Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting

Meatloaf cupcake with mashed potato frosting

I made meatloaf cupcakes  for April Fool's day this year but they are so good that we will eat them all year round.The key (I think) to moist meatloaf (and meatballs) is bread soaked in milk. I use potato bread.
I can't justify cream for the mashed potatoes so I use fat free half and half. They are just as good and so creamy.  I really wanted to color the mashed potatoes with beet juice but received too many protests from my family (I love beets and I really wanted pink mashed potatoes). Just wait until I harvest the beets in our garden (60 or so more days). We will be eating beets with every meal! I made extra mashed potatoes so we had leftovers (my family loves mashed potatoes). I prefer fresh fries or hash browns.

Meatloaf Cupcakes
1/2 Cup (125 ml) of Milk
3 Slices of Bread, Torn into Pieces
1 Tbsp of Butter
1/2 of a Large Onion, Finely Diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 lbs (.45 kg) of Ground Beef (or a mixture of beef and pork or beef and turkey)
1 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper, to Taste

In a large bowl, soak the pieces of bread in milk.

Bread soaking in milk

Preheat the oven to 350F/176 C/ Gas mark 4. Place 12 foil muffin liners in muffin tins. In a medium skillet melt butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted add the onion and garlic saute until onion is tender.

Sauteing onions and garlic

Rub the bread between your fingers until mushy. Add the remaining ingredients to the bread and mix well.

Mixing the meatloaf

Spoon the meatloaf into the foil liners.

Meatloaf Glaze 
1/3 Cup (75 ml) of Ketchup
2 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp of Mustard

In a small bowl combine the ingredients and spoon onto the tops of each meatloaf muffin. (There will be glaze left over).

Meatloaf cupcakes

Bake the meatloaf cupcakes for 25 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes

Several Potatoes, Peeled and Cut into Chunks
2 Tbsp of Butter
1/2 Cup (125 ml) of Fat Free Half and Half

Boil potatoes for approximately 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and rice potatoes.

Ricing the potatoes

Add butter and half and half. Stir well.

Assembly

Remove cupcakes from muffin tins. Top with mashed potatoes. For a spicy kick, sprinkle with Creole seasoning. Top with half of a cherry tomato if desired.

The bottom line: will I make these again? Yes. The meatloaf cupcakes cook in the foil cup are so juicy and tender. The glaze goes great with the mashed potatoes. I loved them and ate my allotment (4 cupcakes) in one sitting.

Brining Corned Beef

Brining a brisket

Each year I make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day (my birthday). I have had issues in the past with corned beef that is too fatty. So, this year I decided to brine my own corned beef. It takes 10 to 14 days so if you are going to brine your own corned beef, now is the time. I picked out a nice beef brisket and trimmed off the fat. For the beer, I used an Irish ale. I think a lager, brown ale, pilsner, or Scottish ale would pair nicely as well. I added red pepper flakes to the brine so my corned beef would have just a touch of spice. I hope that was not a mistake. (It wasn't)

6 Cups (1,440 ml) of Water
1 1/2 Cups (12 oz/360 ml) of Irish Ale
1 Cup (135 g) of Kosher Salt
1 Cup (218 g) of Light Brown Sugar
6 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tsp of Ground Ginger
1 Stick of Cinnamon, Broken into Pieces
1 Tbsp of Red Pepper Flakes
4 Tbsp of Pickling Spices
2 Bay Leaves
Ice
1-2 3 lbs (1.35 kg) Briskets, Trimmed of Fat

Place all of the ingredients except the ice and brisket in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Boiling the brining liquid

Dump several cups of ice into the brining liquid to reduce the heat.

Cooled brining liquid

Pour into a nonreactive container and add the brisket. Place a plate or bowl on top of the brisket so it is completely covered by the brine. Stir every couple of days. Allow to brine for 10 to 14 days.

Brining brisket to turn it into corned beef

The bottom line: will I do this again? Yes. It was better than store bought. It wasn't spicy at all. I cooked it in beer (see Corned Beef and Cabbage Cooked in Beer) This time I used an anchor steam clone that we brewed. The results were delicious. I am so glad that I brined two briskets. The briskets are going to have a grayish pink because artificial coloring was not added. That is normal.

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef

I love Mongolian beef. Mongolian beef is not really Mongolian at all.  It is a popular dish in Chinese restaurants in the United States. I think it is delicious. It is an amazingly easy dish to make at home.  I like it so much that I finally measured the ingredients and wrote down the amounts. You can adjust the seasoning and make it hotter. I slice the  steak while it is still slightly frozen (it is easier to slice that way). I start the rice before making the stir fry because the rice takes a lot longer to cook than the stir fry.

1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce (I use low sodium)
1 Tbsp of Hoisin Sauce
1 Tsp of Sesame Oil
2 Tsp of Canola or Vegetable Oil
2 Tsp of Sugar
4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
Red Pepper Flakes or Sriracha Sauce, To Taste
2 lbs (.9 kg) of Sirloin Steak, Thinly Sliced
1 Tbsp of Canola or Vegetable Oil
4 Green Onions, Thinly Sliced

Combine the first seven ingredients together. Add the sirloin and marinate for one hour to overnight.

Marinating beef

Heat the oil (I add a couple of drops of sesame oil) to a large skillet or wok over high heat.

Stir frying the green onions

Add the green onions and stir fry for about seconds and then add the beef and marinade. Stir fry until the beef is no longer pink about 5 minutes.

Stir frying the beef

Serve over rice.

The bottom line: will I make this again? I love this. Yes. Probably this weekend. So easy and so yummy...

My Favorite Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs

Katie loves spaghetti with sweet tomato sauce and meatballs. I do too. These are my favorite meatballs. It is the bread soaked in milk that makes the difference. These are amazing and so easy to make. Make sure that you use a good quality bread. I like to use potato bread. If we ever had any left over I would freeze them.

Meatballs
2 Pieces of Bread
3/4 Cup (180 ml) of Milk
2 lbs (.9 kg) of Ground Beef
1 Egg
1/2 Tsp of Salt
1/2 Tsp of Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp of Garlic Powder
1 Tsp of Dried Parsley

Preheat oven to 400F/204C/Gas Mark 6. Tear the bread into pieces and place it in a bowl. Pour the milk over the bread. Let the bread soak up the milk for approximately 5 minutes.

Bread and milk

Rub the bread into small pieces. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.

All ready to be mixed

Form into small meatballs and place on cookie sheets.

Meatballs ready to be baked

Bake until cook though about 20 minutes.

Lovely meatballs

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes these are the best meatballs ever.

Orange Peel Beef

A bowl of orange beef

I have been on an Asian food and orange kick lately. I decided to make orange peel beef (well I used clementines). I love the spicy sweetness of orange peel beef. Since I have a box of clementines and half of cow in my deep freeze all I had to do was defrost the beef. I guess I should clarify- we have half of a side of beef (already processed). We bought it from a local farmer and it is wonderful beef.
For this stir fry, like any stir fry, make sure all your ingredients are chopped and ready to go before starting the dish. I let the beef marinate in the water and corn starch mixture while I prepared the remaining ingredients. One more note, I made this dish for the entire family so I toned down the spice. If I was making it for just Steven and me, I would have added about a teaspoon of crushed red pepper.

Orange Peel Beef
1 lb (.45 kg) of Beef, Thinly Sliced (I Used Sirloin)
2 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp of Cornstarch
1/2 Cup (120 ml) of Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
2 Tsp of Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp of Corn Starch
1/2 Tsp of Chili Garlic Sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp of Vegetable or Canola Oil, Divided
1/4 Tsp of Red Pepper Flakes or Several Chiles
1/2 of a Small Onion (60 g), Thinly Sliced
1/4 Cup (15 grams/1/2 of a Clementine) Orange Peel, Thinly Sliced
2 Cups (370 g) of Uncooked Rice, Cooked According to Package Directions

Combine soy sauce and corn starch. Toss with meat to coat and let sit for 10 minutes.  In a separate bowl make the sauce by combining the orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, corn starch, and chili garlic sauce. Set aside.

Orange sauce

In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the beef and red pepper flakes.

Ready to stir fry

Stir fry until the beef is just pink, this will take a couple of minutes. Remove the steak to a separate plate.
Add the remaining oil (1/2 tablespoon) to the wok and add the orange peel and onions.

Stir frying orange peel and onions

 Stir fry for one minute. Add the sauce and stir fry until the sauce boils and thickens about two minutes. Add the beef and stir fry until heated through. Serve over rice.

Orange peel beef-ready to eat!

Will I make this again? It was delicious. Amazing even. I snuck back to the kitchen to get seconds before the rest of my family. Once all of the prep work was done, it was easy. So, yes. I will make this again.

Filet with Blue Cheese Butter

Ever had an ingredient that is so special that you don't use it? You are saving it for a special occasion. Special occasions come and go and you still don't use it. I have several of these ingredients- Israeli couscous, vanilla beans, hazelnuts, and some gorgeous filet mignon. I decided to declare a "use a special ingredient" day. That day is today. It is like an early Christmas present to myself.

Vacuumed packed steaks

I have some gorgeous filet mignon that I won in a Fine Cooking grilling contest. They are from Allen Brothers Steaks. They came frozen in a beautiful box. I felt like I was opening a present. I am so excited about grilling and eating these lovely steaks.

Allen Brothers Filet Mignon

Ready for the grill

1/4 Cup of (35 g) of Blue Cheese, Room Temperature
2 Tbsp (35 g) of Butter, Room Temperature

2 Filet Mignon (I had two 12 oz/340 g filets)

Kosher Salt

Combine butter and blue cheese and set aside.

Butter and blue cheese

Prepare grill. Lightly salt one side of each of the filets. Place the salted side of filet on the grill.

Grilling

Once you turn the steak, spread the butter cheese mixture on the cooked side. Grill until done (130-140F/55-60C for medium rare).

Beautiful rare steaks

Serve with beer sautéed mushrooms.

Steaks, sautéed mushrooms, and couscous

The bottom line: were these steaks great? Yes, they were amazing. As good as a high-end steakhouse steak and the best steaks that we have ever made at home.

Blue Cheese Filled and Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

Bacon blue cheese hamburger and salads

I love grilled hamburgers. What could be better? Adding blue cheese and bacon.  I usually fill my hamburgers with a mixture of monetary jack cheese and mozzarella cheese. But we were out so I decided to use blue cheese and bacon.

Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Filled Hamburgers

1 Lb (.45 kg) of Hamburger
Season Salt, To Taste
Black Pepper, To Taste
3 Tbsp of Blue Cheese
3 Strips of Bacon

Preheat gas grill or prepare a charcoal grill. Make 6 hamburgers patties. Season hamburger patties with season salt and pepper. Place about a tablespoon sized piece of blue cheese in the center of every other hamburger patty.

Patties ready to be pressed together

Top each blue cheese hamburger patty with another patty. Press together. Wrap a strip of bacon around each hamburger and secure with tooth picks.

Wrapped in bacon

Grill hamburgers until desired doneness. I like my hamburgers medium rare.

Grilled hamburger

The bottom line: Will I make this again? Yes, I will for Steven and I. Katie did not like these. She likes the mozzarella filled hamburgers.

Cheese Filled Hamburgers

Cheese filled hamburgers

Oh happy day! We went to the farmer's market today and bought tomatoes and free range grain and corn fed beef (from Circle JT Ranch). No antibiotics or hormones were used and the taste, in a word, amazing. I liked to support local farmers for several reasons: (1) the food tastes better; (2) you support the local economy; (3) you get to meet and talk with the people who grow/raise your food (it's the same food they feed to their family so you know it's good); and (4) did I mention the food tastes better? The difference is amazing. The bottom line is ingredients matter. The better the ingredients, the better your food will taste.

When we spoke with the Thompsons about their beef they told us their hamburger was like eating a steak burger. Were they right? Oh my goodness! Yes they were. It was amazing. All it needed was a little bit of salt, pepper, and cheese.

1 lb (.45 kg) of Ground Beef
1/2 Tsp of Pepper
1 Tsp of Salt
1/3 Cup (37 g) of Grated Cheese (I used a combination of mozzarella and monetary jack cheeses)

Mix the salt and pepper with the ground beef. Form a hamburger patty and place about a tablespoon of grated cheese in the center.

Filling a hamburger with cheese

Top with another patty and crimp the edges shut.

Getting hamburgers ready for the grill

Grill and eat. I like my hamburgers medium rare.

Grilling hamburgers

The bottom line: Will I make this again? Yes, I loved these. I really liked the cheese in the middle of the burger instead of on top. They were so good we ate them without any ketchup, mayo, or mustard.

Tequila Beer Flank Steak

Make your own tacos

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there-- and especially to my dad. I love you! I hope you are having a fantastic chicken piccata. I am sorry that I am not with you to enjoy it.

I am making Father's Day dinner for my husband (hopefully soon Katie will be making him dinner). I wanted to make a beef dish but one I did not have to grill (or more importantly Steven did not have to grill). I also wanted a lighter fresher dish. The answer: flank steak London Broil style but with a twist. Instead of topping it with onions, I  serve it with corn tortillas, salsa, and all of the fixins.

Yum! I think it is perfect for Father's Day because it is light and fresh but still a "manly" dish. I substituted beer for the oil that is usually in the marinade (which reduces the fat content and adds flavor). If you don't have any beer around, you can always use olive or vegetable oil in place of the beer. A Pilsner is fine for this recipe. It is a bonus that I can then use the leftovers for noodle bowls. One of Steven's favorite desserts is shortbread cookies so I am making those too. Now you know why I substituted the beer for the oil -- all that delicious butter in the shortbread.

The Marinade

1/2 C of Beer (Pilsner)
6 Tbsp of Tequila
3 Cloves of Garlic, Roughly Chopped
The Juice of One Lime (I also put the lime in the marinade)
1/4 Cup of Cilantro, Roughly Chopped
1 Tsp of Salt (Optional)
1 Serrano Chile, Roughly Chopped (Optional)

Combine all of the ingredients in a nonreactive dish or plastic bag and add the flank steak. Marinate for 3 to 8 hours. Remove from marinade, pat dry, and discard marinade.

Marinating flank steak

The Steak

Heat up the broiler on high and place the oven rack two from the top. Cook the flank steak until medium rare. It took mine about  6 minutes each side until it was medium rare.

Finished flank steak

It all depends on how thick your steak is. I let it rest for 10 minutes and then sliced it thinly across the grain.

Sliced flank steak

The Dinner
It was make your own tacos with flank steak. I served them with corn tortillas, salsa, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and onion.  So so good.

The bottom line: Will I make this again. Yes, I will. Next time it won't be Father's Day and I will have Steven grill the flank steak....

Cooking for 100

A finished lunch with extra pasta salad

Wow what a challenge- a good hot lunch for 75 -100 people made in a kitchen I have never seen before - made in about 3 hours. A team of eight people (make that seven) will be cooking for the people sifting through the debris in Joplin. Each day Calvary Christian, a church north of Joplin, Missouri makes lunch for disaster volunteers. I am honored to be making food for these people and a little nervous. I want it to be a great meal but it has got to be easy.We don't have much time and that is a lot of people. I feel like I am on an episode of Dinner: Impossible.When we get there, we find out that we are packing the lunches and taking them to the neighborhoods. There will also be people who show up at the church for lunch. Our plan was to make pasta salad, sloppy joes, and a peach and a pineapple crumble.

Pasta Salad

Dressing

3 qt (2.8 l) of Mayonnaise
1 Bottle (16 oz/ 473 ml) of French Salad Dressing
1/4-1/3 Cup (60-80 ml) of Vinegar
1/4 Cup (62 g) of Sugar
1 Cup (240 ml) of  Light Cream
1 1/2 Tsp of Onion Powder
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Tsp of Salt
2 Tsp of Pepper

Salad

3 lb (1.35 kg) of Fully Cooked Ham, Cubed or Sliced
8 lb (3.6 kg) of Macaroni, (4 lb/1.8 kg uncooked) Cooked, Rinsed Under Cold Water and Drained
3 lb (1.35 kg) Shredded Cheddar Cheese
40 oz. (1134 g) Frozen Peas, Thawed
2 Bunches Celery, Chopped
2 Large Onions, Chopped
1 Large Bag of Baby Carrots, Chopped

Combine first 7 ingredients. Combine all dressing ingredients; pour over the pasta mixture and toss well to coat. Refrigerate. This salad is best if it is made the day before. (We made two bowls of pasta salad and divided all of the ingredients except the ham between the bowls that way we had a meatless pasta salad).

One of the pasta salads

Sloppy Joes
20 lbs (9 kg) of Ground Beef
4 Large Onions, Chopped
1 Cup (200 g) of Packed Brown Sugar
1 Cup (240 g) of Spicy Brown Mustard
4 Cups (1,088 g) of Ketchup
2 cans (12 oz/340 g each) of Tomato Paste
4 cans (15 oz/425 g each) of Tomato Sauce
6 to 8 Cups (1.4 l to 1.89 l) of Water
1 Cup (240 ml) of Vinegar
2/3 Cup (160 ml) of Worcestershire Sauce
100 hamburger buns

Preheat oven to 350F/176C /Gas Mark 4. In a large dutch oven or skillet , brown the beef and onion  in batches until meat is browned. Drain the beef and place in  a large roaster. In a separate bowl combine add the next eight ingredients (except water). Once all of the beef is browned and added to the roasting pans add the tomato mixture and add water. (We split the meat between two roasting pans). Bake in the oven for 2-4 hours. Serve on buns.

Sloppy joes; sloppy sloppy joes

Peach and Pineapple Crumble 

1 Gallon (3.78 l) Can of Sliced peaches, Drained, Reserve the Juice
1 Gallon (3.78 l) Can of Pineapple Chunks or Crushed Pineapple, Drained,  Reserve the Juice
4-5 lb (1.8 kg to 2.25 kg) of Yellow Cake Mix
1 1/2 lbs (675 g) of Brown Sugar
1 1/2 lbs (675 g) of Butter, Softened
Cinnamon, To Taste

Pour drained pineapple into a large roasting pan and drained peaches into another roasting pan. If necessary add some of the juice back to the fruit so they are moist looking (we did not need to add any juice back).

Mix cake mix, sugar, butter and cinnamon together until forming crumb-size bits. May need to add more or less butter to get the right consistency for the crumbs. Sprinkle this mix over the top of the fruit.

Bake at 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4 for 1 hour or until golden brown.

The almost gone crumble

Here is how we did:

We made the salad dressing in the morning before we left. We drove the two plus hours to Joplin and immediately began assessing the kitchen. It was a great kitchen: two ovens, lots of pots and pans, and lots of room. The people from the church were great. We immediately began browning meat, boiling water, and chopping  onions. It look us about an hour and a half and we had everything in the ovens and all of the chopping done.

Baking in the oven

By 11:00 we had the assembly line set up and we were ready to go. We made some meatless lunches first and then made lunches with sloppy joes. One crumble (on the bottom of the oven) was ready so I turned up the oven temperature and hoped for the best. We had homemade cookies from a church member so when we ran out of the pineapple crumble, we used the cookies (until the crumble was done). Finally the peach crumble was done, and we finished packing the lunches and packed up a couple of coolers of drinks and we were off. While we were gone, the assembly line was efficiently changed to serve lunches buffet style. We delivered lunches and drinks and were devastated by what we saw. I felt guilty about leaving; I wanted to do more.

The bottom line: Will I do this again? I hope so. It was a small thing to do for a small number of  people who are helping those in Joplin. I hope a nice lunch and a short break made their day a bit better. I know that it had a profound effect on me.

Corned Beef Hash

What do with the leftover corned beef and potato pancakes from your St. Patrick's Day dinner? That's easy- corned beef hash. What's different about this hash is the corned beef is in chunks and not ground. I don't like the texture of ground up corned beef. I also don't like corned beef from a can. I do, however, like this corned beef.

Corned Beef Hash

2 Tbsp of Vegetable or Canola Oil
Cooked Potato Pancakes Cut into Pieces
Cooked Corned Beef Cut into Small Cubes
1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Heavy Cream
One Large Egg per Person

Pour oil into a skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Add potatoes to skillet and fry until browned.

Meanwhile fry one egg per person. I like mine well done.

Once potatoes are browned, add corned beef and fry until heated through. Lower heat and add cream. Cook one minute. Put hash into a bowl and top with egg.