Muffin Tin Meatloaf

This was actually made Friday and Saturday this past week, but it would work for a Tuesday Meal.

Amish Muffin Tin Meatloaves  (I double the recipe.)

Source:  In the Kitchen with  Jessica   Go buy it.  It’s for a good cause.

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 c. soft bread crumbs
• 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I use onion powder because all of my children have a gag reflex when it comes to micro amounts of onion chunk in their food)
• dash of dried thyme
• 1/4 cup ketchup  (we use only  Publix organic ketchup due to food allergies.  It is SO GOOD)

Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, tomato sauce,eggs, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, onion, and thyme. Mix well.  Place about 1/3 cup of mixgture in a lined muffin tin.  Top each with loaf with ketchup and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I use a large cookie scoop to make the meatloaves and I do not use lined muffins.   After filling the muffins I make a dent in each with the back of the scooper, which makes a nice place for the ketchup.  🙂

With the left over meat, I make a batch of meatballs.  These are saved for the next day, (A Tuesday Meal).

Come back tomorrow for A Tuesday Meal and find out what I did with the meatballs.

Enjoy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, thankful day.

Give Thanks to the Lord

 

This is what I make every.single. year.  Twice a year.  Thanksgiving and Christmas.    We’re in a runt, but we like it that way.

Bread: This varies.

Whole Wheat Bread is baking in the breadmachine.  It has hard red wheat, Italian seasoning, garlic, and chopped onions.  To be made into croutons tonight.

Total of Ten loaves of bread:

• 2 cinnamon/raisin bread
• 2 cinnamon bread
• 6 plain

Plops  (Creamy Sweet Potatoes)

• 1 large can of sweet potatoes  (this year I am using fresh ones)
• 2 eggs. slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• Dash of salt
• Large Marshmallows

In a large bowl, mash sweet potatoes.  Add eggs, orange juice, butter, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt.  Mix well.  Transfer to a greased 9″ baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.  Top with marshmallows; return to oven until they just begin to puff and melt; about 5 to 10 minutes.

Pies:

I don’t make my own pie crust.  It just doesn’t work with me.

• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Pie

Have a great one!

 

Colorful Cupcakes

Pea #2 had a birthday party last Saturday to celebrate her ninth birthday. 🙂  It is hard to believe my youngest  is already nine.

Her party was a simple one at our home.  She requested pizza for lunch, cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.   She didn’t know what kind of cupcakes she wanted, so I showed her these lovely colored cupcakes I found at Skip to my Lou.  The Pea loved them and so I got to work.

The colors of choice were purple, blue, and red.    I bought the colors at Hobby Lobby; brand name is Wilton. I am not a big cake baker, so I don’t have a lot of this stuff at home.  After seeing the stars on the red, white, and blue cupcakes, she wanted roses, in blue candy for the tops.  I got the mold and candy at Michael’s.

I followed Vanilla Cupcakes from the book Hello Cupcake  and oh was it so good!  I did exactly what Skip to my Lou did and separated the batter into three bowls and added color to each one.

Vivid Colors

Next I spooned each color into each of the 24 liners.  I think I should have made only 20 cupcakes, because after baking they were not as high as I would have liked.

Ready for the oven.

I baked them for so many minutes and did a test with a skewer.  Then decided they needed just a little more baking, which turned a to be just a little too much. 😦    They browned too much and they were too dry.  Not to worry; I had a plan.

Dirty looking cupcakes.

My plan was to add extra icing. 😀  I made the recipe found on Skip to my Lou’s post.  Oh, it was really good!  I don’t have an icing tip thingie, so I just loaded the icing into a zip-lock bag and snipped a corner off.  Then applied a heaping mound of icing on each cupcake.  Then I sprinkled crystal sugar on top.

OOooooo- Ahhhhhh

The extra icing on the cupcakes did the trick.  The kids loved the cupcakes and loved seeing the colors on the inside.  I plan on doing this again, but not the over-baking part.

Mmmmm....

Did you notice there wasn’t a blue rose on each cupcake?  There is a reason for that.  I followed the instructions on the bag of melting candy and poured the liquid candy in each rose mold.  Then I tapped the mold to get rid of any bubbles and then I waited for it to harden.  I popped out each rose and part of each rose stayed in the mold and each rose had holes in it.  They were not pretty.   The blue color, in my opinion, was awful.  lol   The smell, ewwwww!  I don’t know how people can call that candy!  I couldn’t even wash the sweet icky smell off my hands.  But, my daughter wanted roses so I made them.  After showing her what they looked like, she wanted to taste one.  Her disgusting facial expression said it all.  We promptly threw the whole thing in the garbage.  LOL   A lesson learned.  🙂

Finishing Our Day With The Chickens

Just before lunch time, all 116 or so birds have been cleaned and packed on ice.  The process began around 8:00 and ended around lunch time.  I had no idea what time it was the entire day.  I don’t even know what time we left. 😀  It was a good hard working day.

Sam prepared a most delicious meal for us.  Lasagna made with their own sausage, plus eggplant.  It was so yummy, I’ll have to try it to make it at home, except I’ll use spicy sausage.   On the side was orange and white carrot salad.  The carrots were grown in their garden.  Fresh strawsberries were also added to the plate.

After a leisurely lunch, we were taken on a tour of the farm.  We got to see just about everything.  So pretty out there.

Cognito Farm

Once the walk was over, which included a look at a container holding Bull Sperm and instructions on how to impregnate a cow without a bull (but that’s not what this post is about),  we headed back to the work station.

Each bird was packaged in a plastic bag, tied, and dipped very quickly in a hot bath to shrink the bag, then tagged for sale.

Here is Haley cutting a vent into the bag, before it was dipped by me, into the hot bath.

Here is the finished project ready to be sold at the next days farmers market.

Each bird weighted anywhere from 3.5 lbs to 5.5 lbs.

I know the last two posts have had some uh… disturbing photos, so I don’t want to disappoint you in this one.  Here is one last parting shot.

These are cooked to make a thick broth.  Nothing has been waisted.  All parts not used for consumption have been recycled in a compost pile.

I can honestly say, this is one experience Haley and I will always remember.  😀

Thanks Haley! ♥

PART ONE

PART TWO

A Radical Change

I have been drinking tea for many years, but it has only been in the past 15 years or so, that I use only loose teas, from my favorite supplier.  I like black tea with some sugar and once in a while with milk.  I like very few flavored teas, Black Current,  Dragon Pearl Jasmine, and a rose one from England that I can’t get anymore. 

If I run out of tea before Harney delivers, (shudder at the thought) I go to a local tea shop in the mall.  I walk in and say, “I want the strongest blackest tea you have.”  They look at me funny and tell me all about their flavored froo-froo teas.  Once I had another customer tell me how to mix the teas to get a dessert. I’m like huh?  I simply told them black will do and if I want dessert, I’ll eat it.  I left with Irish Breakfast, another fine tea. 🙂

I am telling you this because I am a changed woman.  I now drink black flavored tea all the time.  A special friend sent me a bag of dried spearmint.  Oh it smelled so good. 

 

 I brewed my favorite tea All-India Blend. Rated briskness***, body***, Aroma***. That means it is some goooooood black tea. Before brewing I added a touch of spearmint to the tea leaves. Oh my, it smelled good, but I knew I wouldn’t like it because I don’t drink flavored teas outside the list above. I took on taste and I am now hooked.

Every single cup of black tea needs the spearmint now. To save the spearmint, I hide it from Sir Husband. I wouldn’t want to run out, because he drank some you know.

Now I have to grow a spearmint plant or my friend will have to supply my needs.

Thanks Friend!!

Cinnamon Peach Crisp

Every year the Duval County Extension Service offers a Holiday Happenings event. Every year it is the same theme. First week they offer a class on Holiday Dinner Fast and Festive; second week Gifts From the Kitchen; and the third week it is Holiday Hospitality at Its Best. I have been to several of these, and have enjoyed them very much.

Last Tuesday night, was the first of the three weeks. It is one night each week. At the end of the class, we get to sample each dish.

The first dish I tried at home, ws the Cinnamon Peach Crisp. It was so good, except only one of my three kids would eat it. Too bad, because this will be dessert come Thanksgiving day. The lady who was telling about this recipe said it was a side dish, but I really think it is a dessert.

Cinnamon Pear Crisp

8 edium pears, cored, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup frozen unsweetened all natural apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup plus 3 TB all-purpose flour, divided
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup quick oats, uncooked
3 TB packed dark brown sugar
3 TB butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375. Coat 11×7 (I used an 8×8) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Combine sliced pears, apple juice concentrate, raisins, 3 TB flour and cinnamon in large bowl; mix well. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup flour, oats, brown sugar and butter in medium bowl; mix until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over pear mixture. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Yield: 12 (1/2 cup) servings.

Weekly Menu

Sunday: BBQ chicken on the grill, salad, whole wheat rolls, peas and rice.

Monday: Chicken Noodle Soup; Whole Wheat Rolls

Tuesday: Prize winning Chili over pasta, from the cookbook In The Kitchen with Jessica

Wednesday: Chicken Potpie made with store bought pie crust, because I still can’t make pie crusts. Also, Chocolatechic won’t come down here and make it for me.

Thursday: Amish Meatloaf; from In The Kitchen with Jessica, baked potatoes, and some kind of veggie.

Friday: Homemade Pizza with whole wheat crust (I can make pizza crusts!), garlic bread, ice cream, oreo cookies, and a movie.

Jenni’s Wild Rice Salad

My SIL made this for us one Christmas.  Since then it has been a family favorite at any get together. 

 

Jenni’s Wild Rice Salad

Cook 1 cup of wild rice according to directions.

While the rice is cooking, combine the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. Refrigerate unitl ready to use.

Dressing:
1/2 cup canola or olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
1 1/2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. paprika
1 clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients with the rice.

Salad Ingredients:
1 (6-oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and halved. (Reserve marinade)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup Craisins

Add marinade and 1/2 the dressing. Cover and chill or eat at room temperature. Just before serving, toss again and taste. Add as much of remaining dressing as desired

Whole Wheat Pretzels

On a day when your children are mad at you, because you won’t let them play in the thunderstorm, make these.

We decided the next time we make these, we will not let them “dry out” in the oven. We like them a little soft. 🙂 They were all gone in about 2 days. A neighbor boy ate three while here and I gave him eight to take home. Two for each member of his family. He ate three on the way home and he only lives three doors down! LOL

Source:  Sunset Breads
Makes: 8 dozen

• 2 ½ tsp yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 ¾ cups warm milk
• 3 TB honey
• 3 TB butter
• ¼ cup wheat germ
• 5 ¼ cup (or so) whole wheat flour  (watch this amount, I used only 4 cups)
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 ¾ tsp salt
• 2 eggs lightly beaten  (I used only one)
• Coarse salt

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, honey, butter, and wheat germ.  Using a large mixer gradually mix in 3 1/2 cups of flour.  Beat until dough pulls way from sides of bowl in stretchy strands.  Cover and let stand in warm place until light and bubbly (about 40 minutes).

Meanwhile, combine 1 1/2 cups flour with baking  powder and the 1 3/4 tsp. salt; set aside.  Punch dough down and stir in flour mixture. Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth (about 5 minutes), adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.  (I did this in my mixer)

Divide kneeded dough into 4 equal portions.  Cut each quarter into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a rope about 24 inches long.

 

Cut in half.

Twist each half into a pretzel.

Place pretzels, slightly apart and with loose ends turned under, on well-greased baking sheets (at least 12 by 15 inches). Brush each pretzel with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden; transfer to a wire rack.

After all pretzels have been baked, turn oven off. Pile baked pretzels onto 2 ungreased baking sheets and set in turned-off oven for 2 to 3 hours or overnight, until thoroughly dried (break one to test).

ENJOY!!

 

Cast Iron – What’s not to love. Part II

I have always loved cast iron. When properly taken care of, it lasts forever. When seasoned properly, nothing sticks to it.

When a  cast iron is properly taken care of, it lasts forever. The following is the skillet I got from my husband’s side of the family and we think it might be close to 80 years old. It is a 11 1/2″ skillet, by Wagner Ware. It says on the bottom “Wagner Ware, Sidney, -0-. Notice how slick and shiney it is. That’s the way you want your cast iron. 🙂

This is my favorite skillet. I think it is because it has a history to it. 🙂 Last night I made our Beef Stir-fry. Things taste better when cooked in cast iron. 🙂

After cleaning the skillet, I always put it on a low burner to dry out. Then coat with olive oil. This helps pretect it from rust. But once in a while, if I don’t use the cast iron in a while, I’ll find rust in spots. I found a nifty little sponge thingie at the Lodge Outlit Store to help with this.