Showing posts with label Ground pork. Show all posts

My Incredible Meatloaf

in , , , , , , , on Friday, December 9, 2011



What can I say?  I make an incredible meatloaf!

Ummm, nothing makes me happier than a good meatloaf for the perfect comfort food!  Half ground beef, half ground pork, chopped fresh green pepper, Vidalia onion, cracker crumbs and seasonings bakes into the perfect entrée for a cold, snowy winter night here in the Midwest. 

The pork is a must, that’s what gives it its distinct savory flavor.  It works best with a few cracker crumbs, no bread crumbs, no oatmeal, and no cornflakes to make it mushy or grainy.  Bill is not a green pepper fan, but he says it is a must for meatloaf as it complements the meat and I wholeheartedly agree.  I’ve tried many toppings for my meatloaf and always end up just slathering ketchup over it, no fancy sauces. And it does not make it sweet.

I have been making it this way for many years and am always told I make a great meat loaf.   Be sure to make plenty in order to have leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches on good crusty bread, spread with a little mayonnaise!

Meatloaf is so tasty served with a crispy skinned baked potato and cole slaw; it makes me “darn near euphoric” just thinking about it!  Give my recipe a try and let me know how much you like it!

My Incredible Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds ground beef
1 ½ pounds ground pork
6 saltine crackers, crushed
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
1 egg
½ cup ketchup
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon McCormick’s Seasoned Pepper Blend
2/3 cup milk
Ketchup, for topping

Combine all ingredients, mix very well with your hands.
Place into a baking dish sprayed with Pam, form into a loaf.
Spread ketchup over top.
Bake about 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees, till done.

Note:  About half-way through baking time, drain off drippings. 

When done, remove from oven, let sit for a minute, cut into perfect tasty slices. 


YUM, YUM, YUM !!!

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Family Chili Feud: 2 Versions

in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Monday, November 21, 2011



How do you like your chili:  very hot or milder, with pork or a little Jim Beam, with pasta or without?  Whichever way, I’ve got a recipe for you!

Our tastes run a little mild compared to our older son’s, Bill. We like chili that’s tangy and spicy.  He likes HOT SPICY chili.   Spicy and hot certainly sounds more interesting than sweet and mild and his is incredibly hot!  It has great ingredients and a delicious taste but, we eat his chili and our lips go numb and our tongues feel like they are on fire.

I would not dream of cooking chili without chili beans, or of not eating it in a bowl with spaghetti, cheese and onions covering it.  He can’t imagine why anyone would ruin a good bowl of chili with beans and spaghetti!

I worked on my recipe for a long time and it is a very distant cousin to the chili recipes I made years ago.  It was when I discovered that adding dark chocolate to chili is the secret for making a tasty, savory chili.  It makes a big difference in that there is a depth to it and it smoothes out the flavors of the spices, plus it gives it a beautiful deep red color.  This is the way I always prepare it now. It makes a lot for a crowd or will freeze well for later meals. 

My son has worked on his for several years also; it is perfected and a recipe he can always rely on.  It has the perfect combination of meat and that is what really adds to the great flavor.  Be sure to let his tasty chili simmer for 1-2 hours.

So, here they are, you decide which is better!

My version is the following:

Ingredients:

4 lbs. ground beef
2 ½ to 3-46 oz. bottles tomato juice
1 large onion, chopped
2 or 3 T. brown sugar
1 t. salt
¾ c. chili powder
2 t. Hot Mexican-Style Chili Powder, optional
1 T. garlic powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 T. paprika
2 T. Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
3 16 oz. cans chili beans
spaghetti, cooked
cheddar cheese, grated
green onion, chopped

Brown meat and chopped onion, drain well, set aside. 
Pour tomato juice into large pan, bring to a boil.  
Add dry ingredients, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
Add meat mixture.
Simmer on low heat for at least a half hour, stirring occasionally,  do not boil. 
Place cooked spaghetti in bottom of soup bowl, pour chili on top.  Cover with grated cheddar cheese and green onion and enjoy.


There should be a warning with the following!



 
My son, Bill's version:

Ingredients:


2lbs ground beef                     
2lbs ground pork
2lbs steak
6+ large jalapenos
1 jar hot salsa
2 large white onions
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato paste
Mesa flour
Jim Beam
Chili powder
Ground chipotle pepper
Crushed red pepper
Cayenne pepper
Hot sauce (Scorned Woman or The Hottest F***ing Sauce preferred.  If not available, Dave's Insanity Sauce works but use a little more)
Spicy marinade of choice
Garlic hot sauce if available (Dave's Roasted Garlic has a really good taste).

Put a roll of TP in the freezer.

Marinate steak in bowl with spicy marinade of choice overnight, and then cook (preferably on grill) and slice up into small bite size pieces.
Chop up the onion.
Slice the jalapeños.
Brown the ground meat one pound at a time, adding in onions, jalepenos, spices, and hot sauce.  Heavy on chili powder and ground chipotle.  No more than six drops of Scorned Woman per pound of meat.  Cayenne and red pepper also, if desired.
Empty 1/2 - 3/4 cup of Jim Beam, salsa, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste into a large pot on medium heat.
Fill tomato paste cans with water and empty in pot.
Put meat in pot.
Add hot sauce (6 - 12 drops), chili powder, more chipotle, cayenne, and red pepper to taste.
Stir, stir, stir for 1 - 2 hours on medium heat- try not to let it boil.
Add half a handful of mesa flour towards the end to thicken.  Go easy on it, too much and it will turn into concrete.  If a large portion is going to be refrigerated immediately, go very easy on mesa flour.

Makes a little over a crock-pot of butt-burning chili.


Hope you give them both a try!





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Stuffed Cabbage

in , , , , , , , , , , , , on Saturday, November 5, 2011



I’ve told you before about Chef Mike Baruch and his great cookbooks like Street Food Chicago.  I just happened to come across this cookbook in Borders one day and was hooked from the get go. Here’s another of his recipes from The New Polish Cuisine.  This cookbook is outstanding with its great recipes, easy to follow directions, gorgeous photos and Chef Mike’s keen sense of humor!

 Chef Mike tells us, “Here’s my personal favorite recipe for Golabki!  …Don’t let me catch you sneaking a can of tomato soup in there.”  I’ve made stuffed cabbage before, but never as good as this! 

The mixture of ground beef and pork is a perfect meat duo for stuffed cabbage; however, what took this dish over the edge in deliciousness is the scrumptious tomato sauce topping it all.  It made the dish delectable.   I bought a really large head of cabbage which made stuffing the leaves an easy task.  They rolled up perfectly. 

I love the heartiness of this amazing dish; the way it filled me up and gave me a cozy warm feeling.  It truly hit the spot and was perfect for a chilly evening.  And I must say, it’s just as delicious leftover if you should be so lucky to have any leftover!


Ready for the oven


Now for Chef Mike's stuffed cabbage recipe:

Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 large head green cabbage
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, fine diced
½ pound 85% lean ground beef
¼ pound lean ground pork
½ cup long grain rice, pre-cooked and cooled
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
½ cup tomato sauce
1 large whole egg
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 dashes Tabasco
1 dash Worcestershire sauce

1 recipe Spicy Tomato Sauce

Preparation:

  1. In a large stockpot, bring the water and salt to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to a bubbling simmer.

  1. Working very carefully, remove the core from the cabbage with a sharp paring knife, cutting out bit by bit in a circular motion around the core.  Now insert as long handled two-prong roasting fork into the center of the cored cabbage (this will facilitate easier handling when moving the cabbage around).

  1. Immerse the cabbage into the simmering salted water, and cook for 5-7 minutes until a few of the cabbage leaves start to separate from the cabbage head.  Carefully with a kitchen tong, remove any of the cooked leaves to a colander to thoroughly drain, and continue the process until all the leaves are cooked.  Drain and cool completely.

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat, and add the garlic and onion and cook stirring until slightly softened and golden, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove the vegetables to a small bowl, and place immediately into the freezer to quickly cool.  After 5 minutes remove from the freezer and set aside.

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients (including the chilled vegetables) except the spicy tomato sauce.  Now gently using a heavy wooden spoon, blend the mixture thoroughly until evenly incorporated.

  1. Pick through all the cabbage leaves, creating two piles.  One for good equal sized leaves and the other for not so good leaves.  Using a sharp paring knife, gently remove from the good cabbage leaves any hard leaf stems that will impair easy rolling, and then place flatly onto a clean work surface.  Depending on leaf size, place 3-4 tablespoons of filling onto each cabbage leaf near their base.  Fold the bottom of the leaf over the filling, then fold in the sides toward the center.  Roll tightly into a bundle and place, seam side down into a medium sized shallow earthenware casserole.  Repeat with the remaining cabbage leaves and filling, being careful to roll tightly and arranging them snugly in the casserole.

  1. Now gently ladle the spicy tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls, and cover tightly with a piece of aluminum foil.  Poke three small air holes down the center of the foil and bake for 1½ hours until cooked.

Serves 4


Spicy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium red or green pepper, sliced
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1½ cups tomato sauce
1½ cups beef or chicken stock
¼ cup dry white wine
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of Tabasco
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

  1. Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat, add the garlic, onions, and peppers and cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes.  Do not let the vegetables brown.

  1. Now add the bay leaf and thyme and cook for exactly 1 minute to release their oils.

  1. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer slowly for about 10 minutes.

Makes about 3 cups



Tip from Chef Mike:  Don’t discard any leftover blanched cabbage leaves.  Just roll them up, and cook them along with the stuffed ones for a vegetarian treat.



ENJOY!  This stuffed cabbage with the spicy tomato sauce is amazingly delicious!!!



Be sure to enter my giveaway that was posted on October 29th!


Check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway!




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Gingery Pork Meatballs in Gravy

in , , , , on Tuesday, November 1, 2011




Lately, I’ve been addicted to roast pork with dried fennel seeds added.  Then I started thinking about how pork meatballs would be.  Meatballs are great!  They’re wonderful as an entrée and appetizer also.  You get big flavor without spending a lot of money. 

I never add breadcrumbs to meatballs as it always seems to me that it makes the meat mushy and mealy.  Years ago when I was a teenager, my Mom, who was a great cook, asked if I would like to make spaghetti and meatballs for friends invited over for dinner.  I had made it before, just for my parents and myself though and it was great, so I told her I would cook the dinner.  Instead of using the meatball recipe I had used before, I saw a recipe that sounded good in one of Mom’s cookbooks so I tried it. 

After they came out of the oven, I sampled a meatball and was really upset.  They were soft and mushy!  I couldn’t believe it!  The only thing different was the addition of dried bread crumbs.  Mom said they were fine and it was too late to do anything about it anyway. 

Then I took Julia Child’s advice ~ “I don’t believe in twisting yourself into knots and explanations over the food you make.  Such admissions only draw attention to it and then they think, “Yes, you’re right; it really is awful.”  You know what your guests do after you apologize for your flop --- they go to great lengths to reassure you that it’s fine.  Forget it!  Just eat it and act like it’s the best thing you’ve ever made or eaten!

I learned two important things from this cooking adventure ~ do not try a dish for the first time when company is coming for dinner and don’t add bread crumbs, oats, etc. to meatballs!

Maybe meatballs are just a tiny version of meatloaf and that’s why I like them so much!  These are really great meatballs; it has to do with the touches of ginger and fennel!  I served the meatballs and gravy over rice and then forgot all about taking a photo because we were hungry and wanted to eat dinner!



Gingery Pork Meatballs in Gravy

For the meatballs:

2 pounds ground pork
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup onions, chopped
½ teaspoon dried fennel
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the gravy:

3 tablespoons drippings or butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt

Method:

For the meatballs:
Combine all ingredients well in a large bowl and form into meatballs.
Place on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done.
Remove from oven, drain and reserve 3 tablespoons drippings.

Make the gravy:
Heat drippings or butter over medium high heat in a saucepan.
Stir in flour and cook until lightly browned.
Slowly pour in broth, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil and whisk until smooth and thick.
Add meatballs to gravy and heat thoroughly.
Serve with noodles or rice.
About 6 servings


ENJOY!!!



Be sure to enter my giveaway for Chef John Besh’s “My New Orleans” cookbook that was posted on October 29, 2010!


Check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway!





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Bill’s Enchilada Casserole (Junior, that is)

in , , , , , , , , , , , on Monday, September 12, 2011

See how yummy this looks!


Here’s “the whole enchilada!”  First off, way back on November 21st, remember the family feud chili post?  Well, now Bill has another great recipe!  Remember all the fire in his chili?  Well, not so much fire with this one!

I love Mexican food but, was not crazy about enchiladas until I tasted this dish.  I had enchiladas in a restaurant in Louisville (when I was still in school) and they were rolled up into a mushy, gooey, slimy mess.  I never tried them again.  Then, when Bill told me about this recipe several years ago, I inwardly cringed but, thankfully didn’t say anything (until now, that is.) 

I’m a sucker for a good casserole and this enchilada casserole is excellent, I adore it!  I love the fact that the tortillas are broken into quarters and then layered in the dish.  They keep their great texture and are delicious in this Mexican-inspired casserole ~ layers of tortillas, ground beef and pork, delectable sauce and plenty of cheese.  It’s all tied together in one harmonious whole!

I now have a totally other opinion about enchiladas; they are scrumptious and I truly love them. 

So let's get started!



Bill’s Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

1 large white onion
½ stick butter
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
Seasonings, to taste (ground chipotle, chili powder, cayenne)
6 jalapeno peppers
15 ounces enchilada sauce
8 ounces spicy salsa
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
2 packages shredded "Mexican" cheese (for the non-cheese fans, 1 package)
1 package yellow corn tortillas
Small can of sliced black olives

Method:

Sauté onion in ½ stick butter in skillet.
Place in large pot on very low heat.
Start browning 1 pound of meat with half the jalapenos in skillet.
Add spices to taste (I use ground chipotle, chili powder and cayenne.)
Add the soups, enchilada sauce and salsa to the pot.  Stir until it is a uniform color.
When the first pound of meat is cooked, put it in the pot and stir well.
Brown the other pound of meat in the skillet with the rest of the peppers.
Stir the mixture in the pot well, make sure it does not boil.
Add the rest of the meat to the pot when browned.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9” x 13” casserole dish with cooking spray.
Tear tortillas into quarters and layer the bottom of casserole dish, overlapping.
Pour about half the meat mixture into the dish, evening it out.
Add another layer of quartered tortillas. 
Spread layer of remaining meat mixture over all.
Add cheese, spreading over top.
Sprinkle with black olives.
It should reach just short of the top of the casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes, until hot all way through.

Bill’s notes:  I like to make and bake it the day before and refrigerate it overnight.  Then before serving the next day, put it back in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 before serving it- it solidifies a little bit better.  Also, fold tortilla in half, then in half again to form creases to make it easier to tear the tortilla into quarter pieces.

Nothing says hearty, filling, comfort food like this enchilada casserole!  Good one, Bill!  It’s a keeper!  Yum! Yum! Yum!

Try it, you’ll love it!!! 


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Grace’s Glazed Ham Loaf

in , , , , , , , , on Monday, September 5, 2011



I love this dish!  Yum!!!  Sometimes it’s hard to plan a meal and think of something different that all your family will enjoy.  This is a succulent entrée that will impress your family and friends.  It is excellent any time of year and is a perfect meat for company that is a little out of the ordinary. 

Grace, Mom’s friend, gave her this excellent recipe and it is a keeper, for sure.  The ham and pork mixture is moist and full of flavor and the tangy brown sugar glaze is the key.  You can grind your own ham or ask your butcher to do it for you like I do.  

It is a hearty traditional German recipe with a mixture of old-world flavors that will please your family and friends.  It would be so good served with a salad, mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus or even corn bread.

Grace’s Glazed Ham Loaf

Ingredients:

1 ½ pound smoked ham, ground
1 pound lean pork, ground
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients.  Form into a loaf in a baking dish.

Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup water
¾ cup vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon dry mustard

Mix together above ingredients in a sauce pan.
Boil to a thin syrup.
Pour onto ham loaf.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours.
Baste every 15 minutes.


Absolutely delicious!
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