One Loaf to Love

After hearing about this meatloaf recipe from a friend, I borrowed, "Eat, Shrink & Be Merry" by Janet & Greta Podleski. This is the kind of recipe that I like to tackle and blog about. I love cooking things that are a bit out of the ordinary and taste fantastic. This recipe didn't have anything in it (except the Superburger seasoning which I had other available) that I didn't have in my cupboard regularily. It was not difficult but did take a bit of time.

Today I've had an extra baby around the house so I made this up while two kids were sleeping and stuck it in the fridge until it was time to bake it. Hubby says that this was his favorite new "meal," implying that he enjoyed all of it :) We had mashed sweet potatoes (with Herb & Garlic cream cheese) and corn with it and it was definitely a keeper.

One Loaf to Love

1c. finely diced mushrooms

1/2c. each finely diced red bell pepper, zucchini, and onion

1tsp. minced garlic

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1 1/2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef

1c. fresh bread crumbs or 1/2c. dry unseasoned bread crumbs

1/4c. +2 tsp. barbeque sauce or ketchup

1 pkg. (25g) hamburger seasoning mix (Superburger by Clubhouse was recommended)

1 egg

1/4c. chopped fresh parsley

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. packed shredded light Monterey Jack, provolone, or mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a medium, non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Add mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini, onions and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add basil and cook 1 more minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, 1/4c. bbq sauce, hamburger seasoning, egg, parsley, and pepper. Mix well using your hands.

On a large sheet of waxed paper, form meat mixture into a 10x12-inch rectangle. Make sure edges are nice and straight, not jagged. Spread reserved vegetable filling over meat, leaving a 1/2" border. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up meat loaf from the shorter end, lifting the wax paper to help get it started. Roll it as tightly as possible. Pinch seam closed.

Transfer meat loaf to a broiler pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 40 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and a meat thermometer inserted in the centre registers 160F.

Let meatloaf stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf, 8 slices

204 cal. per slice, 9.3g fat, 1.6g fibre

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I'm really getting into the fall soups right now. It's solving my lunchtime dilemmna. I love having my husband work in town and come home for lunch every day - but along with that comes having to plan something for lunch and supper every day. Soup is the perfect solution. A bowl of soup and a bun is great for a couple of days a week.

This soup is a Kraft recipe. The entire thing is done in the microwave and it only takes 30 minutes from start to end. We used to make this soup in our microwave in my last workplace and people could never figure out what smelled so good when they came in to renew their plates or insurance ;)

I've started using this basic recipe and mixing it up by adding chicken, turkey or sausage. You could also mix up the cheeses.

Loaded "Baked Potato" Soup

1lb. baking potatoes (about 2), cubed

14oz. chicken broth (I made my own this time)

1c. milk

3 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled & divided

1c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 green onion sliced, divided

1/4c. sour cream

Microwave potatoes in large microwavable bowl on HIGH for 5 min., stirring after 2.5 min. Stir in broth and milk. Microwave 10 min., stirring after 5 min. Carefully crush potatoes with potato masher.

Reserve 2 tbsp. each bacon & cheese and 1 tbsp. onions for topping. Stir remaining bacon, cheese and onions into soup.

Serve topped with reserved bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

Dirt & Worms Cake

Hayden had his fourth birthday last week. I love to make cakes for my kids' birthdays that they will love. This is the first kid birthday in our house that I haven't spent eight hours making the cake. This year we had lots of company and I just didn't have the time to spend on a cake. After checking out the internet for a recipe I finally decided on a "dirt & worms" cake. It was easy and so good. You could easily make this into a girl's cake by putting it in clay flower pots and topping with flowers. I doubled this recipe and it filled the truck perfectly but it was about twice as much dessert as we needed. It gave Chris & I something to eat after our runs this week ;)

1 to 1 1/4 lb. pkg. Oreo cookies
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups milk
1 (12 oz.) tub Cool Whip (can use chocolate)
2 (3 1/2 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla or chocolate pudding (I used choc. fudge pudding)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 gummy worms and/or other critters


Crush Oreos. Put 1/3 of the crushed Oreos into a clean dump truck. Set aside.

Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar and vanilla together. Set aside.

Combine milk and pudding mix. Fold Cool Whip into the pudding.

Fold together pudding mixture and butter-cream cheese mixture.

Layer this mixture (about 1/3 of it) onto the crumbled cookies in the truck. Next, add another layer of the pudding mixture, then another layer of cookie crumbs, continuing until all ingredients are used.

As you're layering the ingredients, decoratively place several gummy worms and critters in the "soil" so they will be seen emerging. If you have a toy (clean) garden trowel, this can also be used creatively to embellish the presentation.

Chill in refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours before serving.