I never, ever make meatloaf. I use to like it as a kid, but now that I cook all the meals the idea of taking a huge chunk of ground beef and baking it like a loaf of bread, just seems/sounds very strange. That being the case I've never looked for or tried out any meatloaf recipes.
Well, after getting my most recent Williams-Sonoma catalog I was inspired by their cheesy meatloaf recipe. Not only did it appear to have more substance then just a hunk of meat, but it also claimed to be full of cheesy chunks.
So I tired it. The recipe required you to first saute carrots and celery (and mushrooms, which I omitted) in olive oil. While that was sauteing I cut up chunk of mozzarella cheese. Then I mixed up breadcrumbs, cheese chunks, ground meat, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, sauteed veggies and shaped it all into a loaf in my baker. I then topped it with more breadcrumbs mixed with shredded mozzarella cheese and baked it for an hour.
Yummy, yum. I will never view meatloaf with the same boredom again. It was delicious.
I know it's corny to post pics of food and how you made it. But I'm really trying to get inspired to cook new recipes. And posting about it makes it all the more fun for me.
Here is the exact recipe if you want to make it yourself:
Ingredients:
4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 oz. dried wild mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup hot water,
chopped, soaking liquid reserved
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 Tbs. plus 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded, plus 6 oz., cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 lb. ground beef (80% lean)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
Mashed potatoes for serving (see related recipe at left)
Directions:
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with 1 Tbs. of the oil.
In a deep sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the carrots, celery and onion and sauté until tender and starting to caramelize, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Let cool for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the bread crumbs and 1/3 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid and soak for 5 minutes. In another bowl, combine the remaining 3/4 cup bread crumbs, the 1 Tbs. parsley, the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil, shredded cheese, salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together the ground beef, soaked bread crumbs, vegetable mixture, eggs, the 1/4 cup parsley, thyme, cubed cheese, salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and shape into a 10-by-5-inch loaf. Cover the top and sides of the meat loaf with the cheese-bread crumb mixture.
Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat loaf registers 165°F, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let the meat loaf rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with mashed potatoes. Serves 8.
She finally pulled enough books off the shelf and found the one she was looking for.
And without giving any thought to me, just began to read.
This, ladies and gentleman, is what my daughter does all day long. She loves to just sit in her room reading. I guess I should consider myself very lucky. I don't have to entertain her and she is learning a lot I'm sure. But still, sometimes I worry...does my child read to much! lol
After we took a few pictures of her, she wanted a picture of "Nooes" (Knowles), I get to babysit Knowles a few days a week. Jade use to be really jealous of the attention I gave to him, but now she is use to it and looks forward to his visits. Especially if I let her give him his pacifier.
Jade sure loves bath-time. It's been fun to see how she's gone from hating bath time to loving bath time, to hating it again and now...loving it all over. She's found it a great place to play and be imaginative. Now that she talks more, I love to listen to her pretending with her tub toys and hearing her laugh at jokes, I assume she must be making to her toys.
So I tired it. The recipe required you to first saute carrots and celery (and mushrooms, which I omitted) in olive oil. While that was sauteing I cut up chunk of mozzarella cheese. Then I mixed up breadcrumbs, cheese chunks, ground meat, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, sauteed veggies and shaped it all into a loaf in my baker. I then topped it with more breadcrumbs mixed with shredded mozzarella cheese and baked it for an hour.
I had fun trying out new ingredients I had never used before. Such as creme fraiche, which is a fancy kind of sour cream.
And then these bibs. How cute are they? However at $26 a pop at the Land of Nod I doubt I'll be buying these any time soon.
Perhaps, these are a better option, they are only $12.95 and you can plop them in the dish washer. Kinda cute in a space baby sort of way. hee, hee. Also from the Land of Nod.
Anyway, if any of you moms out there have a favorite bib, I'd love your tips. I want to know where to buy, if they have cool snaps and how much. It's time for me to be smart and invest in a bib that will last, stay on the baby, and not ruin the clothes in my wash!
And I must admit, I think the talking/eating pic of Cristy and Sarah is pretty funny too:)
After lunch we headed to the bowling alley for some fun! Check out the kids tiny bowling shoes!
I think they are rolling 8lb balls. They did end up finding ones that were 6lbs, but even those were heavy for the little guys.
This pic I had to crop funny, because the bottom half was messed up, maybe my finger was in the way or something.
Hee, hee, don't I look great with bunny ears? (Dani, is a goofball)
Bowling parties are fun!
Ta da!
I can't believe my little girl is two! Just two years ago this is what was happening
And today is Jade's 2nd birthday. I hope to spoil her lots and just play and play. I love her silly face in this picture. I said "Make a silly face" and this is what she did. Hee, hee.
Happy Birthday boy, happy birthday girl!! Love you two!!!
Playing with her princess castle some.
Okay, I did take this picture to show of my daughters bottom. hee, hee. At night she wears a special cloth diaper that has double padding in it (for extra absorption) However, it makes her bottom SO big! It cracks me up every night. hee, hee
It's never to early to teach your kiddos how to make dinner. Jade looks bored, but really she is just very serious, because she begged me to let her "help!"
Here we are mixing up hamburger meat to make mini burgers for dinner. She was a big help!
This morning (Sunday) I put Jade in her special dress from Grandma Mangione. Jade just wanted to twirl and dance in it. She is asking daddy to hold her "Blank" (blanket) so she can show off for the camera
I know this is a grumpy picture of Jade but I hadn't posted a picture of her in awhile. lol. She was really in a pretty good mood the day I took this picture I'm not sure why she is mad...maybe she just wanted a snack I wouldn't give her or something. lol
