About That Redhead

Hi there, kiddies!

Many apologies for being out of comission for the week, but Mother Nature and my upper respiratory system just don't like each other!

That said, allow me to introduce to you my little individual spicy chica. She's compact, flavorful, packed full of veggies, and she freezes like a champ! Don't worry, you don't need to purchase "The Perfect Meatloaf Pan" for this girl, she's very happy to stand center stage on a canvas of parchment paper.

The Saucy Lady, Table For 1

For the Lady:

1 1/2 Cups of Ground Pork

1 1/2 Cups of Ground Chicken or Turkey

1 Cup of Breadcrumbs

5 Chopped small to medium Mushrooms of choice (I used buttons, but Crimini would rock!)

1 Medium Yellow Onion, diced

1/2 Red Onion, diced

1 Red Pepper, diced

1 Roma Tomato, diced

3 Sundried Tomatoes, chopped

3 Tbsp of chopped Basil or 1 Tbsp of dried basil, rubbed

2 Tbsp of chopped Flat Leaf Parsley or a pinch of dried parsely, rubbed

1 Tbsp of Ground Mustard

1 Tbsp of Cracked Pepper

1 tsp of dried or fresh Thyme

Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Pinch of Salt (optional)

1 Egg



For the Lady's Coat:

1 Cup of Ketchup

1 Tbsp Chipotle Hot Sauce, or any favorite Hot Sauce

1 Tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup

Here we go....

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or if you only have foil, line it and just spritz it with a non-stick spray.
Dump all of the Lady's guts into a large bowl, and remove all jewelry. With the best mixers you can find in your kitchen, your hands, squish, squoosh, squeeze, and really get to know your new sophisticated lady-friend!
Once mixed, use a one cup measuring cup to divide the mixture. Tap out the measured portions onto cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart to allow each loaf to cook properly. Should you only want to cook 1 or 2, wrap the rest of the portions in parchment paper and plastic wrap, be sure to place parchment between each, and the leftover girlies will be awaiting you anytime you'd like for up to a month. Generally I can get 4-6 servings out of the mixture this way, unless of course, my hubby comes over to "top" his off!
Place the little ladies in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and cook through.
While they are tanning away, mix up your ketchup, hot sauce and honey/syrup in a small resealable container. When the girls are ready, smother them in the nummy sauce and reserve the rest for another meatloaf or a midnight french fry bender!

The Saucy Lady and her sister Plain Jane

See, she's versatile! Covered or Naked, your choice!

Enjoy!



Oh So Icky

I've had a horrible cold this week.

Here's a pic of the recipe to come: Saucy Lady, Table For One

I'll try to have the recipe up in the next couple of days. For now, please enjoy the view!

Stuffed Stuffs

Mushrooms and tomatoes to be exact. This dish was originally planned for four gorgeous Portobellos, however, after inspection of the two I had purchased the day before yesterday, my big fatties had spoiled. I'm glad I opted to purchase two extra yesterday morning!

I thought to myself, "Self, it will be okay. Just bag and tag the extra stuffing and reserve for later." Then I tasted the stuffing...no, no, no. This stuffing was not going to be given the option to go bad before I could use it again. It was a sweet, creamy, yet texturally pleasing bombshell that needed to be enjoyed immediately.

So the search began.

Frantically I scoured through the pantry, trying to locate an extra pepper, mushroom, zucchini, squash, something, anything to carriage this delectable goodness. No luck. Heartbroken, I shrugged on my kitchen counter, maybe pouted would better describe it, and as I lifted myself up to put my two lonely little mushrooms in the oven, the answer was staring me right in the face. Right there on top of my microwave were three stunning heirloom tomatoes. A lemony yellow, a granny smith green, and a zebra striped burgundy and brown, were just begging me to stuff their guts out. So I did!

Oh Just Stuff It

4-5 Veggies for stuffing- Scoop out Tomatoes or Peppers, De-gill Portobellos, or you could even Hollow  out some Squash (I would use 1/2 a hollowed out squash per serving)

2/3 Cup of Couscous or 1 5.8oz Box (Get creative! Try using a flavored Couscous

for an extra boost!)

1 14.5oz Can of Diced Tomatoes (Again, try a blend. I used Italian seasoned. Flavor, Flavor, Flavor!)

1/2 of 1 Large Red Pepper, finely diced, finely diced

1/2 of 1 Medium Yellow Onion

1/2 Cup Feta Cheese, crumbled

1/4 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts

1 Large Egg

2 Cloves of Garlic, diced- or you could use 1 Tbsp of minced garlic (Really, it's all about the flavor through convenience!)

2 Tbsp Chopped Chives

2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Basil or 2 tsp Dried Basil

1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme or 1 tsp Dried Thyme

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Sesame Seed Oil

1/2 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella

1/2 Cup of Shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with either Parchment or Aluminum Foil. You don't want your lovelies sticking! Gently coat the outside of your "to be stuffed" guys with 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil and place on cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients, saving the Mozzarella and Parmesan for crusting your stuffed veggies. If you are using a flavored couscous, which I highly recommend, add the seasoning packet to the mixture, and incorporate well. By the by, I used a Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Couscous, it kinda rocked!

Once your stuffing has taken on a somewhat cohesive state, start packing it in...THE VEGGIES, not your mouth! (That was a little reminder to myself.) Using a Tbsp, start filling up and packing it down. The entire mixture should fill about 4-5 Large portions.

Sprinkle Shredded Cheese on top and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is golden and your stuffed veggies have desired doneness!

They look great, and you'll want to chow down immediately, but fair warning...let them cool down huh!

Until next time-

****TEASER****

Meatloaf is on the way! 

Grilled Cheese of Victory!

YUM!



I'm a Saints girl. (Well, I married into it, but I don't regret it a bit!) WHO DAT!!!

After watching the boys win today, I had to change up the original grilled cheese that was all set to go with my Football Chili. The good old Cheddar and whole grain just didn't cut it today. I had to dig a little deeper to satiate my palette's desire for more greatness. Enter Meatloaf Lady's Take on a Mozzarella en carozza!

Though this is normally an Italian yummy goodness, I changed it up a bit and created what I feel is a french toast and a grilled cheese's love child with style!

Imagine if you will, the smell of melted butter and olive oil cooking away at an egg soaked English Muffin. Every so often you catch a whiff of slowly melting Mozzarella and the faint possibility of Tomato. As you finally bite down into the golden treasure, you are met by a crispy, crunchy layer of nooks and crannies, followed by a snap of tangy sun dried tomato that seems to have a nutty and salty quality as well, and as your bottom teeth come up to me your top, CRASH, right into another crispity, crunchity layer on the bottom!

That's a winning grilled cheese.

Not Just Another Grilled Cheese

4 English Muffins- Separated top and bottom and inside out
8 Sun dried Tomatoes (sliced for easier distribution)
4 Anchovies (Trust me, you'll never know they are there)
4 Thick slices of Fresh Mozzarella
3 Eggs (Beaten with 2 Tbsp of Water)
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Butter

Heat a large skillet to Medium High, and drizzle in Olive Oil and melt in Butter. Place one slice of Fresh Mozzarella on the smooth side of each bottom half of Muffin (Nooks and Cranny area is on the outside for this concoction). Layer Sun dried Tomatoes on top of each Mozzarella slice. Place one Anchovy in the center of tomato layer. Place the top of muffin upside down on top of the leaning tower of goodness, and dredge in the egg wash, being sure to completely coat both sides of the sandwich. Gently place your future happiness in skillet and cut the heat back to medium. Slow and Low kiddies, SLOW and LOW. Allow each side to come to a gorgeous golden brown before flipping, about 2-4 minutes per side. If needed, cover with a lid for 1 minute to finish melting cheese. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Grab a handful of napkins, because as they say the messier the food, the better it tastes, be prepared!

Enjoy!

Let's Make Curry!

I know what you're thinking, "This chick is supposed to be 'The Meatloaf Lady' where's my loaf?"

It's coming, it's coming, keep your shirt on! It's Saturday, so there will absolutely be a loaf in the near future, but in the meantime, don't you want to know how to create your very own curry?

Now, I'm not going to knock the store bought , pre-made curry powders. They are a fun way to start experimenting with your taste buds and heat tolerance. Here's a great trick to make the store bought brands your very own: READ THE LABEL. Generally, labels don't give you the specifics when it comes to "secret ingredients" however, they will give you the gist of the flavor profiles. Once read, you can play with the different high notes in the curry base to make it your own. Here's how I would tackle the curry powder I just pulled out of the cabinet, it reads:

INGREDIENTS: Spices (duh) (including CORIANDER, CUMIN, CHILI PEPPER, RED PEPPER, and CARDAMOM), and Sulfur Dioxide (added as a preservative)
... and that last little bit we can do without, unless of course you want to keep your curry powder in the back of the spice rack for about six months, crying in a corner, thinking no one loves it. Why do you want to be mean like that?

I digress, back to shaking up your store bought powder! So, by the label, the big hitters here are Coriander and Cumin. Now, go to your spice cabinet and sniff out these two buggers. You will find that Coriander has a mild nutmeg meets a pepper kind of thing going on, and Cumin is the unmistakable spicy, savory flavor found in a ton of Mexican dishes, and abundantly available in the fajita you had during happy hour last night! Next up we have the mighty pepper duo of Chili and Red. Chili is a milder heat, think of it as Red Pepper's wing man. He prepares you for Red's presence, warms you up, gets you in a good mood, but doesn't crowd you or a make too strong a move. Then once you're primed, Red steps in for the POW!!!! Those pepper guys, They'll get you every time. Lastly, we have Cardamom. Cardamom is our bouncer. He's much deeper than what he appears on the surface, and he just kind of keeps everybody in check. When you open a jar of Cardamom and take a big whiff, it automatically gives off a menthol scent, clearing the sinuses right up! If you can handle another whiff, you'll notice a savory and sweet note in the background, alerting you that this spice is much more that just an afterthought. It plays well with others. It blends, it enhances, but no one is going to stand out and start any kind of frat boy fighting stuff while Cardamom is around!

Now for the twist, I like my curry sweet and hot, so I would add more Cumin, Ancho Chile Powder, Smoked Paprika, a touch of Ginger and a little bit of Cinnamon. The hubby likes the tangy stuff, so for him I'll kick up this curry with a little ground Mustard and Turmeric. The Boys are very adventurous for their ages, but I don't want to scar them for life, so for them I would play up the sweetness of the Cardamom with a little Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Clove.

Are you catching on? It's like a puzzle really. Find the flavor in the curry that you want to accentuate, and play off of it until your taste buds sing!

If you are ready to try from scratch, give this one a whirl:

CURRY IN A HURRY

1 Tablespoon each Ground Turmeric, Ground Cumin, Ground Mustard, Ground Coriander
1/2 Tablespoon each Ancho Chile Powder, Smoked Paprika, Ground Red Pepper, Ground Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon each Ground Ginger, Ground Clove, Ground Cardamom, Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Stir these together well
Add Salt and Pepper as you go if you'd like

Quick fix: For you Carnivores, use half of this powder as a rub on your meat, sweat some lovely veggies in vegetable oil and dust in the remaining powder. Add your meat and a little bit of stock, simmer and cook through.

For my Vegetarian fiends, I mean friends, sweat out your favorite veggies in a little vegetable oil, dust in some powder, find a nice starchy veg such as cauliflower or some form of spud, chop it, drop it and dust it. Add to your pot with a touch of either veggie stock or water (go for the stock!), simmer and cook through.

A side note...Curry tastes great with nuts. Try some pistachios to really give yourself a textural explosion with your next curry!

So There Went That Idea

Well, I will try to do better.

Being the mother of two boys, one that just started preschool, and one that just discovered that he is indeed a force to be reckoned with, I got sidetracked!

Here's a little brunch interlude whilst I try to rework my schedule:

Outta Lox Bagel

Take 1 plain Bagel
Smother in Chipotle Mayo
Top with 1 slice Pancetta and shredded Crab Meat
Toss on a few Onion slices
Cover with a bit of shredded Cheddar and chopped Scallions
Melt in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes

Enjoy!

PS...think outside the Lox and Cream Cheese box

Economically Sound Grazing

Three years ago, my husband and I found ourselves on foodstamps to make sure that we and our newborn could survive. Well, today three years later, we find ourselves in a similar situation with two lovely boys to care for. For some reason, during this ordeal, I have been revisited by an idea I had back when we were stretching the budget to last from month to month...MEATLOAF!

After many nights of meatloaf, meatloaf sandwiches, and "restructured" meatloaf meatballs, my wonderful husband said, "Hey, babe, maybe you should write a cookbook."

HUH?

Many nights of meatloaf, must have made him a little crazy, but I soon climbed on board his crazy train, and began the idea of a cookbook. It evolved. It grew. It stewed. Before I knew it, I was on a mission to bring back the loaf...meatloaf.

So now, three years later, I am going to truly give this a whirl. I am seizing the LOAF, and I hope you will too.

Join me here each day for a new, inventive, and most importantly cost efficient meatloaf recipe. From breakfast to dinner, I'll have you covered in meat.....loaf!