Thursday, September 22, 2016

French Onion Soup Stuffed Meatloaf

This definitely combines the best of two comfort foods: French Onion Soup and Meatloaf. Stuffing caramelized onions, enhanced with Jack Daniels and gooey cheese inside a meatloaf is heavenly. Then covering it in that soup-inspired gravy and more cheese – How can you find a better meal to take the edge off a few of the first chilly days of autumn?

This is how to make meatloaf into an instant classic meal for company!


Ingredients
For the onions:
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 3lbs bag yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • ½ Tbs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt + ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ cup beef broth
  • ¼ cup Jack Daniels
For the meatloaf:
  • 2 lbs lean ground beef
  • ½ cup bread crumbs or instant oats
  • 1 tsp kosher salt + ½ tsp pepper
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 6oz Havarti cheese, grated, divided (Fontina also works)

For the sauce:
  • 2½ cups beef broth
  • ½ cup Jack Daniels
  • 2 Tbs Worcester sauce
  • 3 Tbs cornstarch
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
For the onions:
The night before:
Wipe out the crock pot and spray. Peel the bag of onions and cut each in half (top to bottom).
Very carefully on a mandolin slicer, slice each thinly into a large bowl. About half-way through, sprinkle with some ground thyme & paprika.
Dump these into the crock pot and set on high. This will cook for about 24 hours. Just let it go -- the painless way to caramelize onions!

Sometime just plan to make a batch of caramelized onions to freeze! Use an ice cube tray then thaw for last-minute burger and sandwich toppings. (Try some in a grilled cheese sandwich) Cup-sized portions can be used for pizza and pasta toppings, and larger containers are perfect for adding to soup.
Even if you don't have immediate plans for your caramelized onions, having a few zipperbags full stashed away in the freezer is never a bad thing! Now you know that the hardest part of caramelizing onions is peeling and slicing. Let the crock pot do all of the work for you.
On day of meal:
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, add half the onions, salt & pepper, then add the whiskey and beef broth. Reduce until very little liquid remains. And set aside. Try not to “taste” all of the onions!


For the meatloaf:
Preheat oven to 350°F.


In a bowl, combine ground beef, oats, salt & pepper, and eggs. Gently combine with your hands until blended, but try not to overwork the meat.

On a piece of wax paper, press the meat mixture into a 10x12-inch rectangle.


Set aside ½ cup shredded Havarti cheese and ½ cup of the caramelized onions. Sprinkle the remaining 1½ cups cheese and the caramelized onions evenly over ground beef.


Roll up like a jelly roll, starting from the short end, lifting the wax paper as you roll. Seal the end completely, and place seam-side down into a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. (While the meatloaf is baking, prepare the sauce.)

For the sauce:
Whisk ingredients together in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Reduce to a simmer until reduced and thickened.


Remove pan from oven, pour the sauce over the meatloaf, and sprinkle with the reserved onions and cheese.

Return meatloaf to oven 15-20 minutes, or until no pink remains.
Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.

Remove from oven and allow to stand 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

To go with this homemade mashed potatoes and some frozen mixed vegetables were prepared.



What a lovely sight!

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 162 g Servings 8
Amount Per Serving: Calories 353 Total Fat 17.1g Cholesterol 165mg

Love serving my Master Indy:

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.
To nourish, support and maintain.
To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to nurture, assist, and sustain
..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes 

by 

Dan White http://www.amazon.com

/dp/B00F315Y4I

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Monday, September 19, 2016

One Pot Chicken Rice & Mushrooms

Sometimes you just feel like putting everything together in one pan and letting it cook! When you add mushrooms and broccoli to rice and serve with a golden chicken breast you pretty much have all the bases covered.



Nothing else is needed for a healthy meal that is not heavy on fat at all! Low in cholesterol – low in sugar – Very high in Vitamin B6 --High in Vitamin C



Ingredients
3 boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons light olive oil
8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 cup uncooked white rice
1½ cups Broccoli florets
3 garlic cloves, chopped +
1 teaspoons oregano
¼ cup heavy cream
2¼ cup chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt +¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions


Do your cutting: Chop the garlic, cut the florets and immerse in a water bath, rinse and chop the mushrooms.


Heat your non-stick skillet to medium high heat with the olive oil. Cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces. Place the chicken in the hot pan and don’t touch it for at least 3 minutes and turn for 2nd 3 minutes. (chicken will not be fully cooked but will continue to cook with rice) Remove and set aside.


Add mushrooms to hot pan. Cook until caramelized and brown. About 4-5 minutes. (To get a perfect caramelization DO NOT salt them until they are nice and brown.  Salt can make them rubbery and difficult to sear.) 



After 4 minutes add the broccoli and the garlic. Stir this well for a second 4 minutes. 


 
Add uncooked rice and oregano. Add chicken stock, cream and salt and pepper. Nestle chicken on top of rice.


Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook 20-25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is cooked though.
This one pot meal covers all you need for a great meal.

For our music:

Nutritional Analysis:

Calories 192 Calories from Fat 64 Total Fat 7.2g Cholesterol 7mg. Sodium 300mg


So Happy to be allowed to serve my Master Indy
socialslave

To satisfy and restore.
To nourish, support and maintain.
To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to nurture, assist, and sustain
..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes 

by 

Dan White http://www.amazon.com

/dp/B00F315Y4I

/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via 

@amazon



Saturday, September 17, 2016

Minestrone Casserole

Here is a great example of what you can make out of the pantry! A box of “hamburger helper” lasagna/ can of corn/ can of tomatoes: leads us to this unique casserole meal with the taste of Minestrone soup! While you could use hamburger for this we choose to cut up a piece of bottom round in strips.


One of my neighbors just went on the medicine “Coumadin”. While this is effective against “A-Fib”, the regiment is a pain to learn and follow. So we checked out just what she would be allowed to eat. This meal fits the bill with no problems.


Ingredients

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 box “Hamburger Helper™” lasagna
1 Cup water
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
1 can (15.25 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
Grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 400ºF.


Do your cutting: chop the onions. Chop the garlic, carefully prying out any green shoots.



Chop the celery and slice the meat into ½ inch thick strips.


Having all of the cutting done makes everything go easier for you.

In 12-inch skillet, brown the beef strips.


Once browned, remove and add onion and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, drain.


Stir in uncooked Pasta, Sauce Mix and remaining ingredients except cheese.


 Pour into ungreased 3-quart casserole.
Cover; bake 45 minutes. Serve with cheese.




So happy that an easy meal makes such great taste!
For our music, How about:


Serving Size: 1 Serving     6 servings total
Calories 267.0    Calories from Fat 90 
Cholesterol 53.7mg    Sodium 306.5mg
Sugars 4.5g    Protein 15.5g


Serving my Master Indy
socialslave

To satisfy and restore.
To nourish, support and maintain.
To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to nurture, assist, and sustain
..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes 

by 

Dan White http://www.amazon.com

/dp/B00F315Y4I

/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via 

@amazon



Monday, September 12, 2016

Do-Se-Do Fried Chicken


Do-Se-Do is a basic square dance step. It is from the original French term dos-à-dos, which means "back to back". We used here because the secret to really crispy fried chicken is doing things twice, back to back. It has been awhile since tackling this favorite, so maybe now we can go even further and serve it on waffles!


Yes, we'll make short-cuts so that even an inexperienced cook can produce a mouth-watering signature dish of old fashioned southern cooking.



Ingredients:
8 pieces chicken thighs with both skin & bones
Buttermilk (half a pint)
2 eggs

Flour mix
1 cup Bisquick
1 Tbs paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp white sugar
3 tsp white pepper
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp black pepper
Frozen waffles
Syrup

Soak chicken pieces in a bath of buttermilk for about an hour to 4 hours max.


Set up your “stations”:
In a bowl whip 2 eggs and 1 tbs water


In another bowl combine the Bisquick mixture:
Mix: 1Tbs salt, 1Tbs paprika, 2 tsp garlic powder, and 2 tsp celery salt into the cup of Bisquick. Use a fork to combine and break apart.
Add:
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp basil
¼ tsp oregano
1 tsp ginger
3 tsp white pepper
1 tsp mustard powder
Combine well in wide bowl.
Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooking rack on top.



Dip Chicken pieces in the egg wash then roll in flour mixture: let stand on rack for 15 minutes! No cheating on this!



Then repeat into the egg wash and roll in flour mixture:
Again let sit for another 15 minutes:



This lets the coating adhere to the chicken!

This is the first back to back or “Do-Se-Do”

Heat oil to 340 degrees you will have plenty of time as the chicken sits!

Make sure oil is at 340:
Cook a few pieces at a time and just until a very light golden brown. About 4 minutes per side. Remove to a rack over a liner.


When all pieces are fired, raise the oil temperature to 375!
Fry each piece a second time until brown and crispy! Another 4 minutes per side.


If you're frying your chicken in batches, cover the cooked chicken with aluminum foil and place it in a warm electric oven (200ºF) while you finish cooking the rest of your chicken. This is NOT recommended for a gas oven, please!

This is the second back to back or Do-se-Do.

Don't lay on paper towels as it will stick into the coating. Nasty!

Follow directions on the toaster waffles and keep them warm in the oven too. Don't be afraid of sugar-free syrup, just as long as it is maple flavored. In fact why not heat that up in a small sauce pan on the stove top so that it can be served warm.

Serve by placing a waffle on each plate and topping with a piece of fried chicken. Let the guests butter & pour syrup as they like.


Have some hot coffee and maybe some juice for a meal they will be talking about for weeks!

For our music:


So Happy to be serving my Master Indy.

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.
To nourish, support and maintain.
To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to nurture, assist, and sustain
..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes 

by 

Dan White http://www.amazon.com

/dp/B00F315Y4I

/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via 

@amazon


Sunday, September 11, 2016

Stuffed Tomatoes

Aztecs used the tomato in their cooking. The exact date of domestication is may never be known but by 500 BC, it was already being grown in southern Mexico and probably other areas. Yes it is a member of the Nightshade family but no it was NOT thought to be poison! Cooking this “fruit” brings out some fantastic chemicals that are very beneficial. Besides, it tastes good and is low fat!


This basic idea is like the stuffed pepper recipe, only much simpler to make. Think of it as an upside down, inside out cheeseburger!



Ingredients:
1 lbs ground beef
1 red onion
8 oz fresh mushrooms
1 tbs Worcester sauce
3 large tomatoes
cheese

Directions:
slice and chop the red onion
Rinse and chop the mushrooms


In a skillet over medium low heat saute the red onion in oil stirring for about 5 minutes.


Add the chopped mushroom and cook for another 5 minutes.



Remove with slotted spoon.



Brown the ground beef over medium high heat until well cooked and add the onion and mushroom back and stir in the Worcester sauce.


Let simmer while you rinse the tomatoes and cut down the center of each. With a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and insides of each.


Place in an 8 x 8 baking dish as each is finished.



Turn on the broiler.
Carefully fill each tomato with the beef mixture and top with a piece of cheese. Pour about ½ inch of water into the bottom of the dish.

Slide under the broiler, at least 3 – 4 inches from the element or flame.
Watch carefully as you only want to melt the cheese and give it touches of light brown edges.

Serve with a side of vegetables.



For our music:

6 Servings:
Serving Size 227 g 
CALS 206   fat calories: 69   Fat 7.7 
Cholesterol 76mg   Sodium 217 mg 
Potassium 685mg



Serving with a great big smile:

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.
To nourish, support and maintain.
To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to nurture, assist, and sustain
..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes 

by 


Dan White http://www.amazon.com

/dp/B00F315Y4I/

ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via 

@amazon