The Pioneer Woman's Meatloaf With a Twist

The Pioneer Woman- my latest food obsession!  I just love her.  Every recipe of hers I've ever tried has been fabulous.  About a month ago, a friend of mine got her cookbook.  I borrowed it, and in a
couple of hours I'd read it cover to cover.  I read cookbooks just like novels.  Is that weird? 

I don't actually own her cookbook- I'm sure I will soon- but I've found that most of her recipes are online. 

Here is her favorite meatloaf recipe. 



I wasn't a fan of meatloaf growing up, but this was just such wonderful comfort food.  Here's how I made it my own.  I added finely diced onion (about half an onion) and a couple of cloves of finely minced garlic to the mixture.  I just couldn't really imagine ground beef without onion and garlic. 

I was skeptical about the sauce.  I'm not a fan of meatloaf sauces that are too ketchupy (is that a word?).  But I am always a fan of a roasted red pepper.  So, I pureed a roasted red pepper (I used jarred) and added to the sauce.  WOW!!!

We loved this the night we made it, but you know what was OVER THE TOP good?  The next night, I sliced up the leftovers and heated up each slice in a really hot cast iron skillet.  Next time, I'll make it the night before we want to eat it, and reheat the whole thing this way.

Also, because I love a meal waiting on me in the freezer and the recipe seemed large to me, I divided it in half and froze half of it (wrapped tight in foil then bagged in a freezer bag).  The frozen one was just as good! 

The Pioneer Woman- Meatballs

These meatballs are great.  They are NOT for spaghetti!  Imagine little miniature meatloaves that have lots of surface area to get brown and seared. 

Pioneer Woman's Meatballs


(Image from Pioneer Woman)

I made these up ahead of time and stopped right before dredging them in flour.  I put them on some parchment paper on cookie sheets, froze them for a couple of hours, and popped them into a freezer bag to save for later.  On cooking day, I took them out of the freezer that morning to thaw.  Then I just picked up with the flour, browning, sauce and cooking.  So delicious! 

Oh, and guess what I added to the sauce?  Of course- pureed roasted red pepper.  I just can't help it. 

Dr. Pepper Pork Roast

I have a serious Dr. Pepper addiction (not the diet stuff), so I knew I'd love this recipe.  Plus, it's from the Pioneer Woman, so it has to be good. 

I adapted it for the crock-pot, and it worked perfectly!

(Image from The Pioneer Woman)

 

Here's the original recipe!

For the crock-pot, I did pretty much the same thing as the recipe says.  I quartered an onion and put in on the bottom (after putting in my crock pot liner of course- those things are awesome!).  Then, I put in the pork roast after some generous salt and pepper.  I dumped in the can of chipotle peppers and the Dr. Pepper, and I turned it on low and left it all day (probably 10 hours).