Turkey Meatloaf

Sorry for my (very) long absence. I do want to keep this blog going, but I haven't been trying many new recipes lately. I need to get back into that. I was reading another blog where she talked about making meatloaf. One of those dishes I really love but forget about! Since my hubby has asked to start eating healthier, I thought I would do a turkey meatloaf instead of beef. Plus I love the taste of turkey, as long as it's seasoned enough!

This recipe is courtesy Ina Garten, my all time fav celebrity chef. I've never made anything of hers that isn't delicious! This is a very basic recipe, but it is delicious. I changed the ingredient portions as she had a recipe with 5 pounds of turkey and I used the package that has 1.25 pounds. It's not exactly perfect but I estimated how much I used and I think it's pretty close... not a recipe that needs to be an exact science for sure. Instead of feeding 8-10 as the original recipe, this fed my husband and I for supper and provided some leftovers for lunch. :)



Ingredients

1 chopped onion (medium size)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper to taste
couple dashes dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 package ground turkey breast
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool a bit.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 hour until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Broil the top to brown it at the end if it has not already.

Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

Tres Leches Cake

Here is another recipe from my Food Network magazine! This cake looked so fancy I wanted to try it! Plus you can make it ahead which is awesome! I had a piece for breakfast - it was great! Even though there is a very small amount of rum, since it's uncooked in the recipe and I'm pregnant, I substituted vanilla extract. I also read that rum extract would work to keep the flavor without the alcohol content, but I didn't want to buy that for one recipe. It was delicious with the vanilla, but I can tell you rum would really be something special in this one! Mixed with the milk that bit of flavor just really popped, and the moisture in the cake was great! It was kind of fun making a cake from scratch (I NEVER bake from scratch!) and even though I may have overcooked it a tad (The Rachel Zoe project was on TV - can you blame me?) the milk still make for a perfectly moist cake! I hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients
vegetable oil, for greasing
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounce can evaporated milk
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon dark rum
whipped cream
ground cinnamon
mangos or strawberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan with vegetable oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until pale and slightly thick, about 6 minutes. Slowly beat in the melted butter, then beat in the vanilla and 1/4 cup whole milk.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula to make a thick batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Run a knife along the edges to release the cake from the pan and flip onto a dish with sides.

Whisk the remaining 2 cups whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk and rum in a bowl. Pierce the warm cake all over with a fork, then pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

To serve, cut a piece and top with whipped cream. Cover the cake and plate with sprinkled ground cinnamon. Add fruit on the side.

Orange Julius

Don't you just love copy cat recipes that actually taste like the thing they're copying? Well I've got a good one for you friends, from my Food Network magazine. This tasted just like the Orange Julius at the mall, and boy was it a refreshing treat on a hot summers day! I hope you like it!!



Ingredients
1 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup ice

Directions
Mix the orange juice concentrate with 1 cup water in a large measuring cup or bowl (or use 2 cups orange juice instead).

Transfer the orange juice to a blender. Add the milk, vanilla, both sugars, and ice and blend until smooth and frothy. Divide among 4 chilled glasses.

French Toast Casserole

I really loved when my mom made this casserole (or is it a hot dish?) so of course I got the recipe! It's nice because you make the majority of it ahead. It's also very simple and delicious! I had some bread from Ali and Jon that was perfect to make this - an all the other ingredients were on hand! Don't you just LOVE that?



Ingredients
1 loaf french bread cut in 1 inch cubes
8 eggs
3 cups milk
4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. salt

Topping
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions
Grease a 9x13 pan, place bread on bottom.

In mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and drizzle over top.

Mix cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over casserole.

Bake 45 to 50 min. or until done. Serve with syrup.

Honey Chicken Wings

I got this recipe out of a cookbook from Sam's Aunt Pearl... I think I'm going to be sharing a lot of recipes out of that one! This was such a yummy marinade for the chicken! We used drumsticks since they were cheaper than the wings, and we definitely didn't use three pounds! However I did still make the full recipe, and next time I would cut it in half for sure. Oh well, lesson learned.

You can tell from the picture the sauce carmelizes until it is thick and delicious. It is sweet and savory at the same time; a perfect combo. We both really enjoyed this and I will be making it again. It couldn't be easier!!



Ingredients
3 pounds chicken wings
1 cup honey
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
pepper

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place wings in a 9X13 pan. Mix together remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over wings. Bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn occasionally.

Rhubarb Crisp

Here's a delicious rhubarb crisp recipe courtesy of my mom. I was CRAVING rhubarb crisp and got some rhubarb at the farmers market and mom supplied this recipe! I was taking it to a friends' house at night and ran out of time for cooking, and mom had said that even 45 minutes is sometimes not sufficient to thicken the rhubarb mixture. So after mixing the rhubarb mixture I simmered it over medium heat until it was the thickness I wanted, then I put it in the pan, topped with the crumble mixture and baked it until it was bubbling and browned on top. Either way - YUM!!!

Ingredients
Topping
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter melted
Filling
4 cups rhubarb cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water

Combine flour, oats and sugar. Mix well. Stir in melted butter to make crumbs. Set aside. Combine rhubarb, sugar, flour, cinnamon and water, mix well. Pour rhubarb mixture into greased 9 x 9 pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake in a 325 oven for 45 min. until it is bubbly in the center. (You can substitute strawberries for 1/2 rhubarb.)

Ranchero Macaroni Bake

This was a suprisingly yummy mac and cheese recipe. I was intrigued by the salsa in it... I thought it would either be really good or really gross. Turns out it was yummy! Tomato is a natural pairing with pasta and cheese, and the bit of spicy in there was actually pretty amazing! Sam enjoyed it as well. I got it from campbellskitchen.com. I did change the topping from tortilla chips to potato chips because that is my favorite topping for casseroles. Hope you like it!

Ingredients
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 cup salsa
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
3 cups elbow pasta, cooked and drained
1 cup coarsely crushed potato chips
few pats butter

Directions
Stir the soup, milk, picante sauce, cheese and pasta in a 3-quart shallow baking dish.Sprinkle with the potato chips and top with butter.

Bake at 400°F. for 20 minutes or until the pasta mixture is hot and bubbling and chips are golden brown.

Funfetti Bars

Oh food blog, I haven't forgotten you. I'm just using all my energy baking another human being instead of pastries! But you know what, if my friend Angie can start back on two blogs, I can handle one! So here it goes - here are some recent recipes that are really good (in my opinion!) I'll post some the next few days - promise!

Our friend Amy made these yummy bars one night and I literally ate half the pan. First of all, who doesn't LOVE funfetti cake mix? And then some cream cheese frosting to top it off? Delish! I really enjoyed these in bar form versus cake - they were just so dense and yummy! Sure this is not a difficult recipe but it's easy and delicious and everyone seems to like them!



Ingredients
1 box of funfetti cake mix
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, softened in microwave
can of cream cheese frosting

Directions
Mix eggs and butter with cake mix and put in 9 X 13 glass pan. Will seem too thick but just press down evenly - it will rise.
Bake for 375 degrees for around 16 minutes or until brown. Frost when cooled.

Brussels Sprouts

Sorry for my lack of posting to this blog. I'm not going to promise it'll get better in the near future. Pregnancy has left me achey, tired, and preoccupied reading baby books and (trying) to create a nursery. But I'm not giving up on my food blog! It really does motivate me to try new things and I don't want to give that up! :)

Speaking of trying new things, Food Network has been having a lot of brussels sprouts lately. It got me thinking, I don't think I've ever eaten a brussels sprout! (In fact, I didn't even know the name! I thought they were "Brussel Sprouts" and then realized when googling that there should be an "s" on "Brussels"). Ha!

I figured this would be a good recipe to try them out - onions, grease, chicken stock and bacon. Can't go wrong! The verdit? They weren't terrible, not like their reputation makes them out to be! And they are kind of adorable looking. Are they my favorite vegetable? No, not even top 10, but they weren't bad. If you have an opinion, you can leave it. I'd love to hear about your brussels sprouts experience! Sam wouldn't try them and I talked to one co-worker who pretty much said she'd rather eat feet than brussels sprouts. But like I said, not terrible, and someone's got to like them or they would stop selling them!

**Recipe courtesy of Rachel Ray.

Ingredients
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 shallot, chopped (I used an onion)
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, small spouts left whole, larger spouts halved
Salt and pepper, to your taste
1 cup chicken broth

Directions
Brown bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan, 1 turn. Add shallots to the pan and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Add Brussels spouts and coat in oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook Brussels sprouts 2 to 3 minutes to begin to soften, then add broth. Bring broth to a bubble, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer sprouts to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and top with cooked bacon bits.

Alice Jo's Spaghetti Sauce

If there is one thing Sam loves, it's spaghetti. So I was excited to try this new recipe from one of Paula Deen's friends, Alice Jo (I love how southerners have two first names!) I like the three types of tomatoes to change the flavor - by the way, I broke up the stewed tomatoes with my spoon so there weren't so many big chunks. The bell pepper was really a good flavor blended with everything else, and the Worcheshire and sugar was something I haven't put in my marinara sauce before. We really enjoyed it - especially leftovers. And don't forget to top with parmesean cheese!!



Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water

Directions
Brown the beef in a large, heavy bottomed pot, then drain off the fat. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic and saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, seasonings, and water. Simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool. The sauce will keep for several days covered and refrigerated. Serve with spaghetti or your favorite pasta.

Balsamic and Honey Glazed Peaches

I saw someone make this on food network and I was like "Hey - that's so easy I don't even have to print the recipe!!" So I just made some for myself for supper. They were very tender and sweet, with a nice savory note from the balsamic. They could be used for a very fancy meal I think! But it only took 5 minutes to make!

Ingredients
Apricots, halved and pitted
couple tablespoons butter
1 part balsamic vinegar
1 part honey

Directions
Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Then add the apricots, flesh side down. Saute until they are warm, tender, and browned. Combine equal parts balsamic and honey. Drizzle over the apricots.

On food network, she talked about serving them over ice cream or yogurt. I just had mine plain, but that sounds like a good idea too!

Unicorn Chicken Salad

Oh my word - I LOVE this Unicorn Chicken Salad! My Aunt Sue always makes it and I adore it!! Why "Unicorn" you ask? I believe its because the recipe comes from a restaurant in my hometown called The Unicorn, and they were famous for their chicken salad.

My pictures don't do it justice - mostly because I used a ton of mayo so it just looks white. I love mayo. :) This is a big batch but I used 3 chicken breasts, 1 small package nuts, 1 can water chestnuts and enough grapes to go throughout. And about 2-3 pieces of celery. And then I used 1/4 of the sauce to make myself lunches for a few days in a row. I've also used canned chicken which works well, but since I'm pregnant now I'm not supposed to eat that without cooking it first.

Anyway, this is soooo yummy. I mean who doesn't love chicken salad? But THIS is savory with the soy sauce, sweet with the grapes, and then has a nice, unexpected kick from the curry powder. YUM! I can hardly wait for lunch tomorrow! I'm going to enjoy mine on some toasted french bread.



Ingredients
2 quarts cooked chicken breast (I broiled mine to keep it moist)
2 6oz cans of sliced water chestnuts
2 lbs seedless grapes (I used red tonight)
2 cups chopped celery
2 1/2 cups toasted slivered almonds
3 cups mayo
1 T curry powder
2 T soy sauce
2 T lemon juice

Directions
Combine chicken, water chestnuts, grapes, celery and almonds. In another bowl, mix mayo, curry powder, soy sauce and lemon juice. Pour sauce over first mixture and mix well. Chill. Enjoy!

Its good over lettuce, on a sandwich, croissant or toasted bread, or even plain!!

Good Recipe Website

Hi all! I don't have any great recipes today, but I wanted to pass along this website they've been advertising on TV... Campbell's Kitchen.

Go check it out! You can search by time, ingredients, flavors (spicy, sweet, Mexican, etc.) and its really convienent. I found a lot of good looking recipes too - all easy and cheap. And a LOT of casseroles/hot dishes which is so great for winter. What would you expect with campbells soup recipes?

Sam's Favorite Chocolate Bundt Cake

This is a recipe from Annie, Sam's mom. It is his all-time favorite cake! My mom has started making it too - and now me. :) It is so easy but absolutely delicious and chocolaty! Its best a little warm but Sam just had a leftover piece for breakfast so you can really enjoy it any time!!



Ingredients
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 - 12oz. package chocolate chips or chunks
1 3/4 cup milk
2 eggs

Directions
Mix all ingredients together by hand until well blended. Pour in greased bunt pan and bake at 350 for 60 minutes. Let cool and then gently dump the cake onto a cakestand or plate. Enjoy!

Sometimes I like to make a chocolate ganache of cream, chocolate chips, and a little butter melted together to drizzle over the cake. But it is delicious without so you don't have to do that if you don't want to!!

Pumpkin Bread

I was really excited this pumpkin bread turned out... I wanted a recipe that would be moist, pumpkiny and delicious. I found this one online and it fit the bill! When I made my batch yesterday, I didn't use 2 regular size loaf pans, I used 6 of the small-sized so I could have a little for myself and give the rest away! It worked out well!



Ingredients
2 cups canned pumpkin
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
Set all the ingredients on the counter so they can come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray.

Mix all ingredients in large bowl with electric mixer until it is well blended and not lumpy.

Bake 1 hour (or 40 minutes if using smaller loaf pans) or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The Best Creamed Corn You've Ever Had

I got this recipe from a coworker... it is one of my absolute favorites! It is soooo decadent, I would take this over a big piece of chocolate cake. Indulgent, decadent, delicious. Tempted to try it yet? :) When I first tasted it I thought that it had cream cheese in, but no. Its just the cream and parmesan that make it so great. I hope you enjoy!



Ingredients
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a skillet over medium heat, combine the corn, cream, salt, sugar, pepper and butter. Whisk together the milk and flour, and stir into the corn mixture. Cook stirring over medium heat until the mixture is thickened, and corn is cooked through. Remove from heat, and stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted. Serve.

Salsa Chicken

This is one of my go-to meals. I can make it in 20 minutes and keep all the recipes on hand. Plus Sam LOVES it. Win-win! :) It's probably not the healthiest ever, but it's pretty tasty.



Ingredients
1 can chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 tbs. olive oil
1 normal sized jar of salsa
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup mexican shredded cheese
2 cups rice, cooked
sour cream
chips

Directions
Saute over medium heat the chicken and onion in olive oil until onion is softened. Pour in the whole jar of salsa and the chicken stock. Simmer for about 10 minutes until it thickens. Add the cheese and stir until melted.

Serve over rice or with chips, and with sour cream if you like.

Rice and Raisins

I made this the other night because it just sounded good. I remember growing up we would have this when dad had two-cylinder meetings because he was not a rice fan, and mom, Linds and I loved it. I hope I made it right - mom feel free to comment if I did not! :) It tasted good though! Sam said it sounded like a horrible combination (but he did not taste it). What do you think?



Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup white rice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Heat water, milk, butter and raisins until boiling. Stir in rice and remove from heat. Let sit for about 20 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed. Stir in sugar and cinnamon to taste. Enjoy!

3 Delicious Apps: Sausage Stars, American Bruschetta and Cheddar-Bacon Pinwheels

Today I wanted to share the 3 (simple) delicious recipies I made at our New Years' Eve Progressive Supper since we were the first house with appetizers. :) Sausage stars are my mom's recipe - and Sam's favorite Christmas appetizer. I made an "American Bruschetta" with cream cheese - it adds a rich creamyness that I kind of like. Finally I made cheddar-bacon pinwheels... just saw it online and it looked good. Hope you enjoy!



SAUSAGE STARS

Ingredients
2 cups (2 lbs) cooked crumbled sausage
3 cups colby jack or cheddar jack cheese, shredded
1 cup Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1 package won ton wrappers

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Blot sausage if needed and combine with cheese and ranch dressing.
Lightly grease muffin tin.
Press 1 wrapper into each cup. Bake 5 minutes or until slightly browned.
Fill with sausage mixture. Bake 5 minutes or until bubly.

AMERICAN BRUSCHETTA

Ingredients
Cherry tomatoes
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
French bread, sliced
Cream cheese

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put cherry tomatoes in a pan and cover with olive oil, generously sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes. On another baking sheet, put slices of french bread and toast them until they are golden brown using the broiler. Then, spread cream cheese on the toast and top with cherry tomatoes. (You may also top with chopped fresh basil).

CHEDDAR-BACON PINWHEELS

Ingredients
1 can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rols
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
1/4 cup cooked real bacon pieces or 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion

Directions
Heat oven to 350.
Unroll dough, separate into 2 long rectangles. Press seams together.
Spread dressing over dough. Sprinkle with bacon, cheese and onions.
Roll up starting with the short side. Press edge to seal. With a sharp knife, cut each roll into 8 slices. Place cut side down on greased cookie sheet.
Bake 12 to 17 minutes utnil eges are golden brown. Serve warm.