31 Pins: Day 28

Do you know what happens when you take 26 lbs. of deer meat to the butcher shop to be made into hot dogs?  You get 52 POUNDS of HOT DOGS back! 

Don't get me wrong, we love hot dogs and that is one of the few meat items the kids will eat.  But hot dogs on buns is going to get boring.  I did some searching for casseroles and dishes with hot dogs as one of the ingredients.  

Original pin:

This is corn bread with hot dogs in it.  And cheese.  So, if you like corn dogs, you will definitely like this.  And if you like crock pot meals, then you will be excited to know I turned it into a crock pot recipe and it worked!

Mix up some corn bread batter according to the directions on the canister/bag.  I did not do the fresh veggies as directed, but threw in some minced onion and celery seed (and the pepper).  Cut/slice hot dogs and fry in butter.  Put hot dogs and cheese into corn bread mixture.  Spray crock pot with Pam.  Pour in batter.  Top with more cheese.  Set on high for about 3 hours.  Watch it if you can, because it was a little toasty by the time we got back from church.  

It was yummy!

Getting Creative with Meatloaf

Dear season begins in almost exactly one month.  That means we must clean out the freezer in preparation for new meat.  I have been craving meatloaf lately, which is a perfect way to use up a couple of pounds of burger.

Here are two recipes I made up:

Smokey Barbecue Meatloaf

1 lb. ground venison (or beef....)

1 egg

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1-2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins is the best imho)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup favorite bbq sauce

2 Tbsp. ketchup

salt and pepper

Mix thoroughly and place in one large loaf pan or two small loaf pans (spray with Pam first).  This is optional, but I topped with french fried onions and drizzled more bbq sauce.  (That was the best part!)  Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hrs.

Another option:

Mexi-meatloaf

1 lb. ground venison or beef

1 packet taco seasoning

1 egg

1/2 cup favorite salsa

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup (or so) tortilla chip crumbs (or salad strips)

(Perfect way to use up that partial bag that's been sitting in your cupboard for a few weeks...)

Mix thoroughly and place in greased (or Pammed) loaf pan(s).  Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours.

Josh liked the smokey bbq style, and I claimed the Mexican, of course.  T.T. and I enjoyed the leftovers on soft tortillas with taco sauce, cheese, and sour cream for lunch today.  YUM!

The  colorful tortilla strips made for one patriotic meatloaf!

Basically, be creative with your meatloaf.  Use what you have and think of flavors you like.  Bacon would be awesome in this classic dish.  Throw in some diced jalapenos or green chiles for extra kick in the Mexican style.  What about a buffalo (ground) chicken meatloaf?!?  Does your family enjoy Italian?  Throw in some ground hot sausage, peppers, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce.  And what about breakfast meatloaf with sausage?  Hmmm....  I'll have to try those next time. :)

Pierogi

Teresa and I decided to tackle home made pierogi (which is the plural form in Polish, I believe). :) She loves the browneyedbaker .  So that's where we headed for a recipe.  Here's the link we used:

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2008/10/03/homemade-pierogi/

First of all, we LOVED the dough!  It was so easy to use, didn't tear, didn't stick, soft, etc., etc.  A bakers dream!

For the filling, we added about 1/3-1/2 block of cream cheese for extra richness.

You could put anything you want in these things, and they would be great!

Don't forget to soak your potatoes to eliminate excess starch...

Roll and fill...

Fold and press closed - we used a fork, but I saw another blog with a cool pinch pattern that looked nice.

We boiled until they were floating, then sauteed in butter an onions.  DELICIOUS period

The hubby was out west helping with forest fires at the time, so I saved him some by par-boiling and freezing.  This evening, I revived by completing the boiling (until floating) and then sauteed in butter and onions.  They fell apart a bit but tasted just the same.