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.

Tortillas Primaveras

The Tortilla espanola, otherwise known as the Spanish omelet, is one of the favorites from my travels.  Traditionally, one would fry potatoes and onions and add eggs to create this dish.  However, when you don't have potatoes, but you do have a bunch of fresh goodness from your garden, you get creative.  I call these "Spring Omelets" or "Tortillas Primaveras". 

Shuck sweet peas.  Should yield about 1 cup give or take. Get the kids involved in this step!

Steam with small amount of water (squeeze in a little honey for extra sweetness).

Set aside.

Chop green onion coarsely. 

Dice 1 slice SPAM (1/4 of can).

Fry these two things in olive oil.

Heat 1/2 cup of canola oil in a small skillet, medium heat.

Crack and wisk 4 eggs in separate bowl.

If the other ingredients are still hot, temper eggs while adding veggie/meat mixture.

Pour into skillet when oil is ready.

Cook on first side until almost  done (reduce heat if browning).

Lay a plate on top of the skillet and flip so that the uncooked side is on the plate.

Slide tortilla back into skillet to cook the other side.

Slice and serve.  Good hot or room temp. 

We had this as a side with pork kabobs.  Yum!!

 

Alternative:

Instead of peas and SPAM, fry up some fresh spinach and grate in some parmesan cheese.  Cook the same way.  For a bigger tortilla, double recipe. 

For dessert, we had some awesome chocolate zucchini bread from one of our favorite sisters. ;)  It had a cute wrapper, which I assume was painted by the nieces.  So creative and thoughtful!!