Meat Loaf

Needed a use for some extra hamburger I had in my freezer and decided to try my hand at some meat loaf. I thought it turned out pretty well!

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MEAT LOAF


Ingredients for loaf:

• 1 1/2 pound hamburger
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon dried minced onions
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/2 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/2 tablespoon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce 
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/3 cup finely ground Stacy's Sea Salt pita chips (or other form of dried bread crumbs, crackers, crouton, etc)

Ingredients for sauce:

• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 1/3 tablespoon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Method

1. Line a casserole dish with aluminum foil (this is an important step for your sanity!)
2. Use a food processor to finely grind up your bread crumbs
3. Combine hamburger, egg, onions, milk, and the various other ingredients into a large bowl and stir together thoroughly using your hands
4. Place meat in casserole dish in a "loaf" shape--this is just an oblong shape roughly a foot long, 4 inche wide, and 4 inches deep
5. Mix together ingredients for sauce and pour on top of the loaf, spreading it around and allowing it to drip down the sides
6. Sprinkle just a little more brown sugar on the top
7. Place in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from oven, allow to "set" for 5-10 minutes, cut up like a loaf of bread and serve

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Creamy Chicken and Noodles

This is an easy an quick recipe that's perfect for those times that you don't really have time to plan an elaborate meal. Just use frozen pre-cooked chicken (which I recommend always having in your freezer) and serve with some nice steamed or boiled veggies.

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Ingredients

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
• 3 cups medium egg noodles, cooked and drained
• Chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat the soup, milk, black pepper, cheese, chicken and noodles in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until the mixture is hot and bubbling, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with the parsley before serving.

Captain Crunch Chicken Tenders

I had some Captain Crunch coated chicken tenders at a Planet Hollywood and thought they were so amazing because they were sweet and salty and crunchy. I found the recipe online and definitely thought I should try to make them!

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2 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 lbs chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into tenders)
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Thaw chicken breasts, cut each breast into 3-4 slim pieces, and dry strips with a paper towel before dredging.

Coarsely grind or crush the cereal in gallon size bag and set aside. Beat the egg with milk in separate bowl and set aside. Stir together the flour, onion and garlic powders and black pepper and set aside.

Dip the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour. Move around to coat well, then shake off the excess flour. Dip coated tender quckly in the egg wash, coating well, then place all coated tenders in the bag of crushed cereal. Shake bag until all the tenders are coated.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet to 325 (or for a few minutes on low-medium heat). Drop coated chicken tenders carefully in the hot oil and cook until golden brown and fully cooked, 3 to 5 minutes depending on size.

_____________________________Pictured with a baked potato and green bean casserole. I heated the oil too high, so the coating began to burn before the chicken had cooked fully. They were very yummy though, maybe I'll get them perfect next time.

Apple Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Looking at the recipes I have here so far, they are all sides or appetizers. I've got a few main dishes up my sleeves, but I thought I'd add one that I want to try over the holiday break.

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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/4 pound) fresh pork tenderloin
kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 Gala apple, cut into chunks
1/2 cup Riesling wine
1 cup apple jelly
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish large enough to hold the tenderloin without folding it.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the pork tenderloin on all sides. Remove the browned tenderloin to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle all sides of the meat with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Cook and stir the onion and apple in the same skillet over medium heat until the onion becomes soft, about 5 minutes, and pour in the Riesling wine. Scrape all the browned flavor bits off the bottom of the skillet and stir to help dissolve them into the wine. Bring to a boil, and pour the onion, apple, and wine mixture over the tenderloin.

Mix together the apple jelly and balsamic vinegar in a bowl until the mixture is smooth and without lumps. Spread the jelly mixture all over the pork.

Bake the loin in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees F, 30 to 45 minutes. Allow the tenderloin to rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and serve each slice with a spoonful of the apple-onion mixture.

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