Judy's Meatloaf

I am definitely one of those people that loves meatloaf.  I could eat it every single week and probably never get sick of it.  My mom always made it even though she doesn't like it, and kudos to her for that because I can tell you right now that if I don't like something, I'm not going to make it.  For anyone.  Bing's mom had a going away dinner for him before he left for BMT, and she made meatloaf.  She took it out of the oven and it didn't look like any meatloaf I'd ever seen or had, but its rude to not eat food put in front of you, so like a good girl I took some meatloaf, and then I took more, and I think I even had a third helping because it was seriously the best meatloaf I think I've ever had.  Mom's is really good, but mom in law's is different and tangy and I tried making it myself the other day.  Aside from not cooking it quite long enough (but still long enough that it was done and definitely edible), it was easy and turned out really well. 

This recipe is one that had I seen it in a book or online, I would have left the topping out because it has mustard and brown sugar in it.  I am so thankful I got to try it first hand so I will never miss out on any of the goodness. 

Preheat oven to 300*
Here's what you need!
for the meatloaf:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cups milk
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs (we used Progresso Plain)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• I eyeballed the last 4 ingredients.  It turned out really well.

for the topping:

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Beat eggs in mixing bowl.
Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Press into a 5x9 loaf pan, or shape into same size loaf on a baking sheet.
Mix topping together and spread over meatloaf.

Cook at 300* for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours. 
The lower temperature helps prevent the meat from shrinking.

I don't have a picture for this meal.. next time I promise!

Pot Roast V2.0

Okay, so if you scroll down toward the bottom of the page you'll see my first attempt at pot roast.  It was okay.  I never really liked pot roast until I went to Maine to stay with friends of our family, Nancy and Doug.  For dinner one night, Nancy made pot roast and for the first time in my life I actually enjoyed it so I asked Nancy a few months ago how she made hers and this is what she told me, "Put potatoes, carrots, onions and meat in a crock pot with a little water and onion soup mix and cook it all day."  That is basically what I do.

Seriously, nicest cut of meat I've gotten here yet.






And now, what you need:

• 1/4 cup water
• 4 medium red potatoes (or the eqivalent of another kind of potato)
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 (16 oz.) package of baby carrots
• 1-2 stalks of celery, cut
• 1 envelope onion soup mix (separate 1 tbsp)
• 2 1/2 - 3 lb boneless beef chuck pot roast
• salt, pepper, and I use onion powder to season the roast

The recipe I use says to put the water and 3/4 of your vegetables in the crock pot, cover with onion soup mix (minus the 1 tbsp), then put your seasoned beef on top of the veggies.  Put the rest of the veggies around the meat and sprinkle with the rest of the onion soup mix.  This is fine and dandy if you have a nice big crock pot, but I do not so I tend to put all of the veggies and soup mix underneath the meat.  Time ranges vary for cooking.  My crock pot isn't great so I usually have to cook this on high for about 7-8 hours, even though the recipe says cook on low for 8-9 and on high for 5-6.  It all depends on the quality of your slow cooker, so feel free to play around with the times. 

If you, like me, sometimes forget to buy parts of your meal because you think you have them at home, don't be scared to try different things.  I usually always have the Lipton onion soup mix in my cabinet so I didn't buy any this last time, and didn't realize it until the morning when I was putting my roast together.  So I improvised and used some of my Tastefully Simple Onion-Onion seasoning and it did just about the same thing, but created a little less gravy so if I use it again I will put about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of water in the slow cooker.

I made a pot roast with my mom's crock pot at home with a fresh cut of meat from the IGA and it literally fell apart when I was trying to pick it up out of the crock pot; that's how amazing the meat was.  However, we are not so lucky with our commisary and I have yet to be brave enough to buy meat on the Italian economy.  Anyway, its never as good here as it was at home (I'm also thinking the quality of slow cookers has a lot to do with it... anyway) but its still good so try it. 

I don't know wh my picture turned out so strangely colored, but the meal turned out pretty well.  I am still working on perfecting my ability to make one of these up to my standards in the crock pot I have, but we'll get there.  It may be in March of 2012 (just before we leave), but that's okay!  I am determined.




I am addicted to my crock pot.  I love it.  My mom always used hers and it just makes things so much better, but it was always a bummer when it came time to clean it.  One day, someone really smart decided to make these awesome plastic bags to line slow cookers with.  I beg you, for your sanity, if you use a crockpot - USE THESE LINERS!  You can find them in any grocery store near plastic wrap and that sort of thing.  There is close to no cleanup with these liners.  At best, I usually wipe down the inside of my crock pot with a damn paper towel and thats it.

The liners also come with this handy group of recipes, that as you can see live happily on my fridge.  The two recipes that are uncovered are the ones we use most often, pot roast and vegetable soup.

Penne Caprese

I am in Italy.  Caprese is on the menu everywhere.  I like to go to a restaurant called the Western House (partially because they are dollar for euro everyday from 5-7) and every time I'm there I get penne caprese.  Its so good and a great spring and summer meal because its light, and one of the healthier pastas you can make. 


All you need:

• penne pasta (I use a whole box so there will be leftovers, but you can make as much or little as you want)
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella, cubed (this time I used buffalo mozzarella... tasty!)
• 1 container cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• basil, salt and pepper to taste

This is probably the easiest recipe ever.

• put olive oil, tomatoes, and mozzarella in a large bowl.  mix until covered.  let sit for one hour.
• at the end of the hour, add basil, salt and pepper to the mixture in the large bowl.
• boil water, cook pasta, drain, add to mix.  stir until mixed.. 
• and the most important... SERVE AND ENJOY!!!

This dinner is wonderful by itself, with a salad, or with bread dipped in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh parmasean cheese. 

I'm still here!

Hello!  I know its been a while, and no I'm not dead nor have I stopped cooking.  Lots of things have been happening since my last post.  We moved to a new apartment a few months ago and we are STILL dealing with all the junk you have to do here to move.  Its getting ridiculous actually.  At least we finally have internet again; that only took 4 months.  I went home to the States for two weeks and got stranded twice on the way back here.  I went to Nove and bought some pretty sweet pottery for ultra cheap.  I tried a few new recipes and they turned our really well and I will be posting things about them up here starting with a new pot roast recipe tonight!  Its a super easy crock pot recipe, which are usually my favorite kinds of recipes.  :)  I have a new pasta dish, and will have a dessert up hopefully after Wednesday.  As well as a tip for crock pot users - my life has changed because of these!!!

I just wanted to pop in real quick and say hi, but now I'm off to a treat of a Tuesday afternoon Bunco. 

Later!

NOTE:  Another new thng since my last post....  I LOVE ITALY!!!!!  EVERYTHING ABOUT IT!!!!!

Just a boring post! v2.0

I totally posted this huge and boring post about how Italy is different than the states and then I realized it was way too many words and no one would read it so I'm condensing it.

Likes: 
Gelato! 
Pizza!
Shutters!  (No matter what kind of shutter, they keep ALLLLL the light out for easy all day sleeping!)
Gas stations that you can use cash to purchase your gas from... when they're closed.  :) 
The mountains.
The rail system.
Random firework displays year round. 
My new friends. <3 
The awesome gym and its free classes. 
How there are 80 different ways to get to the same place.
Traffic circles.

Dislikes:
Drivers. 
Siesta.
Gas stations that are closed ALL THE TIME.
The price of gas.
The price of everything.
Small roads.
The smell by the farms. 
Bugs.
Huge ass spiders. 
Monday being an "everything on the economy is closed" day.
The recycling. --->  If you know me, you know I've always recycled, but some of this is ridic.
No Walmart.
No Starbucks.
No 24-hour anything, except the laundry mats on base. 
The bells!!!!!  They're cool for the first 15 seconds, but by the 7th minute they get a bit ridiculous.. No, by the 2nd minute they get a bit ridiculous.

Chicken Pot Pie

Alright!  New recipe!  I'm very excited about this one, because it was brand spankin' new to me and sooooo not something I would ever think to make on my own.  Bing has been wanting chicken pot pie for a while now - you know, the frozen kind that most people think is the only way you can actually have chicken pot pie.  Growing up I probably had a handful (if that) of those frozen pot pies because my dad loved them, but my mom always said they were terrible for you.  Well, Maggie, my very awesome and creative friend, tried this homemade recipe for chicken pot pie a few weeks ago and her husband, Jake (who's a bit of a picky eater) loved it.  I figured since its homemade, it doesn't have any preservatives or any of that junk in it so it probably won't be so unhealthy.  I gave it a try tonight, and Bing liked it.  Granted, Bing will eat most things I put in front of him, but you can't go wrong with meat and veggies in a pie.  (Although his request for the next one is Sheppards Pie... We'll see about it!)
I like this recipe because its super easy and I like super easy.  

You will be using a 9 in. round cake pan

 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing (I used Robusto Italian because they only had Kraft Zesty and I don't like Kraft dressing... It worked out just fine!)
4 oz. cream cheese, also cubed for easier melting
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
10 oz. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed 
2 refrigerated pie crusts

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Cook chicken and dressing in large skillet over medium heat for two minutes (or until cooked... You'll have a bunch of liquid in the skillet - don't drain it!)
• Mix in cream cheese, continue cooking, and stir until melted
• Add flour, mix well 
• Add broth and vegetables, simmer 5 minutes 

The recipe says to put the mixture right into the cake pan, but, like Maggie, I like a top and a bottom to my pies (and you can't really buy a single pie crust), so put one pie crust in the bottom of the pan, add mixture, and top with the other crust.

Flute the edges and cut 4 slits to let the steam escape.  Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  I do a lot of guestimating here since its really hard to tell on our oven what temperature you are using so I think my oven may not have been hot enough, and I had to leave the pie in a little longer to cook the crust the whole way through.  No biggie!

 

My first pot roast!

So I attempted my very first pot roast today!  It turned out really well. 

There are about 11 million different pot roast recipes, but I loosely used the one from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.  I saw loosely, as if I ever stick to a recipe. 

I'm going to add the recipe later in case you, like me, have no clue how to make easy peasy back home kind of meals. 

Its a new old single life for me...

I've lived on my own since I moved out of the house for college. One could argue I was on my own before then because I took care of myself and my finances, but anyway, you get the gist. I rented an apartment with Nikki in New Haven, rented a place with Jess in Hawley, and then Bing and I rented an apartment together before he left for basic training, but I lived totally alone for the 5 1/2 months that he was gone. I've always been a scaredy pants - you can ask my mom. Even if I was walking through my parent's house (that I lived in full time from 5-18) I would turn every light on in the place at night time. I have a hugely overactive imagination and it really gets away from me sometimes. Anyway, in our tiny little apartment in Hawley, tucked away on the side of a house where you couldn't even see our front door (ie you couldn't really tell we lived there) I still made sure that door was locked every night and I even locked the bedroom door, and slept with a softball bat next to the bed. I felt really safe there, and actually didn't need to lock any of the doors if you want to be perfectly honest.


Now I'm in this brand spankin' new COUNTRY, where people are loud and everything echos so any sound seems like its right outside the door, and my husband gets put on mids. Mid shift works from 11pm-7am. This shift suuuuuucks for many reasons. A) I have to sleep alone. Hello insomnia! I'm too scared to go to sleep so I stay awake all night until I can't take it anymore. And right now its 12:33 am and I am exhausted but won't go to bed for probably another hour or two. B) Bing sleeps all day. C) I want to reverse my schedule to sleep when he does, but then I miss out on my entire life (working out, ACES, the girls) D) We have a 1 car garage, with a garage on either side of us... We have to move cars around in order to function. I have to wake Bing up to move his car in order for me to be able to go anywhere during the day.
Anywho, the point of the story IS... mids is the worst shift ever. Lindsay told me I'd never see Bing and she was right.

I think I'm going to go set up my safety devices, and go lay down. I'm re-reading Harry Potter now so let's see how far I get this evening.

Also, I totally apologize for this post. There's a bit of complaining in it, and this blog isn't for that. I guess its part of my new way of life.

Try my recipes!

Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole

I borrowed the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book from the library last week.  Granted, I know most kitchens come with it but I'm putting this recipe on here for you to see... Maybe you've skipped over it before. 

I do not tend to like seafood, but tuna is one of the things I like.  I've always loved tuna noodle casserole, and since Bing loves cheese, this works out lovely.  I was a little worried using the cheese, but it turned our REALLY well and it will definitely go into rotatioin on the list of dinners we have.  This is another one of those recipes where I don't really measure too much... I think you can throw in some extras and it will turn out great anyway.
Makes 4 servings

3 cups medium egg noodles
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used onion powder, and didn't measure it)
2 tbsp margarine or butter (since we had a ton of butter, that's what I used)
1 11 oz can condensed cheddar cheese soup (if you don't want to use the cheese soup, you can supstitute a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup)
3/4 cup milk
1 9 1/4 oz can of tuna, drained
grated parmesan cheese (we used the stuff in the can and it was great, but feel free to over acheive and grate your own!)

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Cook noodles, drain and set aside
• In a saucepan, cook celery and onion in butter or margarine until tender
• Stir in soup and milk
• Stir in tuna and cooked noodles
• Transfer to a 1 1/2 qt casserole
• Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (or until top looks nice and crunchy!)

Like I said, I was surprised how good this was with the cheese soup, and it doesn't have a real overpwering tuna flavor to it. 

Also, I do plan on getting pictures up of everything I make, but I left my camera in the car for a while and I didn't get pictures so we have to wait til the next rotation.

Picture time!  #1 is pre-parmasan, #2 is post-parmasan, #3 is allllll said and done.

Semi-Homemade Minestrone Soup

I found this recipe in a Sandra Lee Semi-homemade cookbook. I love her books! Everything is super easy since nothing is made from scratch. Maggie got me a semi-homemade dessert book for my birthday, and now we love her recipes!

This recipe is super fast - the soup was ready in about 10 minutes, and I was surprised at how good it was.

Makes 6 servings. Unless you're like me and like lots of soup, then its maybe 3-4.

• 1 qt Swanson low sodium chicken broth (I used the regular because I love salt, and it wasn't very salty)
• 1 pack (16 oz) frozen garlic pasta and vegetables
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) Italian seasoned tomatoes (I used the ones the basil and oregano)
• 1/2 cup tomato paste (This made the broth kind of thick, so you can probably cut down a little on the tomato paste if you want a thinner broth)

There were no chickpeas in this recipe, but you can't have minestrone without them, so grab a small can and throw them in!

Bring broth to boil.
Stir in ingredients, simmer for 5 minutes.