Bacon Swiss Meatloaf

Let's have a moment, shall we?  This is where I tell you how much I absolutely, unequivocally ADORE bacon.  I think that I've always liked bacon, but it's only in my adulthood that I realize what a guilty pleasure bacon is.  I mean ... under standard definition - bacon is not good for you.  But oh, it tastes good.  And oh, does it make an ordinary dish feel spectacular.

Last year for my birthday, my friends the Swensons gave me a copy of Taste of Home's "Bacon."  You can only find it on newsstands and its chock full of recipes that feature ... you guessed it, bacon.  On a recent evening, mindful that a little bit of bacon goes a long way - I adapted their Bacon Swiss Meatloaf recipe to be decadent, but a little lighter on my waistline.

Is there anything more beautiful than an end piece of meatloaf?  Why yes - a piece of meatloaf that features bacon.

Bacon Swiss Meatloaf
Adapted from Taste of Home

1 egg
1/4 c. fat-free evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 c. crumbled cooked bacon, divided (I ended up using about 4 slices.)
1/2 c. Progresso Italian-style breadcrumbs (it's what I had on hand ... use whatever you have in your pantry)
1 tsp. garlic powder (to keep the vampires away)
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Take a half sheet pan and spray with baking spray.  (Hint: Next time I'm going to put a baking rack on my cookie sheet to get the meatloaf up off of the pan and out of the grease this recipe produces.)

In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, 1 cup of Swiss cheese, half of the bacon, bread crumbs and garlic powder.  Mix together.  Add ground turkey over the mixture.  While thinking of a recent Ina Garten episode, I ended up using my fork to incorporate all these ingredients together.  (She was saying something about using a fork instead of your hands.  Point A - it keeps your hands cleaner, and point B - it keeps the meat from compacting and making a tougher meatloaf ... or in her case, she was making burgers.  But I digress.)  Dump onto your baking sheet and form it into a loaf-like shape.

Bake, uncovered, for one hour or until the meat is done.  Sprinkle remaining cheese and bacon.  Bake for 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Usually, I eat meatloaf with mashed potatoes.  But as I made this, I had an "oh sh*t" moment when I realized that I only had one potato in the house and not enough green beans to make a proper side dish.  So, I punted and came up with this.  

Shel's Kitchen Sink Rice Pilaf

1/2 c. basmati rice, cooked
1/2 c. wild rice, cooked
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1/4 c. sliced baby carrots
1/4 c. green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c. water or chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. cooking oil/bacon grease ... whatever

I took my skillet and heated up a teaspoon of bacon grease.  I'd like to tell you that I used bacon grease so I could match the flavors of the meatloaf, but no ... I just keep a jar handy of bacon drippings and use that to cook most of my foods that come from a skillet.  (Decadent!)  Saute garlic in the bacon grease for about a minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the vegetables, a little bit of salt and saute for about five to seven minutes.  Add rice and water/broth.  Cover skillet and cook on low until the vegetables are tender.  Salt and pepper to taste.

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A few random notes ...

* My friend Cathy has enlightened me on the joys of baking bacon.  Seriously ... I don't know that I'll ever bother using a skillet to make my bacon again.  The slices turn out perfectly crisp and don't curl up like they do in the skillet.  Plus, there's enough drippings left over to satisfy my yen to saute everything in bacon grease and you still get the "cooked bacon" scent in your kitchen.

* Pre-cooking rice.  Wild rice takes forever to cook and I'm not usually patient enough to wait for it to cook, so I don't use it as often as I should.  I've learned though, that you can pre-cook grains like rice and store them in your freezer until you want to use them.  It's very, very handy - I do it with brown rice and wild rice to pare off cooking time during the week.  Basmati rice is one of my favorite, go-to every day rices because it doesn't take a fortune of time to cook.

Roasted Vegetable Orzo

I am still mildly obsessed with orzo. I blame it on my New Years Eve dinner that I had with my friends here in Rochester. I don't remember what else was in my dish, but I remember being in awe of the orzo and loving it especially much after a night of drinking 7 & 7s with my friends at my favorite dive bar.

Ever since January 1, 2009, my culinary world has been rocked by this rice-shaped pasta.

Roasted Vegetable Orzo
from Imperrfections and AllRecipes.com

2 zucchini, sliced
1 red onion, cut into chunks
8 oz portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
4 cubes chicken or vegetable bouillon
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 (16 ounce) package orzo pasta (**I buy my orzo in bulk from the natural foods store and used a vegetable-based orzo for this one ... I just thought the tri-colors were pretty)
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
basil to garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place vegetables in a large bowl and mix with garlic and olive oil. Spread vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add bouillon cubes, wine, and orzo, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain. Stir in roasted vegetables and Parmesan cheese, and serve warm.

Mama Beans!

Even at its blurriest, these beans are divine

OK - I've been obsessed with my mother's cooking lately - not entirely sure why, but I love her. Her cooking is just a reflection on how awesome she is as a person.

We had an event at work recently where my boss grilled and I provided fiber to my entire staff of coworkers in the form of my mom's three-bean casserole. What's funny is that I absolutely hated this dish when I was a kid and I'm not sure why - I bet it had something to do with what it looked like, but now that I'm older, I think I could cheerfully eat this on a daily basis. And boy would my husband love me after that.

Mama Beans! Otherwise known as Three-Bean Casserole

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb. bacon, chopped and browned
1 lg. can pork and beans
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can butter beans, drained
1 c. ketchup
1/2 c. mustard
1/2 c. brown sugar

I brown the ground beef and the onion together and follow up by browning the bacon, which I chop into smaller pieces. (Although if you wanted, you could break it up after browning ...) Drain oil from bacon. Add meat to bean mixture, add ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. Stir well until all is mixed together. I cook mine in a crockpot on low for 6-8 hours, on high for 3-4 hours. And of course it's always better the next day. :)

Hasselback Potatoes

I got in touch with my inner Swede for this recipe which I served with the Pork Chops Loaded with Deliciousness. These were similarly delicious but they're kind of a pain in the arse when regular baked potatoes would have done. But my mother-in-law was over, I wanted to show her that her son isn't just living on macaroni and cheese and bologna sandwiches.

Hasselback Potatoes
from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:
4 (8 ounce) baking potatoes
2 T. butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste

2 T. finely grated fresh Romano cheese
1 T. seasoned dry bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Peel the potatoes, and place in bowl of cold water to prevent browning. Using a sharp knife, make slices across the potato the short way about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart. The slices should stay connected at the bottom, and the spoon helps keep the depth even. Return the potato to the bowl of water, and proceed with the remaining potatoes.
3. When all of the potatoes are cut, place them cut side up in a shallow baking dish or small roasting pan. Drizzle with half of the butter, then season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the remaining butter. Sprinkle Romano cheese and bread crumbs onto the tops of the potatoes, and season with a little more salt and pepper. Return to the oven, and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until nicely browned.

An East Coast dinner

Today's guest post is from my friend Lindsey, a native Midwestern girl who is currently living in New York with her husband and gorgeous children. Lindsey has been good at helping me out with recipes for this blog from time to time.

These particular recipes come from Lindsey's Easter feast and she got all of them from Wegmans, a regional supermarket chain on the East Coast. "If you lived on the East Coast, you would LIVE for Wegmans," Lindsey writes.

So here is Lindsey's Easter dinner - in places where they've used Wegmans-specific brands, I've tried to find comprable substitutes.

Grilled Butterflied Half Leg of Lamb

SERVES 4
1 pkg (about 1 1/2 lbs) boneless butterflied leg of lamb
3 T. Wegmans Basting Oil (according to the website, this contains grapeseed oil, garlic oil extract, thyme, and parsley.)
Salt and pepper
8 oz Wegmans Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, warmed (**find alternate here)

Add lamb, basting oil, salt, and pepper in zipper-closure type plastic bag; toss. Marinate overnight.

Day you're serving lamb: Preheat grill on HIGH 10 min. Clean grill with wire brush. Using soft cloth, coat grill grate lightly with vegetable oil.

Sear lamb on grill until color changes one-quarter of way up from bottom, 3-4 min. Turn over and sear other side, 2-3 min longer. Reduce heat to MEDIUM; close lid.

Cook 5-10 min, until lamb reaches internal temp that is 5 degrees below final desired internal temp (refer to meat cooking guide for final internal temp). Check by inserting thermometer halfway into thickest part of lamb. Pool sauce on serving platter. Transfer lamb to work surface; let stand 5-10 min. Slice and arrange on serving platter with sauce.

Roasted Asparagus & Artichokes with Lemon Butter Sauce

SERVES 8
2 bunches (2 lbs) asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
2 bags (12 oz each) frozen artichoke hearts, halves & quarters, thawed and drained
2 cups (16 oz) Wegmans Lemon Butter Sauce, warmed (**find alternate here)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange asparagus in single layer on baking sheet. Season to taste with salt and pepper; drizzle with basting oil. Roast 6 min. Add artichokes; toss. Roast 4-6 min until softened and caramelized.

Toss with lemon butter sauce; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Butternut Squash with Baby Spinach

SERVES 8

1 whole butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 in. cubes
2 large red onions, peeled, chopped (about 4 cups)
3 T Wegmans Basting Oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1 pkg (6 oz) fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine squash and onions in large shallow pan; drizzle with basting oil. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper; toss lightly.

Roast 55 min, until tender and brown. Add spinach and dried cranberries; toss.

Caramelized Pineapple with Cinnamon

SERVES 12

1 whole pineapple, cut into rings and halved.
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to BROIL with rack 6" from heat source.
1. Arrange pineapple on baking sheet; sprinkle both sides with cinnamon.
2. Broil 7-10 min, watching carefully, until fruit is caramelized and lightly brown.

A Proper Dinner

I had to apologize to my beloved Ryan the other day because I've noticed that I've become somewhat obsessed with one-dish meals. And there's nothing wrong with one-dish meals, but he's a man and there are only so many times that he probably gets excited about a new soup recipe.

So I decided to make Ryan a proper dinner the other night and tried one new recipe and a standby that I knew that he would particularly love: Walnut Crusted Chicken Cutlets and Roasted Baby Red Potatoes.

The Walnut Crusted Chicken dish came from Delish.com. That's MSN's new "foodie" haven that draws from various magazines affiliated with MSN, as well as occasional features on celebrity chefs. I don't specifically go to Delish, but every once in awhile when I connect to the internet and look at MSN's homepage, they'll feature a food category and being the recipe addict that I am - I have to take a peek.

Although this was a very simple dish, it took me a bit out of my comfort zone because I have never cooked with panko breadcrumbs and any time I do a chicken dish, it's a pretty basic set up: Chicken meets pan, chicken gets cooked thorougly and is then enjoyed. Ryan and I both loved this recipe and I could see where this breading would also be awesome with fish.

Walnut Crusted Chicken Cutlets

• 1/2 cup(s) panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) ground red pepper (cayenne)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup(s) walnuts, toasted and cooled
• 1/4 cup(s) fresh parsley leaves, loosely packed **I omitted
  
• 1 large egg white
• 1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 pound(s) chicken-breast cutlets, thinly sliced **this ended up being two large chicken breasts
  

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. On large dinner plate, combine panko, ground red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. In food processor with knife blade attached, blend walnuts and parsley until nuts are finely chopped; toss with panko mixture until well blended. Set aside.

3.In pie plate, whisk egg white and Dijon until well mixed.  One at a time, dip 1 side of each cutlet in egg-white mixture, then into walnut mixture to coat side evenly; press firmly so mixture adheres. Arrange chicken on baking sheet.  Bake chicken 10 to 12 minutes or until topping is golden-brown and chicken is no longer pink throughout. (**I cooked it for a little longer just to be on the safe side ... about 15-18 minutes.)


Baby Red Potatoes

This recipe is loosely inspired from a Paula Deen dish.

15 baby red potatoes, quartered
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
1 T. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. salt
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and quarter the baby reds, placing them in a baking dish (I used my 9x13 cake pan.) Mince garlic cloves. Add garlic and other seasonings on top of potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, stir to combine. (Weird Shelley Note: When adding the rosemary or other dry herbs (oregano, sage, thyme - whatever), I read somewhere once that you're supposed to rub them between your hands to release the flavor. You probably don't have to, but I love the smell of rosemary so I do anyway.)

I am terrible at cooking baby reds and hate it when they are underdone, so I err on the side of extreme caution and bake 'em for about 30-45 minutes, until they are fork tender. I also shake the pan occassionally to ensure they are cooking evenly.

Roasted Veggies

I got this recipe and adapted it from "The Sonoma Cookbook," which is a companion piece to "The Sonoma Diet" that came out awhile ago.

This recipe is quite simple and fabulous - it also makes a goodish amount so you'll have leftovers.

I really like roasting vegetables because it seems to be a better method than boiling them and I never steam veggies properly. I can figure out an oven.

Roasted Vegetables
adapted from The Sonoma Cookbook

2 c. Brussels sprouts, halved
2 c. cauliflower florets
3 carrots, sliced thinly
2 T. olive oil
1 tsp herbs de Provence
**Recipe also calls for two lbs of green beans, but they weren't in season at the grocery store. Also calls for 1 red bell pepper. I was too cheap to buy one.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the veggies - peel off any icky leaves from the sprouts and halve them. Also cut down the cauliflower florets so they will roast evenly. Slice carrots so they won't take forever to bake. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs. Take a wooden spoon and stir veggies so they are coated evenly with oil and herbs. Place in oven and roast for 40-45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

This is fabulous with wild rice and as a side dish to fish or chicken.

Fear Conquered: Brussel Sprouts

When I think of brussel sprouts, I think of the pickled ones that I can find for my Bloody Mary at Whistle Binkies. Pickled brussel sprouts are awesome, tart and something I probably wouldn't eat outside of my Bloody Mary.

Well, I recently made a roasted vegetable dish that required the usage of brussel sprouts. Here's a bit of background from Wikipedia:

"The Brussels (or brussels) sprout (Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group) of the Brassicaceae family, is a Cultivar group of wild cabbage cultivated for its small (typically 2.5–4 cm or 1–1.5 in diameter) leafy green buds, which resemble miniature cabbages."

This entry also taught me that my spelling of brussel sprouts is wrong. Anyway ... they are quite tasty. I bought about a pound, halved the ones that were larger than miniature cabbages and roasted them with olive oil. Very tasty. Ryan even ate them without complaint.

Brussels sprouts - you are a fear conquered!

A blast from the distant past

A couple of my readers might remember my Great-Grandma Florence Ewing, but unfortunately for the rest of you, Grandma Ewing went to her heavenly home about 15 years ago and there's no one else like her in this world.

First and foremost, my grandma was tiny - she came up to about my chest. That lady was chin-high, but damn could she cook and bake. I can close my eyes and remember exactly what she looked like - my grandpa Stan favored her in looks and oh, how my grandpa loved his mom. All of the Ewing kids adored her, so did her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. I would give anything for a loaf of her lemon poppyseed bread. My mom almost cried the day that she opened grandma's last jar of homemade pickles.

One of the things that is maddening about losing someone like my great-grandma is that many of her recipes came from the confines of her head - the lady rarely wrote anything down. So to find this one, with little to no explanation - is a sweet surprise. Even if its just a road map.

Fried Green Tomatoes
by Florence Ewing


Green tomato Seasoned flour
Bacon grease

Stem and wash a green tomato. Slice it round. Roll in seasoned flour. Fry in bacon grease or oleo. Try these for supper. Very good.

Grandma didn't waste words, y'all.

Macaroni Redux

This is a pan of perfection

I told you all the other night that I am trying to perfect cheese sauce for my beloved macaroni. Well, my friend Mariah just made it easier for me by sending me her family's recipe for cheese sauce. And trust me ... it is perfection:

Cheese Sauce

(Note from Mariah: For your mac & cheese, here's a recipe for a cheese sauce. We used it for mac & cheese, on peeled, cubed & boiled potatoes, on peas, on broccoli, on cauliflower. My aunt makes sure there is some every Thanksgiving & Christmas to go on her mashed potatoes ...But, I admit, this recipe kind of sparks a battle between my Midwestern upbringing & my more recent desire to not eat super-processed foods (e.g. Velveeta))

(Ed. note: I hear you sista! But Velveeta is soooo goood! :)

2 T butter or margarine

2 T flour

1 C milk

Velveeta

Melt butter in saucepan over med heat, stir in flour. Add milk, a little salt & pepper. Cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Add 3-4 (or more) thick slices of Velveeta. Stir until melted into sauce. Pour over whatever you've got.

Macaroni & Cheese

It doesn't look like much now, but trust me it will be marvelous.

Dirty little secret? I love the cardboard boxes of macaroni and cheese. Although it's meant as a side dish, I can eat it as an entree and it's even better the next day after it's spent the night on a cold stove burner. (I told you I wasn't a gourmet.)

I've never been a big fan of homemade macaroni and cheese - mostly because every attempt I ever ate was way too greasy and didn't have enough cheese. That all changed the day my buddy Erin made homemade macaroni & cheese for a get-together that he and his partner Paul hosted at their house. I haven't procured Erin's recipe yet, but I found this one to try. It's all a part of the quest to find the perfect homemade mac & cheese. (Though I will not betray my love for you, oh boxed mac & cheese with your vibrant orange cheese powder.)

Easy Macaroni & Cheese
From Midwest Living, October 2008 (I told you this was a good issue)

1/4 c. butter
2 1/2 c. elbow macaroni (that's 8 oz.)
1 c. cubed ham (optional - I didn't use it ...)
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar or cubed American cheese (I used a blend of cheddar & Colby Jack)
3 T. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 c. milk (we use 2% in the Kubitz/Mahannah family - the chef who originated this dish uses whole. I guess I'd use anything but skim.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Pour 2 T. of melted goodness into a 2- to 2 1/2 quart casserole or baking dish. Add dried macaroni and stir until coated. Stir in cheese.

For sauce, stir flour, salt and pepper into remaining 2 T. butter in saucepan. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Cook and stir for one minute more. Pour sauce over macaroni mixture.

Bake, covered, for 1 hour or until macaroni is tender and coated with sauce. Stir - let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Do you want to know the nutritional information? Nah - I didn't think so.

Verdict: Poor Ryan never got to try this cheesy goodness. The making of this mac coincided with some dinners out with friends and so I made this one night when he was gone and had leftovers over the next few days for lunch. I will make this again - I'm not too fond of the whole simmering milk, flour and butter concept (reminds me of too many errors made in home economics as a junior high student), but this was pretty good mac.