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. 

Freezer Crock Pot Meals

I don't use my crock pot as much as I should.  When I do, there is nothing better than coming home after a long day to a meal already cooked!  After a recent freezer and pantry clean out and organization spree, I decided I needed to use up some food we had on hand.  So I began meal planning and came across lots of recipes on Pinterest for freezer crock pot meals.  Basically, you assemble the ingredients for the meal in a freezer bag, and it is ready for your crock pot!

For just about an hour of prep work, I have four meals in the freezer ready to be defrosted and dumped in the crock pot!

Stephanie’s Goulash (Originally found at Mama and Baby Love)

3 cups chopped onions
2.5 cups coarsely chopped green bell peppers, about 2 cups.
4 large beets, peeled and diced, about 2 cups (I left these out of mine)
2 cups of baby carrots or diced carrots.
4 cloves garlic, minced.
2-3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch cubes, or whole and you can cut it after it is cooked.
4, 6-ounce can tomato paste.
2 tablespoons of Hungarian paprika or regular paprika (I used regular)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Divide everything into a gallon freezer bag, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.
Day of cooking, dump it into your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or low 6-8 hours, depending on your specific slow cooker.  Serve over 4 cups cooked pasta with sour cream.




Sausage and Peppers



6 Italian Sausage (I cut mine into chunks)
2 green peppers, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans italian diced tomatoes
Drizzle of olive oil
1 Tbs Italian seasoning

Put everything into a gallon freezer bag, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. 
Instructions for Bag: Cook on low 8 hours. After cooking, serve over hot pasta or on hollowed out, buttered crusty bread.



Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken (Originally found at Mama and Baby Love)
This recipe was originally for one meal, but it seemed like lots of food to me.  So for mine, I made a few changes to get 2 meals out of it! 



3 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, about 2 cups.
2 large green pepper, cut into strips or cubes, about 2 cups.
1 large red pepper, cut into strips or cubes, about 1 cup.
2 zucchini, chopped, about 2 cups.
2 cups chopped onion.
2 tablespoon flour.
3 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks.
2 15-ounce can of tomato sauce.
2 15-ounce cans of diced tomatoes.
8 tablespoons packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon ground yellow mustard.
4 clove garlic, finely minced, about 2 tablespoons.
2 teaspoon salt
Divide everything into two, one gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.
Day of cooking, dump it into your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or low 6-8 hours, depending on your specific slow cooker.

Much Requested Recipe: Easy Taco Soup

People ask for this recipe all the time, so here it is.  I love it so much because I usually keep all the ingredients in the pantry during the fall and winter, so I can make it any time!  I often double or triple it to put some in the freezer for later.  It freezes great.  I love it with Scoops tortilla chips. I bet it would be great without the meat and some extra beans.  I'll add a picture next time I make some.

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
- 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1 can beans, drained (kidney or black beans are both great in it)
- 1 can corn, drained (regular whole kernel or fiesta corn)
- 1 jar salsa
- Optional for serving: tortillas chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions or chives

Directions (couldn't be easier):
- Brown and drain meat.
- Add soup, broth, beans, corn, and salsa.  Stir well and simmer about 15 minutes.
- Serve with tortilla chips and optional garnishes. 
- Enjoy! 

What's for Dinner Tonight? Sloppy Joes

Alan loves sloppy joes.  I never really knew how much I liked them until I discovered that they don't have to come from a can of Manwich.  They are really easy to make.  I found this recipe in Cooking for 2 magazine, but just double the recipe to make more. 
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 tbls. chopped onion
- 2 tbls. chopped green pepper
- 1/2 c. ketchup
- 1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
- 2 hamburger buns

Directions:
- In a skillet, brown the beef, onion and pepper over medium heat; drain.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients (not the buns of course!) and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 
- Serve on buns.

Quesadilla Casserole

Super easy, super yummy, and even better left over!

I'm usually pretty organized when it comes to menu planning and grocery shopping ahead of time.  I'm not sure what happened this time.  I was certain I had all the ingredients to make this casserole.  I got home and began making the recipe- that's when I realized perhaps I hadn't planned ahead as well as I thought.  I was missing SEVERAL ingredients.  No worries- I improvised and it still turned out great.  Below is the original recipe with my substitutions in parenthesis. 

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion (I used dried minced onion)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce (I used leftover marinara sauce)
1 15 oz can black beans, drained (I used Bush's Grilling Beans Black Bean Fiesta, not drained)
1 8.75 oz ccan whole kernel corn, undrained (I used frozen)
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chilies, undrained
6 flour tortillas, 8 inch
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used colby jack)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Directions:

1.  Brown beef and onion in skillet; drain. 
2. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn, green chiles and spices.  Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
3.  Spread 1/2 cup of beef mixture on bottom of 9x13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
4.  Top with 3 tortillas.
5.  Layer with 1/2 remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of cheese.
6. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef, and cheese.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

6 large bell peppers

1 lb. lean ground beef (turkey would be great too!)

2 tbs. chopped onion

1 c. cooked rice

1 tsp. salt

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut a thin slice from the stem end of each pepper, removing the top.  Remove the seeds and rinse.  Cook peppers in enough boiling water to cover for 5 minutes.  Drain.

Cook beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat until brown.  Drain.  Stir in rice, salt, garlic, and 1 cup of the sauce.  Cook until hot.

Stuff peppers with beef mixture.  Stand peppers up in square baking dish.  Pour remaining sauce over peppers.  Cover and bake 45 minutes. 

Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake about 15 minutes longer.  Enjoy!