FRANKENSTEIN MEATLOAF

I've never been a huge fan of meatloaf. Until now. I have had to start learning how to cook more than pouring a bowl of cereal or eating Cheez-Its out of the box for dinner now that there is a man living in my house 😉 Meatloaf typically contains milk so I was on the hunt for a dairy-free version due to Cody's dairy intolerance. I came across numerous recipes on the internet that claimed to be "THE BEST" meatloaf ever but none of them sounded great. I took ingredients from each recipe to make my Frankenstein-esque meatloaf and IT. IS. SO. GOOD. I sat on the counter and ate at big chunk of it while it was still warm. 

I know this recipe sounds funky but I'm almost certain that you will love it! If you don't.... I can't help you anymore 🤷 

Who said recipe testing wasn't glamorous ?!?!

Frankenstein Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs lean ground beef (I used 85/15)

1 c. soft breadcrumbs

1 beaten egg

1/2 c. ketchup

1 clove minced garlic

1 T. dried parsley

2 T. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. finely chopped white onion

1 T. prepared horseradish 

GLAZE

2 T. brown sugar

2 T. prepared mustard

1/3 c. ketchup

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Dump all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and use your hands to thoroughly combine all ingredients.

3.  Shape in 10-inch loaf pan.

4.  Make the glaze. In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.

5.  Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs

Once upon a time in law school (over a decade ago) I had a genius idea to make spaghetti in the same pot as the sauce (boil the noodles with the sauce and some water). It did not go well. There was spaghetti on the ceiling at some point. Pizza was ordered. THIS WEEK I REDEEMED MYSELF! 

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs

I found a recipe online but tweaked it to be able to just dump everything in the pot and not have to measure out meatballs and sauce. 

Ingredients

• 1 bag (28 oz) frozen meatballs (I used 
• 16 oz box of spaghetti
• 1 jar (44 oz) marinara sauce (I used Prego)
• 28 oz water

Instructions

• Pour a little water in the IP (about 1 cup)
• Add the frozen meatballs to your IP
• Break the spaghetti noodles in half and layer them on top of the meatballs
• Mix the remaining water and marinara sauce and pour over the noodles and meatballs
• Seal your IP and set it on manual cook for 4-5 minutes (I prefer soft noodles so I set it for 5)
• Once the timer is done do a quick release and stir the pot to break up any noodles that have stuck together. 

• NOTE: If the noodles are still a little too al dente for your liking just put the lid back on and let it set for a minute or so. The hot liquid will continue to cook the noodles. If they are done to your liking dump the spaghetti into your serving dish so it doesn't continue to cook. 

WHAT I USED (links below):

Prego Pasta Sauce, Traditional, 45 oz. Jar

Barilla Pasta Spaghetti, 16.0 oz

Fully Cooked Beef Meatballs - 28oz - Market Pantry™

I was skeptical this would turn into anything delicious

The end result

Creamy Lemon Pie

Has it really been over 3 years since I've done a post? Whoops. Where has the time gone? Oh right, I was moving from Texas to Oklahoma, starting a new job and focusing on what's really important. Right now what's really important is this lemon pie made with sour cream so it's tart AND creamy 👌

 

I'm not a fan of meringue for some reason or the sharp yellow of traditional lemon meringue pie. Does anyone know of Luby's cafeteria? Or La Madeline? Well both of them have a lemon pie and lemon tart, respectively, that I'm pretty sure I could live on if I had to. This is as close to those that I could get. And it only has a handful of ingredients!

 

I cheated and used a premade pie crust and cool whip instead of making my own crust and whipped cream and 'twas still delicious 😉

 

Ingredients:

-  1 9'' (not deep dish) pie shell, baked and cooled

-  1 cup sugar

-  3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

-  1 cup milk

-  1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)

-  3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

-  1/4 cup butter, softened

-  Zest of one lemon (about 1/2 tablespoon)

-  1 cup sour cream 

-  1 cup heavy whipping cream

-  2 Tbsp sugar

Directions:

-  Crack eggs in a small bowl, beat slightly with a fork and set aside.  

-   In a large saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in milk and fresh lemon juice and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbling.

-  Reduce heat to low and cook for two more minutes. Add a spoonful of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and stir well. Repeat this process with two or three more spoonfuls of the hot mixture added to the egg yolks. (The goal is to temper the egg yolks so they don't cook when added to the hot saucepan.)  Poor egg mixture into the saucepan and stir well. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and cook for two more minutes. Remove from heat.

-  Add softened butter and lemon zest and stir until butter melts completely. Allow mixture to cool and then stir in sour cream. Add filling to your pie shell. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving.

-   If making your own whipped cream: In a mixing bowl, beat heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer. While beating, add sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pie filling. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving. 

-  Enjoy the best lemon sour cream pie ever!

 



Recipe: http://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/2014/04/lemon-sour-cream-pie.html

Breakfast Casserole

 

Whenever someone in my section at work has a birthday we all bring a dish and have breakfast together to celebrate. And we all wear tiaras. I still don't know why, but that's how we do it at my office :)  I was really busy last week so I wanted something "semi-homemade" and savory. There is always too much sugar at these things. One of the best breakfast foods in the history of the world is biscuits and gravy (that's not my opinion, it's a fact) so I started looking for a casserole dish using biscuits and gravy. I found a recipe over at The Tasty Fork and it looked delicious so I modified it a little and brought it to work. It was a HUGE hit. And super easy. We ate it for dinner the next few nights at my house! Over at The Tasty Fork she used green chilies and Rotel in her casserole (see below) so check out her recipe if you want a little more spice!

 



This is the casserole from The Tasty Fork's website

Biscuits, Sausage & Gravy Casserole, serves 4-8

 

• 1 lb breakfast sausage, casing removed
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 30 oz bag frozen potatoes (diced/cubed/etc. - whatever you like!)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 package of dry gravy mix (I used Pioneer "country" gravy)
• 1 can of jumbo biscuits, 8 biscuits (I used Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Original)
• 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the biscuits into quarters and set aside. You can leave them whole if you like, but I wanted people to be able to eat this while standing up :)
3. In a hot skillet, add sausage and cook until the sausage is no longer pink. Spoon sausage onto a plate, saving as much of the grease as you can.
4. To the skillet add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and potatoes. Cook about 8 – 10 minutes. The potatoes don’t need to be browned, just done enough to hold their shape. Season with salt & pepper.
5. Prepare the gravy — follow the directions on the packet.
6. Grease a casserole dish (I used a 13" x 9" pan) and add 1/2 of the potato mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the potatoes. Place biscuits on top and add the rest of the potatoes, sausage and gravy. Top with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the casserole sit a few minutes before digging in.

I would recommend more than 1 packet of gravy…. I would've been happier with more gravy :)

New York Cheesecake

My Oma (what we call my grandmother on my mom's side) has won contests with her cheesecake recipe. It's so good. It's one of the things I associate with Oma. The other things include chocolate ices (milk, ice and chocolate syrup in a blender), Kashi cereal (that's what she always ate) and diet orange soda. Spending so much time with her when I was young I learned a lot about baking from her. Since cheesecake is an "Oma staple", I have always loved making it... and eating it. I tweaked her recipe to better suit my American taste buds. She has said it's better than hers..... That's kind of a big deal :)

 

Her recipe had a lot more lemon in the filling and fresh strawberries with a strawberry glaze on top. I'm a simple girl. No fruit on my cheesecake please. Just give it to me straight. This is how I make it....

 

This picture is not mine. It belongs to www.browneyedbaker.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK CHEESECAKE

 

Time

Prep: 15 min 
Total: 5 hr 25 min
Servings: 16 servings

 

Ingredients

1 cup Nilla Wafer crumbs (about 1/3-1/2 a box), finely crushed

3 Tbsp. butter, melted
5 pkg.  (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup  sugar
3 Tbsp.  flour
1 Tbsp.  vanilla
1 cup  Sour Cream
4  eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions
 

Heat oven to 325ºF if using 9-inch springform pan (or to 300ºF if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan).

 

Mix Nilla wafer crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 min. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while preparing the filling.

 

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low after each just until blended; stir in the lemon juice and zest; pour over crust.

 

Bake 60-70 minutes or until center is almost set. Turn the oven off and barely crack the door and let the cheesecake remain in the oven to completely cool. Refrigerate 4 hours (preferably overnight). Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim.

 

Notes

 

**If you don't have the time or it is inconvenient, you can take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it cool on the counter or on a rack. Leaving it in the oven with the door cracked just allows it to set a little more evenly. It'll be good either way :)

 

**You can make this in a 13"x9" pan. Just line the pan with foil, press the crumbs into the pan and make the rest the same way. 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

 

**You can make this with a graham cracker crust. Just use 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs, 3T. sugar and 3T. butter for the crust. You could also use Oreos, shortbread, any type of cookie really.