Meatloaf

I've been meaning to make meatloaf for pops since he asked for it awhile ago. And since we have a lot of leftover meats, I figured I ought to just make it. We had leftover ground beef and old costco meatballs (though I'm sure it'd never go bad while it's in the freezer... heh) and a new ground turkey package that's been sitting in the freezer for a while now and I just bought bacon..... so here's what I used for my meatloaf:

9 oz ground beef, 10 oz costco meatballs (or 16 meatballs), 15 oz ground turkey, 2 celery stalks, minced, 1/2 large white onion, minced, 1/2 oz sun dried tomatoes, minced, 4 oz bread crumbs, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp chili powder, 3 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/4 tsp curry powder and 1 egg. I forgot about the bacon :(

Sauce: 1 3/4 cup ketchup, 1 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbs sugar

Pretty much just mix them all in a mixer and then add the egg last. Then place it in a meatloaf pan that's been sprayed with PAM. Then flip it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven of 350°F for 1 hr and 15 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 155°F.

The sauce mixture is applied to the meatloaf once it's been baking for 15 minutes. I use about half the sauce mixture and save the rest for when it's served. It's super delicious!

Swedish Meatballs

I was excited to make these meatballs. They looked real tasty and best of all, they're made up of ingredients we usually have in the fridge! I did do a couple of substitutes in order to make this keto-friendly though. I also knew that making meatballs was a bit time consuming, but what I didn't know was just how amazingly delish these would be! =) Here's the link for the original recipe: Swedish Meatballs (Svenska Kotbullar)

Here's what my meatballs are made of:

2 tbs butter, unsalted (not pictured)
3/4 cup minced onion
2/3 lb ground beef
1/3 lb ground pork
6 oz tofu, crumbled (not pictured)
1 egg
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
1/4 tsp ginger zest
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup water + 1/4 tsp chicken bouillon or 1/4 cup chicken stock (not pictured)

(The photo above has coconut flour and sour cream, which was used for the gravy later.)

Step 1: Melt 1 tbs of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir and cook the minced onion until it is nicely browned.

Step 2: In the meantime, mix the ground beef, ground pork and crumbled tofu in a mixing bowl. 

Step 3: When your onions are done, add them to your meat mixture, along with the kosher salt, black pepper, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and ginger. Then mix in the heavy whipping cream. It should look something like the below picture.

Step 4: Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Step 5: Melt 1 tbs of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Form balls of about 1-1/2 tbs of meat mixture and place them into the skillet. Cook until all sides are browned, turning meatballs often. FIY: It's scrumptiously fragrant. The meatballs may not be cooked inside, but that's okay, bc it'll bake more in the oven. I actually took a bite of the outer rim of my browned meatball to check its taste to see if it needed more salt or pepper. It was perfect for me! 

Step 6: Place browned meatballs into a baking dish, pour in chicken broth, and then cover with foil. 

Step 7: Bake in preheated oven of 350°F for 40 minutes. It'll look oh-so-tasty and very mouthwatering!

Om nom nom nom nom!

Handy to have for meatball makings:

Escali Weigh'N Digital Kitchen Scale (Google Affiliate Ad)

Corningware-Pyrex 6001001 CLR (Google Affiliate Ad)

OXO Good Grips Cookie Dough Scoop, Medium (Google Affiliate Ad)

Beef Patties

Beef. It's what's for dinner. More specifically, beef patties....

For the pops and I.

For the hubbster... sour cream instead of rice, and a crap ton more of cheeeeeeeeeeese.

The day, we had cabbage instead of broc.

YUM!

Good Stuff

Tonight we had spinach (finally found some that weren't too covered in dirt), leftover ground beef n broc and scrambled eggs and rice.

To make it keto-friendly, he had pork belly, sunny side up eggs, both of which were covered in his beloved chipotle sauce and spinach covered in cheddar cheese.

Ground beef n broccoli n eggs

for me n pops

keto-friendly for bubster

Beef n Broccoli Patties

Literally: ground beef and broccoli (broccoli went into the food processor) patties

with rice! (for pops)

with pepperoni and cheese on top of the pattie (for me)

with chipotle sauce and no rice (for hubby) :D

Twas delicious and yummy!

AD: Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce - 12 oz. bottle (Google Affiliate Ad) - get the chipotle version - SO good

Ground Beef dishes

This one is leftover meatloaf with rice n broccoli. A classic yummy oldtime fav... if the meatloaf is done right... (and this one is!)

This one is keto friendly with a slab of ground beef topped with cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream and broccoli for sides. Super delish as well! It's kinda like a burger patty~ super savory and juicy! The ground beef was basically treated like a steak with salt and pepper for seasoning and then straight onto a high-heated pan. It was cooked til just well done since it was previously frozen.

This would've been useful to have: Stainless Steel Turner, 3" x 7 1/2" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Meatloaf!

This is a version of Good Eats Meatloaf from Alton Brown.

Everything is pretty much the same with a few substitutions....

1) Instead of 6oz of garlic-flavored croutons, I decided to make a sweet-ish meatloaf and used 6oz of stale kashi cereal (original).

2) In place of 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, I added more of the chili powder.

3) In place of 3 whole cloves of garlic, I used 2 tsp of garlic powder.

4) In place of the ground meats, I used 28oz of ground beef and 4oz of bacon, chopped into bits. (Yes, I know I'm short 2oz of meat....)

5) And since I added bacon, I reduced the salt to 1/2 tsp.

Other than that, just follow the recipe as stated and it will be super delicious and moist. While the flavor was awesome, my meatloaf was crumbly. Next time, I would use a really large egg or two regular ones.

And since only 1/2 a bell pepper and 1/2 an onion was called for the meatloaf, I stirfried the remaining and called them veggies! :) We also bought sausages, but those are for another post.

Nom-nom-nom-nom, that's one hella great yummy eats!

AD: Kitchenaid 2-Pc. Meatloaf Pan Set (Google Affiliate Ad)

Beef n Cheese Quesadilla

I quickly stirfried ground beef with a bit of kosher salt n pepper and curry for the heck of it. Once everything was cooked, I folded in chopped green onions. Then the tortilla was warmed in a non-stick pan. Sprinkled a layer of cheddar cheese, the ground beef mixture, and another layer of mozzarella cheese. Fold and let cheese melt into yummy gooey-ness. 

Voila.

Meat-za and Creamy Salmon

I couldn't find our epic meat-za pictures :( It's the tiny piece in the front center.

Here's the original link for our inspiration: 

http://imgur.com/a/gRUTQ#tyw5H

And here's a previous post for the creamy salmon: http://foodiestuffers.blogspot.com/2012/09/salmon-in-white-sauce.html

Mm-mmmm good with a healthy dose of salad in raspberry vinaigrette. :)

AD: Love and Leftovers by Tregay, Sarah [Hardcover] (Google Affiliate Ad)
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Beef n Mushroom Lasagna

Lasagna made with ground beef, mushroom and mozzarella cheese.

Mm-mmmmm!

For an actual recipe go here and replace ground turkey and peppers with ground beef and mushrooms.

Beef Dumplings

Beef Dumplings - two ways
The dumplings are made with ground beef, minced garlic, cabbage, salt and pepper, and sliced mushrooms. I probably should have added an egg to bind all the ingredients together since the ones on the left, I cooked them in boiling water for about 5-7 minutes, the ground beef was falling apart. It also wasn't that great. Pork dumplings are so much better in my opinion. The ones on the right were steamed and then panfried. Same way as the pork dumplings.

Tomato n Beef Casserole w/ Baked Potato

The last of the tomato and beef casserole with a scrumptious baked potato topped with sour cream, cheddar cheese and a sprinkling of chopped green onion along with a couple of slices of tomatoes. I'd say the baked potato was the best part. Haven't had that in awhile! Mm-mmmmm

PS: To make the baked potatoes, simply wash'em well, dry them, coat with light layer of olive oil (or any veggie oil) and sprinkle with kosher salt. I wrap them individually in foil and bake them in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 minutes. (Some people don't wrap them though.) I check to see if they are done by poking it with a knife on top. If it punctures easily, it's done. If you have trouble, the potatoes aren't done yet.

Kotlety

For the recipe go here: 

http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Kotlety-(Russian-Ground-Beef-Cutlets)/14948/

This stuff is really good. We shared with some friends of friends and they really enjoyed it as well. 

24hrs chili

all the above plus about 2lbs of ground beef

plus a bit of colorful veggies 

(bell peppers from the backyard :D)

All the above placed in a slow cooker and cooked alllllllll day and night.

for a yummy taste of chili over toast topped with mozzarella cheese and guac.

Mmmmmm, such tasty goodness in my tummy!

Beef n Tomatoes Quesadillas

Cheddar cheese, seasoned ground beef, chopped tomatoes and a leafy lettuce.

Fold n half and serve with salsa verde. 

Soooooo tasty! Sooooooooo goooooooood!!!

Spinach Burger

This is pretty much the same thing as last night's dinner, but with spinach leaves instead of lettuce. Also, mustard honey was used for a bit of a sweet and tangy taste. I'd say it adds a bit of a sophisticated touch to a regular american burger.

Burgers!

The secret to awesome burgers is to use fresh ground beef. To season, only pepper and salt was used. Grill to your desired temp and enjoy between buns with a slice of cheese, couple leaves of lettuce and a big ole slice of tomato. These were DEEE-licious!