Tag: home cook

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The Best Home Cookin’ Meatloaf Recipe: Cook Up Some Comfort Food

deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

Cooking With Steve: My husband developed this meatloaf recipe after A TON of trial and error–and it was worth all that time and effort!

My husband has been the meatloaf expert at our house for quite some time. Ever since one of my kids requested meatloaf for a celebratory event and mine was, well—not all that awesome—-I have shied away from the recipe. It’s not all that complicated, but somehow mine never quite turned out to be that savory comfort food you want with a good meatloaf.

My husband set out on an experiment of sorts to come up with the best way of making home-cooked meatloaf. Each time, he would tweak the spices and proportions just a little bit. Well, I think he finally has done it. I think this recipe is the BEST meatloaf recipe out there.

Even if you don’t have a big family to cook for, meatloaf is a great comfort food option. Now that we don’t have as many kids at home, we always have leftovers, and the leftovers are always amazing for lunch or on a sandwich. These days, we think it’s worth cooking a meatloaf just to have a yummy lunch option for our son for the week.

You can even freeze meatloaf after it is cooked; see the article here.

Here is how to make your own delicious meatloaf:

The Best Home Cookin’ Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground meatloaf mix or ground beef

3 slices of fresh bread

1/4 milk

1 beaten egg

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

2 T dried parsley

1/2 t dried sage

1/2 t dried thyme

1/2 t black pepper

1 t salt

1 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T ketchup, plus more for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Process the fresh bread slices in a food processor (a mini processor works well) for about 3 minutes to form fine breadcrumbs.

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly with your hands until the mixture is homogenous.

Place the meat into a roaster or 9 by 13 baking dish. Form it into a loaf.

Top the loaf with ketchup, an extra sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Place the loaf into the preheated oven and cook for one hour or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.

Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow it to rest for five minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

Ground meat is the basis for meatloaf. Choose a mix of beef, veal, and pork or just beef.
All of the ingredients go in one big mixing bowl.
The loaf ready for the oven.
Delicious homemade meatloaf

Have a beautiful day, and enjoy some home cookin’ 🙂

Cook Up Some Easy Mexican Shredded Pork with a Green Salad- Low Carb Recipe
Cooking

Cook Up Some Easy Mexican Shredded Pork with a Green Salad- Low Carb Recipe

deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

Make this delicious  Mexican recipe using your leftover pork roast! Preparation is quick and easy using one skillet. If you’re eating low carb and also paying attention to your grocery bill, pork is a fantastic option. Often, we buy a large pork loin and roast it in the oven for a meal and use the leftovers for a second meal. Where we live, pork is by far the cheapest meat option. If you are eating a lean cut, pork is a healthy low carb protein as long as you’re not overdoing it. This recipe combines pork with a slew of veggies to really pump up the nutrient power!

I was eating this out of the skillet while cooking. My husband asked me to please write down exactly how I made it, so I think he also liked it. 🙂 You can also use this seasoned pork for tacos if you prefer. Just add taco shells and you’re set!

Here’s how to make this yummy recipe. 

Ingredients:

Pork

four cups of lean cooked pork, shredded

1 T olive oil

1 4.5 can of mild green chilis

1 small onion, finely diced

1/4 cup bell pepper, finely diced

2 t salt

1 t pepper

1 t garlic powder

2 t oregano

3 t cumin

3 t chili powder

¾ cup water

Dash of hot sauce to taste

Salad:

1 head of iceberg lettuce or three romaine hearts, shredded

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 tomato, diced

Sour cream for topping

Taco sauce for topping

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and peppers and cook until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add chilis, meat, spices, and water. Reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Place lettuce on each plate, followed by pork, cheese, tomato, sour cream, and taco sauce. 

Enjoy! 🙂

Have a beautiful day and make it a taco salad Tuesday! 🙂

Use leftover cooked pork and dice up some veggies
Turn your pork into a flavorful Mexican-spiced dinner
Dice some salad ingredients

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Cooking

Easy Corn and Black Bean Salsa

deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

Cooking With Steve

My husband loves to cook. Which is a great thing for me and the rest of the fam. 🙂 Generally, I also find it rewarding to put something yummy on the dinner table for the family. My husband and I each have our own specialties: the kids claim my soup is better (I think it’s because I do a lot of finessing and don’t follow exact rules) but my husband is undeniably the king of candy-making and anything that is very exacting and more like a chemistry experiment. 

Over the years, his cooking has evolved, and he has created a plethora of family favorite recipes. I’m sharing those with you here in a new feature, Cooking With Steve.

In our first installment, you will find our family recipe for corn and black bean salsa, delicious, healthy, easy, and perfect for your holiday weekend! This nutrient-packed dish is a snack you will feel great about serving the kiddos! In the right season, fresh veggies are awesome in this recipe.

Easy Corn & Black bean salsa

Ingredients:

15 oz can of black beans – rinsed

15 oz can of sweet corn – rinsed

1 large tomato – diced

1 medium onion – finely chopped

1/4 c green pepper – chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cilantro (dried or 1/4 of fresh chopped)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Jalapeno Hot Sauce (we use Trader Joe’s brand for this recipe)

Instructions:

Mix in bowl and chill for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.

Have a beautiful Labor Day and enjoy some veggies! 🙂

Mexican Handmade Cooking Pot, 5 Quart

Romertopf Classic 4 Quart Large Baker

Cuisinart stainless food chopper
Lemon and Basil Apron and Oven Mitt Set
Cooking

Cook Up Some Simple, Delicious Brazilian Style Chicken

deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for a flavorful chicken main dish recipe that’s a snap to prepare. This easy oven-baked chicken is bursting with Brazilian flavor. Also great for grilling. Everyone at our table thoroughly enjoyed this delicious dish with a Brazilian twist!

ingredients

2 pounds of bone-in chicken pieces

One onion, sliced

Marinade

1 T lemon juice

3 T orange juice

2 t cumin

2 t oregano

2 t white pepper

1 T canned minced garlic

2 T olive oil

½ t dried cilantro

1 t red pepper flakes

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together and combine with chicken in a freezer bag, making sure to coat all parts. If you are cooking the same day, marinate for one hour or longer. The chicken may be marinated overnight.

The seasoned chicken and onions, ready to go in the oven
When finished, the chicken is crispy and flavorful.
For a low-carb meal, serve with yellow squash and a salad.

Remove the chicken from the bag and place in a shallow baking dish. 

Top the chicken with onion slices.

Bake at 375 for 1 hour or until chicken is fully cooked and juices run clear. 

The chicken can also be grilled. 

The internal temperature of the chicken must reach 165 degrees F in order to be fully cooked. 

Serve with jasmine rice. 

For a low carb side option, consider sauteed zucchini or yellow squash, recipe here. 

Have a wonderful day and enjoy! 🙂 

Cooking

Three Amazing Low-Carb Zucchini Dishes With Recipes

deb@bluewillowlane1 Comment

Late Summer: fireflies, warm nights, last quick getaways, and….zucchini. 🙂 If you’re a gardener, live near a gardener, or are related to a gardener, you probably are feeling a little overrun with zucchini right about now. I’ve got to tell you though, I actually love zucchini. In fact, it’s one of the few veggies that all of us agree is something to look forward to seeing on the dinner table and sometimes we even fight a little over the seconds! We don’t even make it into bread. Here are some of our favorite ways to cook up all that zucchini!

If you’ve never tried spiralizing your veggies, you really, really should! A few years ago, our daughter gave us this handy gadget. We were skeptical. I mean, as seen on TV? Vegetable pasta? But I’m telling you, I wouldn’t want to be without it now. It makes veggie noodles in minutes, goes in the dishwasher, plus cooking those zucchini noodles is so simple. This year, we even gave a veggetti to our zucchini supplier (aka my mother-in-law). This delicious recipe only uses four simple ingredients and takes about seven minutes of cooking time!

Easy Butter Garlic Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients

3 Small Zucchini

4 T. Butter

2 t. Dried Oregano

2 t Garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Spiralize the zucchini and place it on paper towels for 15 minutes to absorb some of the liquid. Melt the butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Add all ingredients to the skillet and saute, stirring constantly, until the zucchini is cooked through, about seven minutes.

Oven-Baked Zucchini Parmesan

  This easy, cheesy side dish is oh-so-delish. This week when I made it my family wished I had made a double batch! For a lower carb option, eliminate the breadcrumbs and use double the grated parmesan.

Ingredients

2-3 Zucchinis, sliced thin (about enough to cover one cookie sheet)

1 T Olive Oil 

¼ cup grated parmesan (we love this 4C Homestyle for this recipe and really all cooking. It tastes fresh but is so convenient)

¼ cup panko bread crumbs (for a lower carb option, use ½ cup parm and omit bread crumbs)

!/2 t garlic powder

¼ t white pepper

¼ t salt

Preheat oven to 450.

In a large bowl, combine the zucchini slices with olive oil, stir to coat

In a separate bowl, combine parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic powder, white pepper, and salt. 

Line a baking tray with foil and spray with non-stick spray

Cover the zucchini slices in the cheese mixture and put on the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

My husband requested we try substituting zucchini in our favorite lasagne recipe to cut out the carbs. Making a whole meal with one pound of lean ground chuck and this tasty vegetable turned the typical heavy lasagna into a healthy dinner option! As a bonus, we had some leftover pieces for lunch the next day.

Cheesy Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

2-3 large zucchini- enough to make “noodles” for your lasagna

1 pound ground chuck

1 24 ounce jar of pasta sauce (we use RaguTraditional)

15 ounces ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Slice the zucchini lengthwise using a mandoline. Slice them thin (about ⅛ inch) so they will retain less water. Place the slices on paper towels while you mix the rest to help them dry a little before cooking. 

Combine the ricotta, parmesan, and egg in a bowl, set aside

In a large skillet, brown the beef until no longer pink, chopping it up as you go. 

Add the jar of sauce to the meat, reserve about ½ cup

Put this reserved sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish

Add a layer of zucchini noodles

Place ½ cup of the meat sauce on top of the zucchini

Place ½ cup of the ricotta mix over the meat sauce

Sprinkle with mozzarella

Repeat these layers three times

Top the lasagne with a generous amount of the grated mozzarella

Bake for 45 minutes

Let cool for five minutes before cutting.

Happy summer! Enjoy those zucchinis while you have them and let me know how you cook them! 🙂