrooms on the plate, and you find yourself sad that you have to share them with everyone else at the table?
I came across this recipe in by Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and altered slightly for taste and health. It's fantastically easy, and you can have two dozen stuffed mushrooms for less than $5.
Stuffed Mushrooms:
24 large mushrooms, stems removed, caps reserved
Chop enough of the stems to equal 1 cup, compost the rest or use them for something else
2/3 c. fine dry bread crumbs (I make my breadcrumbs from leftover bits of homemade bread)
1/2 c. feta cheese (you could use cheddar or blue cheese. We had feta.)
1/4 c. green onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
Saute the mushroom stems, onion and garlic in the butter until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in bread crumbs and cheese until mixture is well blended. Using a 1/4 tsp. measuring spoon, stuff some of the mixture into each mushroom cap. Place stuffed shrooms into a baking dish, bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then serve.
We had these as a side dish to our common meal of salad and baked potato. Definitely worth trying!
A food blog
I've tossing around the idea of starting a second blog for awhile now, one specifically geared toward my growing obsession with food and cooking. The first thing that comes to mind when I sit down to blog is usually something related to food, but I don't want to take over my entire Little Things blog with foodie posts, so here we are. I'm not sure how this will work out, balancing two blogs, but we'll give it a shot.
I realize I have some readers that are as obsessed with food as I am, and that I have others who really could care less, so hopefully this blog will save everyone from having to read the foodie bits if they don't want to.
My Foodie Manifesto:
I pledge to feed myself and my family only natural foods, prepared in such a way as to be healthful and delicious. I will embrace the simplicity of cooking from scratch, enjoy the time I spend in the kitchen, and slowly teach Two Little Girls the things I learn.
I realize I have some readers that are as obsessed with food as I am, and that I have others who really could care less, so hopefully this blog will save everyone from having to read the foodie bits if they don't want to.
My Foodie Manifesto:
I pledge to feed myself and my family only natural foods, prepared in such a way as to be healthful and delicious. I will embrace the simplicity of cooking from scratch, enjoy the time I spend in the kitchen, and slowly teach Two Little Girls the things I learn.
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