Meatloaf!!!!

Meatloaf oh meatloaf.  Some people love it and some people hate it, I feel sorry for those people because this meatloaf is amazing!!!  I've stopped using ground beef in my meat loaf and my meatballs, less heavy in the stomach feeling.  I like to fill my meatloaf with all kinds of stuff, this time I added mushrooms to the usual mix.  My friend Monica thought I used Sun-dried tomatoes in my meatloaf but I don't, I use a can of diced tomatoes but i can see how that could be confused.  But I bet that would be good with feta or goat cheese.  Sometimes I layer it, sometimes I just mix it all together.  It taste good either way but it was a mix it all together kind of time.  I went with baked potatoes just because I didn't have to do much work. Mashed is good too.  Ok ready, because the prep takes a little while.  I do mine the day before and then someone else puts it in the oven before I get home from work.

So I start with a can of diced tomatoes, drain about 1/2 a cup of the liquid. 

Add that to bread crumbs and milk and an egg and mix all together , let sit alt east 10 min.

slowly sauté onions, shallots and garlic with a little salt and pepper, then let it cool.

Add chopped mushrooms and frozen peas to the wet breadcrumbs 

Add chopped spinach and the diced tomatoes.

I asked for about a fingers width of smoked gouda and diced it in to cubes.

One package of ground turkey and 1 package of ground chicken.

This is what it looks like all mixed together, don't forget the onions and garlic cooling on the side.  At this point I cook a little bit in a pan and make sure it doesn't need any additional salt or pepper or anything else.

Make the weave with the bacon, I like thick sliced bacon

done

paint the inside with a mix of ketchup and Worcestershire.

I recommend using a baking sheet under the foil for flipping purposes.  form the loaf on top of the bacon.

Flip the whole thing over on to a foil lined broiling pan with the slits cut through. 

Since it is chicken and turkey make sure it comes to temperature. 165!!!!

So yummy, can't wait to eat.

With a small baked potato with cheddar and gorgonzola.  mmmmmmmmm!!
can we eat dinner again??   good thing there are leftovers!!!

Meatloaf

1/2 an onion

1 med shallot

4 cloves garlic 

olive oil

salt and pepper1 can of diced tomatoes (I prefer petite diced), drain the juice

1/2 cup drained tomato juice

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 a container of sliced mushrooms (I chopped mine up because sean doesn't like to eat big chunks of mushrooms)

1 cup frozen peas.

1/2 bag baby spinach chopped up

1/2 the can of the drained diced tomatoes (you can put the whole can but I don't care for them that much)

fingers width of smoked gouda cheese cut in to cubes

few branches of fresh oregano

extra salt and pepper if needed

1 package ground chicken 

1 package ground turkey

10 slices of thick cut bacon

1/4 cup ketchup 

1 Tab Worcestershire

Sauté the onions, shallots and garlic.  Let it cool before adding to the ground meat.  Let the breadcrumbs soak the tomato juice, milk and egg for about 10 min.  Combine all of the rest of the ingredients well.  On a baking sheet lined in foil make the bacon weave (guess you don't have to make a weave but I would recommend placing a few slices of bacon on top just for the moisture)  and paint the inside with the ketchup mix.  Form the mixture on top and flip the whole thing on to a foil lined broiling pan.  Paint the top of the bacon.  you can use the same piece of foil to cover it for cooking.  (mine went in to the fridge over night at this point)  Cook in the over at 350 for 1 1/2 hours or when it reaches temp.  I broiled it for a min or 2 at the end just to crisp the bacon.  Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing

BBQ Argentinian Parrilla style

So it was our anniversary and I wanted to cook the rest of the sweet breads that I had in the freezer.  Its my most favorite part of the meal.  No one else likes it but I don't care, I make other things they like.  Just so we're on the same page sweet breads are not breads that are sweet, they are they thyroid of the cow.  I also got ahold of some veal sweet breads.  I got a really good deal too.  

I know the package says beef but the original tag said Veal and it was $11.48.  it was 1 day past the sell by date so I asked for a deal and boy did I get one.

This is what it looks like in a bowl, its kind of slimy.

It gets boiled in a salted lemon broth.

Then chilled and remove any membrane that is excess.

This is what they look like after, same bowl.

(this was lunch the day before)

sautéed with garlic

and Brussels sprouts.

yummy!!!!!

So this is what we had for the grill.  Skirt steak, Salchicha, and sweet breads.  

I felt better doing this in 2 parts. the sweet breads and the salchicha first and then the steak after.  

We like our meat pretty rare here so I didn't wanna over do it

we also had corn on the cob going on in the gas burner grill and thats where I kept the sweet breads and the salchicha warm while the steak was cooking.  I didn't get a photo though. sorry, hunger took over.

veal breast with carrots and mashed potatoes

I had never seen Veal breast at Winn dixie before so it intrigued me right away.  Since I had never seen a Veal breast I had no idea what to do with it!!  The package claimed it had a pocket, I figured it required a stuffing.  After a little research I found a recipe that suited our tastes.  

This is what i found at the market this morning, 

Yummy breakfast, chouquettes and croissant chocolate 

So heres how I made the Veal, Ill post the link to the original recipe at the bottom

Crisping bacon!!

Saute onions, garlic and shallots.

Veal breast

with pocket.

I used half ground beef, half ground pork. Let it cook down. Add  salt and pepper and other spices.

I let it cool down a little before adding the sour cream and the egg.

Stuffed!!!

All tied up.

Sear in the dutch oven.  Put it in the oven in a resting pan. 

While the veal was in the oven I cleaned up the carrots .

So about and hour and a half later this is what it looked like

let it rest covered for about 10 minutes.

I made the sauce a little different than the recipe i cooked down some flour in some butter 

Added broth, mushrooms and herbs.

carrots browning...

sauce reducing...

slice the veal along the rib.

Sean's plate (he had already eaten some carrots).





that same week I used the extra ground beef and pork to make meat balls and i made some awesome chocolate chocolate chip cookies!!  Ill post the link to that recipe also

Happy face!!!!   

More happy face!!!

I had been looking for the Saigon roasted cinnamon for a while.  Its more robust than regular cinnamon.  I added cranberries to half of the cookies, both ways was good.

Stuffed Veal breast

3 strips of bacon

1/4 lb ground beef 

1/4 lb ground pork

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 small shallot 

½ cup soft breadcrumbs 

1 handful sliced mushrooms 

1/3 cup dairy sour cream

1 egg, beaten

fresh basil

fresh oregano

3-4 lb Veal Breast

2 tab butter

2 tab flour

2 cups of broth

mushrooms

¼ cup dairy sour cream 

Directions

 Brown bacon till crisp; drain.  Crumble bacon; set aside.  In same skillet cook onions,garlic and shallots till tender, add herbs and mushrooms. Remove from heat.  Stir in crumbled bacon, breadcrumbs, the 1/3 cup sour cream, the egg, salt, pepper.  Spoon stuffing in to the pocket.  Tie with string to secure.  Sear veal on all sides in a dutch oven.  Transfer meat to a roast pan, cover with foil and roast in at 325ºF  oven for 2-2½ hours, basting occasionally with pan drippings remove foil for the last 20 minutes.  remove from the oven and let rest covered meat; keep warm.  If necessary, strain drippings; return to pan.brown some flour with butter, add broth and mushrooms.  Stir into remaining sour cream.  Cook and stir till mixture is thickened and bubbly. Slice along the rib.  Served with mashed potatoes and carrots.

Ill have to do my meatballs one of these days, i try not to use solid beef so it doesn't end up like boulders in my stomach.  We have them pretty often since they are better the next day, i usually make then ahead of time.

and who can resist Chocolate chocolate chip cookies with Roasted saigon cinnamon and cranberries. 

http://www.vealrecipes.com/stuffed-veal-breast/
http://mccormickgourmet.com/Recipes/Desserts/Chocolate-Crackled-Cookies.aspx