Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf

I have only had meatloaf a handful of times and I like it... enough. It's definitely not something I would eat everyday! But sometimes I have a craving for meatloaf. I think this recipe was pretty good... definitely one of the better meatloaf's I've had.

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites, but they got it from America's Test Kitchen.

Glaze
1/2 cup chili sauce (or substitute ketchup, but I liked chili sauce)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons cider vinegar (or white vinegar in a pinch)

Meat Loaf
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion , chopped medium
2 medium cloves garlic , minced
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup plain yogurt (or whole milk)
1 pound ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal (I used more pork instead of veal)
2/3 cup Saltine crackers , crushed (about 18), or quick oatmeal, or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
6 – 8 ounces bacon , thin sliced (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the glaze: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened and set aside.

2. For the meat loaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients. (I again skipped this step, but I added the garlic into the meatloaf with all the other ingredients below.)

3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time until mix no longer sticks.)

4. Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by-5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf.

5. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool 10-15 minutes. While meal loaf is cooling, re-heat remaining sauce and brush some over meat loaf if desired. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.

Cabbage Rolls

So this is the easiest recipe in the world. And it will make your kids eat cabbage and a full serving of vegetables (with V8.) My son is 10 months old and he loved sharing with me.

1 head of cabbage
1 lb hamburger
1/4 c. rice (not instant)
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle of V8 ( I think it's 32 oz.)
(You could put in whatever other vegetables you would like, but not necessary)

Mix hamburger, eggs and rice and season with salt and pepper. Cut the end off the cabbage and gently pull off each leaf. Put a spoonful of mixture inside leaf of cabbage and roll folded side down in pot. After all of them are stuffed and in the pot cover completely with V8 and cook for 2 1/2 hours on low-medium heat covered. (On my stove I set it to 4.) Once cabbage is soft and hamburger is cooked through it's ready to eat.  *You probably need to season with more salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!! Easy and tasty!

Rouladen (German Beef Rolls)

1 lb. boneless round steak (ask butcher)
1 onion, diced (didn't use)
1/4 c. flour
5 to 6 slices bacon, fried and crumbled (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 c. water
Mustard
Parsley
1 tsp. bouillon ( I just used one cube)

Cut round steak in half, horizontally, and pound until very, very thin. Spread each strip with mustard, parsley, onion, and bacon. Roll up and tie with string (I didn't have string so I just used toothpicks, but I couldn't get them out very easily.) Combine flour, salt and pepper. Roll beef rolls in flour mixture. Brown in hot oil (medium high). Add water and bouillon; simmer until tender. Make gravy out of drippings and serve over beef rolls.

To make gravy I just added 1/4 c. flour to drippings and salt and pepper to taste.

Make sure you cook long enough to make them tender. Mine were pretty tough.

Beef and Cabbage Wraps

8 8-inch flour tortillas
12 ounces lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped red or green onion (again I don't eat onion so I don't use this)
2 cups packaged shredded cabbage with carrot (coleslaw mix)
1 cup loose-pack frozen whole kernel corn
1/4 cup bottled barbecue or hoisin sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1. Stack tortillas and wrap in foil. Heat in a 350*F oven for 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, for filling, in a large skillet cook ground beef and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir coleslaw mix and corn into meat mixture in skillet. Cover and cook about 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring once. Stir in the 1/4 cup barbecue or hoisin sauce and the sesame oil. Cook and stir until heated through.

2. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the filling below center of each tortilla. Fold bottom edge up and over filling. Fold opposite sides in, just until they meet. Roll up from the bottom. If desired, serve with additional barbecue or hoisin sauce.

* I love cheese on most things so I added some cheese on top of these as well.

Cafe Rio Salad

So now that you've made tons of leftover meat from your Cafe Rio burrito's. Take it and make a delicious salad.

Flour Tortillas
leftover shredded pork/beef
lettuce or a bag of salad
tortilla strips
leftover rice and black/pinto beans
cheese (I used mozzarella)
cilantro dressing (recipe below)

Heat up flour tortillas they are best if they are crunchy so either put them in a skillet with some butter for a few minutes on each side or place in oven until they start to brown. Put all ingredients on top as if you were making the burrito (rice, beans, meat) then cover with lettuce or bag of salad, top with tortilla strips then cover with dressing and cheese as desired.

Cilantro Dressing

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced (they look like green tomatoes, look by the peppers)
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (if you like it spicy keep the seeds in it, if you like it mild remove the seeds)
blend all ingredients together... and voila! The picture doesn't make it look that great, but trust me it's scrumptious!

Cafe Rio Style Burrito

6 pounds pork butt/shoulder (I just use a Roast)
1 19 oz. can Red Enchilada Sauce
8 burrito style tortillas
1 can Dr. Pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cilantro (I used the dried, but you can use fresh as well)
*toppings for burrito - black or pinto beans, rice, and any other wanted toppings. 

Put pork in crock pot with 1/2 cup water bake for 5 hours or until tender enough to shred. Pull the meat out and let cool for 30 minutes then shred. In separate bowl, mix the enchilada sauce, dr. pepper, salt, garlic salt, brown sugar and cilantro. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the meat and mix. Put your toppings rice, beans, etc into tortillas and top with meat mixture fold burrito and place in casserole dish. Pour the remaining mixture plus about 1 lb of cheese over top and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or longer if desired. (until cheese is melted).

Steak & Mushrooms

4 beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1 inch thick (mine were a little over 1 1/2 inches)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz fresh mushrooms sliced
1/4 cup seasoned beef broth
1/4 cup whipping cream (not heavy)

In large skillet cook steaks in hot oil over medium heat until desired doneness, turning once (allow 7-9 minutes for medium-rare, or 10-13 minutes for medium doneness. Transfer steaks to serving platter; keep warm.

In the same skillet cook and stir mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in broth and cream. Cook and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spoon mixture over steaks and serve.

*I made this with homemade mashed potatoes and doubled up on the 1/4 cup broth and cream to make extra sauce which made barely enough for 2 people who love extra sauce.

Stroganoff (2)

1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced round steak
1 4 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion (again used onion salt, just a few pinches)
1/4 cup butter
1 can beef broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pound wide egg noodles


Brown meat, mushrooms and onion in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth. Cover and simmer 1 hour or until tender. Gradually blend 1/4 cup water into 2 tablespoons flour and slowly add to sauce while stirring. Cook and stir until thickened. Slowly stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

This one is my mother-in-laws recipe.. so delicious but more time consuming. If you have the time try this one first!

Beef Stroganoff (1)

1 pound beef tips or chunks (stew meat)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 bunch chopped green onions (I don't use onions so I just use onion salt as a replacement)
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (8oz.)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup 10 3/4 oz
1 pound bag wide egg noodles ( I only used about half for 2 people)

In skillet brown beef with garlic and mushrooms. In seperate pot boil noodles, drain and set aside. Add soup and sour cream to beef mixture. Stir and simmer 5 minutes. Top noodles with beef mixture and green onions.
I also shredded parmesan cheese to top it off.

This was given to me by my sister in law... delicious!!! Thanks Diane