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.

Strawberry Summer Cake

My friend asked me to dinner while I was in Oklahoma City visiting this past week and I offered to bring dessert. Obviously. But, I was at my mom’s house and she is definitely not a baker. I have to check her pantry sometimes to see if she has baking soda or even flour. More than once she hasn’t had those things…. So I wanted a very simple recipe with just a few ingredients so I didn’t have to grab too many things at the store. I went to my favorite bloggers' website (www.foodblogsearch.com) and typed “summer” into the search box and this recipe came up. I was pretty sure it would be a hit because I have never made anything from Smitten Kitchen’s blog that wasn’t amazing! I was right. I ended up making 2 since they were so simple and one went to my friend’s and one stayed at the house. Both were gone by the end of the night!!

 

I served this with freshly whipped cream, but I'm confident it would be delicious on it's own. Or with ice cream. Whatever floats your boat :) I am going to try this with other fruits soon because I have a sneaking suspicion it would be delicious with other types of berries as well! Maybe strawberries and blueberries for July 4th!!

 

Strawberry Summer Cake

Recipe from www.smittenkitchen.com 

 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pan
 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon table salt
 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
 1 large egg
 1/2 cup whole milk
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan or a 9-inch round cake pan (what I used).

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into prepared pan. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (though I had to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.

Symphony Brownies

This is not my picture. I couldn't get mine to rotate after uploading it!! This recipe used an almond toffee candy bar instead of milk chocolate.... so ignore the nuts ;)

Sometimes you just can't beat a Paula Deen recipe. Years ago my little sister made some brownies she saw Paula Deen make on the Food Network and I just remembered when she made them I thought they were the most insaley chocolate-y things I'd ever eaten. I don't crave chocolate that often, so when I do I go all out. I do blame my friend Sarah for this one because she MADE me eat a chocolate parfait from Whole Foods while I was visiting her in Austin this weekend!! She didn't really make me, but it makes me feel better about myself if I blame my chocolate binge on someone else ;-)  Anyway, I searched the web yesterday for the recipe, found it, made it, LOVED it! It's super easy and super delicious. Enjoy!!



Paula's recipe used the Symphony bar with almonds and toffee, but
since I'm allergic to almonds I used milk chocolate :)

This was the largest size mix I could find that wasn't dark chocolate.
The recipe calls for a 20 oz. mix.

 

 

Symphony Brownies

Yield: 24 small brownies (or 12 large)
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40 min

Ingredients:

1 (appx. 20-ounce) package (family-sized) boxed brownie mix
2 King-sized Symphony brand candy bars

Directions:

1. Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions.

2. Generously grease a 8x8-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon in half of the brownie batter and smooth with a spatula. Place the 2 candy bars on the batter so they cover the surface of the brownie batter. Cover with remaining batter.

3. Bake according to package directions (mine took 42 minutes). Let cool completely, then devour!!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

For the last two weeks I have been 75% successful at eating "clean" and healthy.  I had a few bad days in there, but I'm starting again tomorrow. My mom made these when I was at her house in Oklahoma 2 weeks ago and they. are. great. These cookies have only THREE ingredients: ripe bananas, quick oats and chocolate chips. These are a healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth and chocolate craving!

I bought barely yellow bananas and let them sit wrapped in a paper bag for 4 days to get them the color below. The riper the banana, the sweeter the cookie. Since these cookies have no sugar, the banana sweetens them. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you could certainly use dark chocolate if you prefer. You must use quick oats. I tried this recipe the first time with regular oats and it was a complete failure.

These are the nutrition facts for 1 cookie, if you make 20 out of the recipe (which is what I got). 

Calories: 56
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 9.5g
Protein: 0.6g

 

 

 

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Yields: 20 cookies

 



Ingredients

2 large bananas, ripe, dark and speckled
1 cup quick oats
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mash the bananas into a thick paste.

Stir in the quick oats and chocolate chips.

Drop dough (2 T. per cookie) onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes then enjoy.

NOTE: I like them best cold, so pop them in the fridge for 15-20!! They taste like chocolate chip banana bread when they come out of the fridge.

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

Have you ever seen Sally's Baking Addiction website? It's AH-MAZING!! She is a genius. Everything I've made from her blog is delicious! Try these monster cookies! I saw a cupcake recipe on Sally's blog and since I'm barely into the 5 pound can of peanut butter I got from Sam's Club I decided to keep using it up... and this is what happened:

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

Brownie Bites

 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup all-purpose flour.

 

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

 

2.  Melt butter in the microwave in a large microwave safe bowl. Mix in the sugar until smooth and microwave for about 1 minute. Stir the mixture until smooth again. Whisk in the vanilla and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, and flour. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and stir until completely combined.

 

3.  Place 1 tablespoon brownie mixture into muffin tins. Bake in the prepared muffin tin for about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

Peanut Butter Frosting

 

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioners sugar

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

1.  In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or an electric handheld mixer), add the peanut butter, confectioners sugar, butter, vanilla and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy and smooth. Slowly add the cream and beat on very high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Spread on cooled cupakes and top with sprinkles (optional).

Boozy banana bread

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (I used dark rum)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl mix butter into the mashed bananas. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Gently stir in the flour until just combined. Pour mixture into a well-buttered 9×5 inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

I love peanut butter. Not just a little though. A L-O-T! I've been on a peanut butter based dessert kick for the last month or so and I came across a recipe on Pinterest that looked awesome so I decided to give it a try. This is a really easy dough to make. Good for beginners... or experienced bakers who are still sore from a killer yoga class ;)  I made a few changes to the original recipe because... well, because I can. I added some more oats and more peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Less is not always more :)

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Monster Cookies
Yield: 16-18 large cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• Reese’s Pieces mini candies, 2 bags**

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

 

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, and beat to combine.

 

Slowly add dry ingredients, and beat just until combined. Don’t over beat at this stage. Stir in oats, peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes to make it a little easier to handle.

 

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour Reese’s Pieces candies onto a plate or into a flat bowl.

 

Using a large cookie scoop (3 Tablespoons or 2 1/2 ounces) roll each ball of dough into a ball, then slightly flatten into a disc. Drop cookie dough into the bowl of candies. Gently use your hand to press the dough down into the candies and flatten the dough into a disc, then transfer to cookie sheet and freeze the cookies for 20-30 minutes.

 

Bake, six at a time, for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to darken.

 

Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes. These cookies are very soft, so you really need to let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes or they will break when you try to take them off the sheet.

 

Allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

 

Notes:  

 

**I only bought one bag of the candy pieces and I didn't have enough for the last 5 cookies, so I would buy 2 and you can just have some leftover.**

 

**You do not have to freeze the dough, but if you don't these cookies will spread a LOT. If you look at the last picture above that is how much it spread after I froze it.**