Tin Foil Meal

Tin Foil Meal

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 Onion
• 1 Egg
• 1/2-2/3 Cups Breadcrumbs
• Salt and Pepper
• Four servings potatoes, sliced very thin
• Cooking Spray
• 2 Tablespoon Butter, melted
• Seasonings of choice ( I used a blend of onion flakes, garlic powder, basil, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper)
• Cheese slices if desired can also be added

Instructions:

1. Place four roughly 12 inch by 12 inch squares of tin foil. Heat oven, or charcoal, or BBQ to 450°F.
2. In a medium bowl mix together the ground meat, egg, bread crumbs and seasonings of choice. Fold and mix together until it is well blended and combined.
3. Thinly slice the onions and set aside.
4. Lightly mist each square of tinfoil with cooking spray, arrange a few onion slices in the center of each square. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Divide meat mix into four, shape each portion into a rectangle and place on top of the onion slices, season with salt and pepper. Arrange a serve of slice potatoes on top of the meat, season with salt and pepper and pour a little of the melted butter over top of the potatoes.
6. If desired a slice of cheese can be added between the meat and potatoes layer for extra flavour.
7. Fold the tinfoil up into neat packages, doing your best to seal as completely as possible.
8. Cook over high heat in oven or on a grill for roughly forty minutes, turning once.  Ensure meat is cooked through and potatoes are soft before removing from heat.

Enjoy!

Notes:

This is a meal we used to make on the last day of my summer camp in Cape Breaton. We would all have a chance to make our tin foil meal how we pleased and would write our names on the outside of the foil. Then the whole camp would walk down to the beach where a giant BBQ coal pit had been prepared. The tin foil meals would be roasted on the beach while the whole camp sang or played on the beach and when the food was ready we all grabbed a nice flat Rock so we could open our hot tin foil meals on our laps and dig in.

I had a big craving for this taste from my childhood a few weeks ago, surprisingly it lived up to my memories and was an actually enjoyable supper at home. My husband even enjoyed it and he had no nostalgia attached.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound simmering, or marinading, or quick fry steak
• 1 Head Broccoli
• 1 Onion
• 1 Bell Pepper, dealer's choice on what color
• 1 1/2 Inch Ginger Root
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 1/3 Cup Oyster Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Sesame oil
• 1/3 Cup Sherry
• 2 Teaspoons Mirin
• 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl stir together the oyster sauce, Sesame oil, sherry, mirin, corn starch, 1 minced clove of garlic and roughly a 1/2 Inch piece of ginger root, finely grated until blended.
2. Slice the steak into roughly 1/2 Inch wide by 2 Inch long pieces. Add the cut steak to the oyster sauce mixture and stir to pay evenly. Allow beef to marinade in sauce for 30-60 minutes.
3. Heat a large wok over medium heat.
4. Slice the broccoli into small florets.
5. Thinly slice the bell pepper into strips.
6. Slice the onion.
7. Add a small amount of cooking oil to the wok. Add the remaining inch section of ginger root, and garlic cloves, both roughly chopped to the oil. Stir fry cook the garlic and ginger root for 1-3 minutes to season the oil. Remove the ginger root and garlic from the oil and discard.
8. Next stir fry cook the broccoli and bell pepper. Seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove broccoli and bell pepper from wok and transfer to a plate or bowl. Set aside.
9. If required, add more oil to the wok. Allow wok to hear back up and add the onions, cooking until just starting to soften.
10. Remove the beef from marinade with tongs or a slotted spoon and add to onions in the wok. Stir fry until beef is just cooked and no longer pink on the outside. Add the marinade to the wok and bring everything to a full boil for about 3&5 minutes, until sauce thickens.
11. Return broccoli and bell pepper to the wok and toss to evenly blend all ingredients together.
12. Serve over rice and if desired garnish with sliced green onion and toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Kofta

Kofta

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Ground Beef, or Lamb, or combination of the two
• 3 Clove Garlic
• 1 Small Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Corriander Seed
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Allspice
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Cup Chopped Coriander or Parsley Leaves
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix together by hand until evenly blended.
2. You may need to add some extra breadcrumbs if the mixture feels too wet or too loose.  Texture of a mince meat is something you just need to learn by feel and trial and error.
3. For best results, cover mixture and allow flavour to meld together for at least an hour or overnight.
4. Heat a grill, or skillet to medium high heat when ready to cook. Shape into meat balls or free form sausages. Cook on each side until cooked through and centre is no longer pink.
5. Enjoy with salad, or over rice and perhaps with a garlic or Nova Scotian style donair sauce.

Enjoy!!

Notes:

After several attempts and a few recipe tweaks this is the best kofta I have made. Nice rounded flavour, and not too spicy which serves me perfectly. Husband approved as well.

Korean BBQ Wraps

Slow Cooked Korean BBQ Wraps

Ingredients:

Slow Cooker Korean BBQ Beef:

• 1 Pound Beef Steak, like flank, sirloin, strip loin or 'quick fry'
• 1 Asian Pear
• 2 Inch Piece Ginger Root
• 4-5 Clove Garlic
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

Wraps:

• 4-6 Flour Tortillas
• Cooked Rice (1-2 cups)
• 1 Cup Bean Sprouts
• 1 bunch green onion
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
• Salt
• 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons Sriracha Sauce
• Other toppings could include more veggies or mushrooms, seaweed strips, Sesame seeds etc.

Special Equipment:

• Slow Cooker
• Food Processor with blade attachment, recommended

Instructions:

1. Slice the steak into one centimeter slices and add to slow cooker insert. In the bowl of a food processor add the ginger root, garlic and peeled, cored and roughly chopped Asian pear. Pulse several times into a rough paste. Add to slow cooker insert. Stir in the soy sauce, brown sugar and Sesame oil. Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.
2. To prepare wraps, cook rice set aside. Thinly slice green onions set aside. In a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise and Sriracha Sauce, set aside.
3. To prepare bean sprouts, bring a small pot of well salted water to a boil, blanch bean sprouts for twenty minutes. Drain and season with salt and stir in 1 Tablespoon of Sesame oil, set aside.
4. When beef s cooked, place a tortilla on a plate, and arrange beef, rice, green onions, bean sprouts and spicy mayo to your liking. Fold and roll the wrap how you like.

Enjoy!

Notes:

If you aren't into Asian wraps you could also serve this as a rice bowl, just omit the tortillas, spoon cooked rice into a bowl and arrange the filling ingredients on top.

For a more authentic Korean BBQ, place all the individual fillings in small serving bowls, and serve with large pieces of lettuce, fill lettuce leaves with the ingredients and use the lettuce like a tortilla.

My husband spent a year in Korea and he was quite happy with the flavours in this meal.

Crispy Ginger Beef

Crispy Ginger Beef

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef steak, like flank, strip, sirloin or one labeled 'quick fry'

Batter

• 1/2 Cup Corn Starch
• 1/4 Cup Cold Water
• 1 Egg

Sauce

• 2-3 Inches(1/4 Cup) Ginger Root, Grated
• 5 Cloves Minced Garlic
• 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 4 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar
• Red Pepper Flakes to taste
• Vegetable Oil

Special Tools:

Deep fryer is recommended

Instructions:

1. Heat deep fryer or a deep skillet with at least 1 inch of vegetable oil to about 375°F.
2. In a medium size bowl measure out the corn starch, and add the water and egg. Whisk together until smooth. 
3. Thinly slice the steak, roughly 1 centimeter wide strips. Transfer the sliced steak to the batter and stir to coat evenly.  Set aside.
4. In a medium size sauce pan heat roughly one table spoon of vegetable oil over medium heat until hot but not scorching, roughly 5 minutes. 
5. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger root, and stir fry for about three minutes. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sesame oil and sugar and stir to combine. If some extra spicy flavor is desired, add red pepper flakes, starting with about one teaspoon. Reduce heat to low, simmer for a few minutes, taste and adjust sauce to your liking.
6. Once oil in fryer is heated, storage beef strips in the batter again to separate, carefully lower strips into the hot oil, being careful to not over crowd the oil. Fry beef strips for about 2-3 minutes in batches. Transfer cooked beef strips to a plate lined with paper towel. Once all beef has been fried, toss with the prepared ginger sauce.
7. Serve over rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Terribly sorry for the long break in posts, I got a promotion at work which took up a lot more of my time and then I got pregnant! Which caused me to seek out comforting, familiar foods for most of the past year so I wasn't doing a lot of new recipe testing.

I became a mommy in April 2017, and now that I am getting the hang of parenthood I thought I should catch up on my recipe cataloging.

Now back to the blog, I have made this recipe several times now and I would really recommend using a deep fryer to cook the beef, I have tried heating oil in my cast iron skillet but I just can't seem to get the oil temperature​ hot or steady enough to crisp up this batter unless I use my deep fryer. But if you have a candy thermometer to check your oil temperature you might have better luck.

Also sorry if the formatting is off on this post, I used to do all my blogging on my laptop, but I am trying to do it on my phone now. I am not known for my ability to use a smart phone well... I should eventually get the hang of things though.

Barbacoa Shredded Beef

Barbacoa Shredded Beef
Really spicy!!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Pounds Beef Roast, cut into large cubes
• 4-6 cloves minced Garlic
• 1 small can chopped Green Chilies (Hot or Mild)
• 2-3 Chilies in Adobo Sauce, chopped
• 1 finely chopped Onion
• 1/4 Cup Lime Juice
• 2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground Cloves
• 1/2 Cup Water or Broth

Instructions:

1. To save time the onion, garlic, green chilies, Adobo Chilies can all be pulsed together in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment to create a spicy pulpy mix.
2. Add the mined onion, garlic, chopped chilies and can of green chilies to the insert of a slowcooker.  Add the broth/water, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, oregano, and cloves. Stir to blend everything together.  Add the cubed beef chunks and season well with salt and pepper. Stir to cover the beef in the sauce. Add the bay leaves.
3. Cook on low for 5-8 hours, until beef is tender and shreds with a fork. Once beef is cooked, use a large strainer to remove the beef to a large bowl, shred with two sturdy forks.  Ladle some of the cooking liquid back over the shredded beef to add flavor and keep it moist.
4. Use the shredded beef to make tacos with soft tortilla wraps, lettuce, cheese, veggies and sour cream. This is a really spicy recipe!!

Enjoy!

Other Places:

Goes pretty well with roasted Corn on the cob!

French Cottage Pie

French Cottage Pie

I am not usually a fan of meat pie dishes, but this one is different, and proof that the French are better at food.

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound boneless Beef Chuck, cubed
• 1 Onion, quartered
• 1-2 Carrots, trimmed, peeled
• 1-2 Celery Stalks, trimmed
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 Cup Chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper
• 1-2 Bay Leaves
• 6 Cups Water
• 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 1/2 Pound Sausage, Removed from casing, scramble fried and cooked through
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Pounds Russet Potatoes, peeled, quartered and cooked soft.
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Cream (or more milk)
• 3 Tablespoons soft Butter
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Gruyere Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

1. In a large stock pot or dutch oven add the cubed beef, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, bay leaves and water. Season well with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Skimming off any foam. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 1 1/2-2 hours.
2. Strain and reserve the stock. Transfer the cubed beef to a cutting board and roughly chop to add texture. Discard the vegetables.
3. (The recipe up to this point can be done a day ahead and kept in the fridge overnight)
4. To prepare the pie, butter a large deep casserole dish.
5. Prepare the filling heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, add the sausage and either cook through if not already done, or just heat it up. Add the roughly chopped cooked beef, roughly 1 cup of the stock from the beef, the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Once everything has simmered for several minutes, taste and adjust any flavors as needed. If the mixture looks dry add a little bit of extra stock. Slightly too much stock is better than too little.
6. Pour the meat filling into the prepared casserole dish, cover with foil and set in fridge while preparing the potatoes.
7. Pass the potatoes though a potato ricer, or mash well. With a wooden spoon mix in the milk, cream, and 3 tablespoons of butter. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in the shredded Gruyere cheese.
8. Smooth the potato over top of the meat filling in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the shredded Parmesan Cheese over top of the potato layer.
9. When ready to heat and serve, preheat oven to 400°F and bake for roughly 30 minutes, or until top is golden and crunchy and some sauce is bubbling at the edges.
10. Serve with bread and a nice green salad for a great meal.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I made these in large tart shells (roughly 4 inches wide) and froze them to have quick little tasty meals on hand. They thaw and heat, or heat from frozen pretty well so I am calling this a success.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Spicy Coleslaw

Steak au Poivre

Steak au Poivre

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Quality Beef fillet like Fillet Mignon or Tenderloin or your choice
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Pepper (Fresh Cracked if possible)
• Salt
• 3/4 Cups minced Pearl Onions, Shallots, or Onions
• 1-2 Cups Beef Broth
• 1/2 Cup Brandy or Cognac

Instructions:

1. Twenty minutes before cooking remove the steak from the fridge and let it rest on the counter to warm up a bit.
2. While the steak is resting, heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
3. To prepare the steak, pat each fillet dry with kitchen towels and season with salt.  Press the fresh cracked black pepper into all sides of each fillet.
4. Heat about 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil and butter in the skillet until almost smoking.
5. Add the steaks to the pan and cook for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, turn steaks and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. Remove steaks from pan and transfer to a platter. Cover tightly with tin foil. The steaks should be about medium rare when time to serve.
6. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet and add the minced onions. Saute until soft and lightly cooked.  Add the beef broth and simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
7. Stir in the brandy or cognac and cook for about 2-4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and swirl in about 1 tablespoon butter.
8. Serve the steaks with the sauce poured lightly over the top and if desired, garnish with fresh chopped parsley for some color.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Seriously one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. Paying for really good quality steaks made all the difference.

Slow Cooker Ginger Beef and Vegetables

Ginger Beef and Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1/2-3/4 Pounds Beef Steak (Cheap Cut)
• 1 Onion
• 3-5 Cloves Garlic
• 1 1/2 Cups Beef or vegetable stock
• 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 2 Inches Ginger Root
• Pepper to taste
• 3 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
• 1-2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1-2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
• 1-2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 1 Cup Mixed diced Veggies*
• 3 Tablespoons Water
• 3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
• Sliced Green Onions, for garnish
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

*Try a mix of diced bell peppers, broccoli, edamame, corn, peas, mushrooms, celery, carrots, etc or just pick your favorite veggie.

Instructions:

1. Lightly mist the insert of the slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Finely dice or mince the onion, ginger root and garlic, add to the slow cooker and turn to high while we prep everything else. Season well with pepper.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the broth, with the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, sesame oil, and rice vinegar.
4. Slice the steak into 1 inch cubes or the size of your choice. Arrange the sliced beef over the onions, ginger root, and garlic in the slow cooker. Season with pepper.
5. Pour the sauce into the slow cooker. Place the lid on, and cook on low for 4-5 hours, or high for 2-3 hours.
6. Add the diced mixed veggies and cook for about an additional hour, until veggies are tender.
7. In a small bowl whisk together the corn starch and water. Stir into the slow cooker and cover and cook for an additional 10-20 minutes.
8. Serve over cooked rice or noodles with sliced green onion and sesame seeds sprinkled over top as garnish.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Baked Italian Salmon

Spicy Mexican Shredded Roast Beef

Spicy Mexican Shredded Roast Beef

Ideal for enchiladas or a different spin on a taco filling. Or on top of nachos, in fajitas. .  . you get the idea.

Ingredients:

• 1-3 Pound Beef Blade Roast
• 6 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Small Onion
• 1-4 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 2-4 Teaspoons Cumin
• Enough water or broth to nearly cover the roast in the slow cooker
• 4 Ounce Can Green Chilies

Instructions:

1. Roughly chop the onion, an finely mince the garlic cloves.
2. Arrange half the onion and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker insert.
3. Add enough broth or water to not quite cover the roast in the slow cooker.
4. Sprinkle the chili powder and cumin powder over top of the roast.
5. Arrange the other half of the onions and garlic on top of the roast.
6. Turn slow cooker on, either 4-5 hours on high, or 6-8 on low.
7. After cooking the beef, remove the beef from the broth with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl. Shred the beef with two forks by gently pulling it apart. Add about 1/3-4/5 Cups of broth from the slow cooker to the shredded beef, just enough so the shredded beef looks juicy. Add the entire can of chilies to the shredded roast beef and stir to mix in evenly.
8. Beef is now ready to be used in tacos, enchiladas, on nachos, etc.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I use this to make enchilada's at home, cook the beef in the slow cooker all day, shred and finish it when you get home from work, roll into a few tortillas with a little cheese, and toast in the oven. Serve with enchilada sauce, salsa, sour cream or what ever makes you happy. Quick and easy dinner is a nice dinner I think.

Also this is my man-friends new favorite meal, he even eats it as leftovers the next day and that almost never happens.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Fish Cakes and Caper Sauce

Curried Beef and Vegetables

Not sure what kind of curry this is, but it was easy to make, easy to eat, and had  a nice mild spicy-savory taste to it. Similar to my recipe for Aaloo Keema, a traditional spicy Pakistani Curry. Now I don't know about you but I get bored of ground beef sometimes and this is a nice recipe to change things up a bit.

Curried Beef and Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Servings White Rice, Cooked
• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Mirin (or sugar or honey)
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 Cup Fish Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 2-4 Teaspoons Sriracha Sauce, or a Chili-Garlic Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin
• 1 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1-2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
• 1 Red Pepper, diced
• 3-5 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
• Cracked Black Pepper
• 1 Can diced Tomatoes, undrained
• 2 Cups Shredded Lettuce Leaves (Pack the leaves in your measuring cup. They will wilt and shrink a lot in size in the final dish)
• Sesame Seeds, as Garnish (About a tablespoon will do)

Instructions:

1. Set a large cast iron skillet, or wok or frying pan to medium heat. Lightly oil the pan with about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
2. In a small bowl mix together 2-3 Cloves or minced Garlic, the Mirin, Fish Sauce, Soy Sauce, Sriracha sauce, Curry Powder, Cumin, Garam Masala and Corn Starch. Whisk everything together well. Set aside, this is our curry sauce.
3. Dice the red pepper. Stir fry the red pepper in the heated pan for about 5-10 minutes. Add 3-5 cloves of minced garlic, season everything with cracked black pepper and stir fry an additional minute.
4. Add the ground beef and scramble-cook the beef until no longer pink and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Drain off any fat from the cooked beef.
5. Add the can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. Add the curry sauce and stir well to blend. Bring everything to boil stirring occasionally.
6. Reduce heat to a simmer and reduce sauce for 25-35 minutes, until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. More sour from lemon juice, more sweet from mirin, more salt from soy sauce or fish sauce,and more spice from either extra sriracha or cumin powder. If the curry feels too mild to you add an extra half tablespoon of curry powder. Allow sauce to simmer for a few additional minutes after adjusting seasonings and taste again. Repeat until you are happy with the sauce.
7. Fold the shredded lettuce leaves into the curry, until they are fully under the sauce. Cook until lettuce is just wilted and is a bright green color, only about 2-3 minutes.
8. To serve, ladle curry over top of rice in a bowl and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I am still not the biggest fan of super spicy food but I am trying to expand my palate a bit and try some new foods.  This is a sort of hybrid curry, it isn't quite Thai or Vietnamese or middle Eastern but more of a mash up of some elements from all over the place, but it is a mash up that works pretty darn well and best of all for me it isn't too spicy but has lots of flavor to back it up. Plus it uses up some ingredients I have had sitting in the fridge for a bit. Waste not want not!

Other Places:

Not the right kind of Curry? How about:

Aaloo Keema
Thai Fish Curry
Honey Curry Glazed Chicken
Coconut Curried Chicken

Bibimbap

Bibimbap

Traditional in Korea, served all nice and pretty like this, so you can stir it into a heap and eat it. Perfect meal.

Ingredients:

• 200 Grams, Fresh sliced deli Roast Beef, thinly sliced
• 1 Bunch Enoki Mushrooms, or 4-8 Caps from other Mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 Cup Julienne Carrot
• 1 Sliced Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Cup Fresh Spinach
• 1 Cup Bean Sprouts
• 1/2 Cup Green Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Lightly Toasted Sesame Seeds
• Thinly sliced Nori
• 4 Servings White Grain Rice, cooked
• 4 Eggs

Beef Sauce/Marinade:

• 2 Teaspoons Mirin
• 3-4 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Inch Ginger Root
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

Garnish Sauce:

• 4 Tablespoons Spicy Korean Red Bean Paste
• 1-2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 1-2 Cloves minced Garlic
• Small amount of hot water

For Bean Sprouts:

• 1 Cloves Garlic
• 1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

For Mushrooms:

• 2 Teaspoons Mirin
• 1-2 Teaspoons Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Tablespoon Sesame oil

For Carrot:

• 1 Teaspoon Soy
• 1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil

Other:

• Water
• Salt
• Rice Vinegar
• Cooking Oil

Special Tools:

• Large Skillet or Cast Iron Skillet
• Large Tray
• Large oven safe bowls or nine inch pie plates, one per serving

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 420°F.
2. Set a small pot of salted water on to boil.
3. Preheat a large skillet or cast iron skillet onto a medium heat.
4. Start cooking rice if you haven't already cooked some.
5. Prepare the Garnish Sauce, in a small bowl stir together the spicy Korean red bean paste, rice vinegar, and 1 clove of garlic. If the sauce is too thick smooth it with about 1/2 Tablespoon of hot water and stir again. It should be a smooth runny sauce. Taste it too make sure it is too your liking. If it is too spicy add some honey or mirin about 1-2 Teaspoons at a time to balance. If you want more spice you can add 1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper, some extra spicy red bean paste. Remember to only make small additions, stir well and then taste again to balance the final sauce. Cover and set aside in fridge when satisfied. 
6. In a medium bowl stir together the Mirin, Garlic, Ginger Root and Sesame Oil. Pile the deli roast beef into a pile and use a sharp knife to shred it into small ragged slices and pieces. Stir the beef into the beef sauce until evenly coated and allow to marinate for about 15 minutes.
7. While the beef is marinating, slice and prepare all the vegetables as described, slice the mushrooms and peppers, julienne the carrot, finely slice the green onion, peel the ginger root and peel all the garlic you will need. Slice or shred the nori into small slivers for garnish.
8. Remove the eggs from the fridge and set on counter.
9. If the water is boiling, add the bean sprouts and cook for 20 minutes. Once cooked, drain and transfer to a medium bowl. Toss cooked bean sprouts with 1 clove minced garlic, 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
10. Fill a small pot with a lid with about 1 inch of water. Salt and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cover for about 2-3 minutes, until spinach has wilted and is bright green. Strain from water, lightly season with rice vinegar. Just enough to add flavor but not enough to saturate. Set spinach aside on the tray.
11. Lightly oil the heated skillet. Add the sliced red pepper, and season with salt and pepper. Lightly saute for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to the large tray.
12. If the skillet is dry, lightly re-oil. Add the julienne carrot as well as 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Fry for about 1 minute and transfer to the large try.
13. If the skillet is dry, lightly re-oil. Add the sliced mushrooms, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 2 teaspoons mirin. Fry for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon Sesame oil. Cook an additional minute. Transfer to large tray.
14. Spoon the cooked rice into the oven safe serving dishes. Cover the bottom and create and even base.
15. Place filled rice bowls into hot oven.
16. If the skillet is dry, lightly re-oil once again. Add the sliced beef, marinade and all and cook for about 3-5 minutes until heated through and most of the liquid has evaporated. turn off the burner.
17. Remove the rice bowls from the oven one at a time and arrange a little of each cooked vegetable form the tray in small piles around the outside edge of each rice bowl. Make it pretty. Once the vegetables are arranged, crack the egg and pour into the center of the bowl. Return to oven and do the process with each of the rice bowls.
18. Keep a careful eye on the eggs. You basically just want the white, to turn solid white, the yolk should remain pretty runny. Remove each rice bowl when the egg white has cooked. Add the heated beef to the rice bowl.
19. Drizzle some of the prepared red sauce evenly over the prepared bibimbap. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onion and a small bunch of sliced nori.
20. Serve hot, and eat by stirring the whole thing together.

Enjoy!

Notes:

This is not an easy recipe, it is long and it has many parts. But it is well worth it! Plus it makes my future husband to be pretty happy.

Also you can use as many of the ingredients listed as you want or just use the ones you like. But I do suggest you give the beansprouts a try, they are quite good and according to my husband to be "made it taste more like the stuff he had from street carts", and he swears he ate a lot of it while he was living in Korea, so I trust him a little bit.

Also i give instructions for baking the egg right on top of everything, if you didn't want to do it that way, or didn't have an oven safe dish on hand, you can arrange the rice and topping in a bowl, and fry the egg on the stove top and add it after. Whatever way is easiest or better for you.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Well not exactly cooking but useful information! How to regenerate Green Onions, very useful if you are like me and love green onions on almost everything. This trick works well for a few weeks to a few months but eventually you will need a fresh green onion to start again with.

Cheeseburger Helper Pantry Stockers

Still too hot to cook or do much. . .

Cheeseburger Helper

Ingredients:

Sauce Mix:

• 2/3 Cup Powdered Milk
• 1-2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
• 1-2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1-2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
• 1-2 Teaspoons Paprika
• 1 Teaspoon Sugar

To Prepare:

• 3 Cups Water
• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 Diced Onion, Optional
• 1 1/2 Cups Uncooked Pasta Noodles
• 1 Cup Shredded Cheese

Instructions:

Sauce Mix:

1. In a small bowl or ziplock bag measure out all the ingredients for the sauce mix. 
2. Sauce mix can be measured out into containers and stored like any other dry good. Excellent for a quick home made dinner option. 
3. You can even measure out the 1 1/2 cups pasta and have that in the bag with the sauce mix all ready to go.

To Prepare Dinner: 

1. In a large pot or skillet over medium heat, scramble cook the ground beef and the onion if using until beef is cooked through and no longer pink, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add 3 cups of water to the pan, the pre-measured sauce mix and the pasta.
3. Bring everything to a boil.
4. Reduce heat slightly, cover and allow to simmer for about 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until noodles are cooked tender.
5. Stir in shredded cheese, continue to stir until melted into the sauce.
6. Turn heat off and allow to stand for about 5 minutes before serving to allow sauce to thicken.

Enjoy!

Quick and Simple Pepper Steak

Pepper Steak

Ingredients:

1/2 Pound Steak, Flank or Blade is good
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Cup water
3 Stalks Celery
1-2 Bell Peppers
1 Onion
1-2 Cloves Garlic
Black Pepper
Cooking Oil, your choice friends!

Cooked Rice for four people, I prefer a long grain white

Instructions:

Freeze the steak for about 10 minutes to make it easy to slice. Slice into finger width slices, or bite sized cubes.

Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet or wok, preferably something with reasonably high sides.

Finely mince the onion and garlic. Once the oil is hot add the minced onion and garlic to the pan, season with pepper and stir fry for about 10 minutes, till soft and fragrant and possibly just slightly golden. Don't over cook the onions at this point!

While the onions and garlic mellow together in the pan, chop the celery and bell peppers into desired cuts, I usually finely slice the celery and chop the bell peppers.

Once the onions and garlic are softened, add the diced steak, and remaining chopped vegetables. Add the water and soy sauce, stir well to mix evenly. Reduce heat to a medium low setting and allow the skillet to simmer, uncovered (with a splatter guard if you happen to have one. . . ) for about 25-30 minutes or until steak is cooked through and tender. Stir it occasionally to keep things cooking evenly.

Serve over rice, with garlic toast if you want to be like my family!

Enjoy!

Notes:


A simpler recipe for peppered steak stir fry like I had when I was a kid. This one is pretty much identical to the one my father made. This was seriously his only recipe that everyone would eat. It's also fool proof simple. Plus any kids I've fed this too have loved it. Just remember to not add any extra salt! The soy sauce in the recipe is more than enough salt!

Other Places:

Something fancy:

Lemon Salmon

Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner (Three recipes, one awesome dinner)

Super easy and everyone loves spaghetti and meatballs!

You could also be adventurous and make your own pasta!

Basic Tomato Sauce:

Serves Four

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Diced, whole or crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
• 4 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Basil
• Salt and Pepper
• 2-3 Bay Leaves

Special Tools:

Immersion Blender, or a blender/food processor safe for use with hot sauces.

You could also make the sauce ahead of time, and then cool it and puree it later. Then the sauce would just need to be reheated when you needed it. Or if you want a chunkier sauce you can just mash the tomatoes a bit with a spoon. The choice is yours.

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. 
2. Finely dice the onion and cloves garlic, or pulse in a food processor until fine.
3. Once oil is heated, add the onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and stir fry until onions are soft and beginning to cook down. About 10 minutes of cooking. 
4. Add the can of tomatoes, basil, oregano and bay leaves. Season again with sat and pepper. Stir well.
5. Reduce heat and simmer the pot for about 5 minutes.
6. Taste the sauce. Adjust seasonings as needed. If it's too bitter more basil, maybe a little brown sugar (1/2 tablespoon), too sweet, more pepper and oregano. If it's just bland more salt. Tomatoes need a bit of salt before they really shine.
7. Cover and continue simmering on low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
8. Remove bay leaves from the sauce and Blend smooth with an immersion blender*.
9. Serve hot over noodles. 

Enjoy!

Beef Meatballs:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1/2 Cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 small Onion
• 2 Cloves garlic
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped Parsley
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon nutmeg, or a bit more if you like nutmeg.

Instructions:

1. Let the ground beef stand in a large stainless steel bowl on the counter for about 10 minutes. This just makes it less cold when it comes time to work it into balls.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with Tin foil.
3. Finely dice or pulse in a food processor the onion and garlic. 
4. Add the diced vegetables, parsley, oregano and nutmeg to the ground beef. 
5. Season well with salt and pepper. Mix well. 
6. Add in the bread crumbs and egg and mix everything really well with your hands until evenly blended and balls retain shape when rolled to shape. 
7. Roll out the meatballs in your hands and place on the prepared baking sheet, close together but not touching. 
8. Once all the meat mixture have been rolled, bake meatballs for about 20-25 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven.
9. Serve hot as a cocktail snack, in a sandwich or wrap, or with a sauce on pasta.

Enjoy!

Basic Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

For three to four people

• 1/2 Cup Semolina Flour
• 1/2 Cup White Flour
• Generous pinch salt
• 1 Egg
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Special Tools:

Pasta roller and cutter

Instructions:

1. On a clean dry work surface, sift together the semolina flour, white flour and salt until evenly mixed. 
2. In a small bowl gently whisk the egg, egg yolk and olive oil together to just break the yolks up a bit. 
3. Pile the flour mixture up on your work surface. Create a well in the center. You should now have what looks like a child's volcano project on your surface made from the flour, and a bowl of yellow "lava" waiting on the side. 
4. Another analogy is that the pile of flour mixture should look kind of like a doughnut. 
5. Pour the egg and oil mixture into the center of your volcano or doughnut of flour. use a fork to gently begin to whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture, slowly expanding the well in the center until a dough begins to form, continue to mix in more flour with the fork until it becomes to stiff. 
6. Knead the dough with your hands, working in more of the flour mixture as your go. 
7. If things remain too sticky once all the flour is incorporated, add a little bit more semolina flour. 
8. If it is still too sticky a little bit more white flour. 
9. The dough should be smooth and dense when it is done. 
10. If it is too sticky or too dry it wont roll/cut right.
11. When dough is ready, roll it into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes. 
12. This is a very important step. DO not skip it.
13. After the dough has rested, divide the dough into four equal chunks. 
14. Working with one chunk at a time, roll out slightly with a rolling pin, and then feed through a pasta roller until desired thinness is reached. 
15. I have a Kitchenaid stand mixer attachment set of pasta rollers, and I have been finding about a 5 on the roller is good for spaghetti, it's a little finer than box spaghetti but I like it.
16. Get a large pot of well salted water on the stove over medium high heat. Get it to a boil and keep it there.
17. Ok so here is when life will get complicated. Pasta sheets will dry out in the air, and then you wont be able to cut them later. They also like to stick together and become unworkable. Since I was not raised with an Italian Grandma to help me out I learned with trial and error. What I do is get out my giant cookie platter usual reserved for Christmas parties, and after rolling out the sheets, i place them along the try in a single layer and then cover with plastic wrap, and then layer more pasta sheets on top and repeat until all my pasta is rolled. The bonus of this method is when it comes time to cut the pasta I can lift up the layers of plastic wrap and start cutting the pasta sheets that I rolled first. Then flip the layers of pasta and plastic wrap and continue cutting pasta that was rolled first. Kitchen prep rule 101: first in means first out!
18. After rolling out all the pasta, switch to the cutter, or if you are truly ambitious cut it by hand. Cut the pasta sheets into workable lengths, and place the freshly cut pasta on a clean tea towel laid out as straight as possible and in a single layer if possible. You can also use plastic wrap to separate layers of pasta. We are trying to prevent the pasta from clumping back together before we get a chance to cook it. 
19. Once all the pasta is cut. Dump it all into the pot of boiling water. Stir gently. Pasta will be cooked in about a literal minute. Once cooked, drain from water and serve hot with desired sauce or topping.

Enjoy!

Notes:

To pull this off easily as a dinner for a guests, I would start by getting the pasta ready and letting it rest. Then start on the sauce, once the sauce is simmering, prepare the meatballs.

Once meatballs are cooking, roll and cut the pasta as desired. 

Once meatballs are cooked, add them to the fully cooked sauce after it has been blended smooth. Simmer meatballs for about 5 minutes.

While meatballs and sauce come together, finish cutting the pasta, cook the pasta and now everything is ready to serve.

Serve on warmed plates with salad and maybe some bread.

Other Places:

Something for dessert:

Avocado Loaf

Slow Cooker Roast Beef and Smashed Potatoes

Slow Cooker Roast Beef, Gravy and Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• About 1 pound mini potatoes, washed, skin on
• 1 Small Beef Roast
• 1-2 Onions
• 3 Bay leaves
• Salt
• Pepper
• Basil or Thyme
• 2-4 Cloves Garlic
• Water
• Cooking spray
• 1 Tablespoon Olive oil or Butter
• About 1/4 Cup Flour
• About 1/4 Cup Ice water

Instructions:

1. Alrighty so this is a slow cooker recipe which means that you can either do all the prep-work the night before and throw the stone-ware insert into the fridge for the night or you can just do the prep and cook right away. Either way you go about it make sure the roast is given at least 30 minutes out of the fridge before it goes into the slow cooker. This will help prevent it from being in a food dangerous temperature zone for too long. Be safe my friends.
2. Lightly mist the insert of the slow cooker with cooking spray.
3. Wash and pat dry the mini potatoes and pierce each with a fork before throwing it in the bottom of the slow cooker. 
4. Season with some salt and pepper.
5. Slice the onion, and layer some over the top of the potatoes, saving about half or more for placing on top of the roast. 
6. Place two bay leaves on top of the onions.
7. Season the beef roast all over with salt, pepper. and the basil or thyme. 
8. Place the roast on top of the onion/bay leaf layer. 
9. Place the last bay leaf on top of the roast and smother it with the remaining onion slices. 
10. Mince or grate the garlic and also add it into the slow cooker.
11. Add enough water to just cover the potatoes and onions in the lower layer.
12. Turn slow cooker on. 
13. Either about 4-5 hours on high heat or about 7-8 hours on high heat.
14. After the roast is cooked, Remove the roast from the insert to a plate and tent with foil.
15. Fish out the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl.
16. Strain the pot-juices from the slow cooker insert through a sieve and into a large pot.
17. Take about 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of the liquid you just strained and add it to the potatoes and lightly smash them with a fork or potato masher.
18. Bring the rest of the pot juices to a roiling boil on the stove. 
19. Thoroughly mix the flour and ice water so there are no lumps and slowly whisk into the boiling pan juices. 
20. Reduce heat and continue to whisk until the pot juices thicken and become gravy. 
21. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed, ie extra garlic, onion, salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, etc.
22. Carve the beef roast and serve with hot smashed potatoes and gravy. 
23. Add another vegetable and this is pretty much company worthy but easy meal.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I don't always include measurements for the seasoning in my recipes because most of the time it's a personal thing. See I really love pepper, but for some people the amount I use would blow our their palettes and overwhelm them. Same for things like herbs, I might love a particular herb and use a bunch of it but someone else might not enjoy it. So use your own brain and consider what you like and add some of your own input to the recipes. I promise it shouldn't go too badly with my recipes. They tend to be forgiving.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon

Spicy Taco Mac n' Cheese

Spicy Taco Mac n' Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 Recipe Spicy Mexican Beef
• 1, 8 ounce package Cream Cheese
• 2 1/2 Cups mixed shredded Cheese
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1/2 Cup Sour cream
• About 400 grams/1 pound Dried Pasta noodles (macaroni or shell work well)
• 2 Stalks Green onions

Instructions:

1. Prepare the spicy Mexican beef according to recipe, or use 1 pound of ground beef and use 1 package of taco seasonings.
2. While that is cooking prepare the pasta according to the package directions.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a large deep sided baking dish with cooking spray.
4. Cut the cream cheese into cubes and put into a medium sauce pan, melt over medium heat until soft, add sour cream and milk and continue to stir until thickened and evenly mixed. No clumps.
5. Add 2 Cups of the mixed shredded cheese to the cream sauce and stir for about another 2 minutes.
6. Combine the spicy beef, cheese sauce and noodles in the large baking dish. Stir well until well combined and even.
7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top as well as the green onions.
8. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese on top has melted.

Enjoy!

Fancy Roast Dinner with Boulangère Potatoes

Roast Dinner with Boulangère Potatoes

Ingredients:

• About 2-3 Pounds potatoes
• 1/2-1 Cup Stock
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Small Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• Pepper
• Roast of Choice
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3-4 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Teaspoons Salt
• Pepper
• 2-3 Sprigs Rosemary, Leaves only

Optional:

• 1/2 Cup Bread crumbs
• 1/2 Cup Fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 Cup soft shredded cheese
• 1 Tablespoon parsley

Instructions:

1. In a small skillet, melt the tablespoon of butter. 
2. Finely chop the onion and stir fry in the skillet for about 8-10 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent.
3. Chop the garlic cloves in half and rub the cut edge of the garlic cloves all over the inside of the dish the potatoes will bake in. 
4. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray or butter.
5. Add the cooked Onions on the roaster. 
6. Finely slice the potatoes, I used my mandolin for this job. 
7. Arrange the sliced potatoes over the onions in the roaster so it looks even and pretty. 
8. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
9. Finely chop the rosemary leaves. 
10. In a small food processor or bowl mix together the chopped rosemary, butter, salt and pepper. 
11. If you have a food processor add the garlic cloves and pulse smooth. 
12. If you are bowl mixing finely mince or grate the cloves or garlic and mix it in.
13. Rub your butter paste all over your roast, place on its rack, and place the rack over the potato roasting dish. 
14. Pour the stock into the roasting dish until there is enough to cover the entire bottom of the roaster. Don't drown the potatoes, they should be less than half submerged in the stock.
15. If you are making this ahead of time cover the roast with foil and place it in the fridge, until 30 minutes before cooking time.
16. If you are going ahead with cooking. Please have your oven preheated to 450°F.
17. Roast uncovered for about 15-20 minutes, then reduce heat to 325°F and continue to roast until your meat has reached the correct cooking temperature. 
18. Once the roast has cooked, lift the rack off the roasting dish, and transfer to a platter and allow the roast to rest covered for about 15 minutes. 
19. Optional: Mix together the bread crumbs and cheeses in a bowl, toss over top of the potatoes after the roast has finished cooking. Sprinkle parsley over the entire top of potatoes. Only if you want. . .  this is optional.
20. Return potatoes to oven, raise temperature to 400°F. Continue to cook potatoes until tender and ready to eat. 
21. Serve potatoes family style on the table with a lifter, carve the roast after lifting and allow guests their choice of cuts. Complete the meal with a salad and of course. . . 

Enjoy!

Notes:

I made the most delightful roast leg of lamb this week for my fancy Monday night dinner, and my goodness it might have been the best meal of my life. I served it with the potatoes in this recipe, Parsnip Chips, and Stuffed Tomatoes, with mini cheese cakes for dessert. Oh it was a good night of food.

So, Boulangère is french for cooked kinda like a casserole with onions. So while it sounds super fancy and French it is also wicked simple to make. Which is my favorite kind of cooking. I also used my trivet and some long metal skewers raise the roast over the roaster and then was able roast my leg of lamb right over the potatoes. If you can pull this off I suggest trying it because everything tasted like nothing I have ever had. If you can't rig something up so you can roast over the potatoes, then that is alright. Just use a deep casserole dish for the potatoes and a roaster for the roast. Everything will still be perfectly wonderful.

Also this is a great recipe for dinner parties or to make ahead and have someone else put it in the oven about 1  1/2 - 2 hours before you get home, someone like a husband or babysitter, and then you come home to a lovely dinner. A very nice plan. If you do it this way, just remember to remind your oven operator to take the roast and everything out of the fridge about 30 minutes before putting it in the oven at 325°F. Or if you trust them you can follow the roasting instructions in the recipe below.

Alright finally, you can use a beef roast, pork roast, roasted chicken, lamb, pretty much anything with this recipe. You can also change the type and flavor of the rub used on the meat to really change the final flavor of everything. This is a recipe that can be used again and again with different herbs, seasonings, and flavors so it shouldn't ever get boring. I suggest garlic and rosemary in this recipe, but almost anything could work.

Hm this reminds me that I want to make a chart of never fail seasoning combinations. . .

Horseradish Herb Crusted Pot Roast

I wasn't sure if I would like Horseradish but several different foodie places I trust told me that it was a pretty tasty ingredient. So I decided to give this a shot and oh my goodness this might be my new favorite way to prepare a pot roast! It is so simple and has a nice warm spicy goodness to it without being over powering. If you love pot roast, or even prime rib, I suggest giving this a try next time you have a nice cut of beef to roast.

Horseradish Herb Crusted Pot Roast

Ingredients:

• 1 Small Beef Roast
• 2 Clove minced Garlic
• 1/4 Cup prepared Horseradish
• 1 Sprig fresh rosemary or 2 Teaspoons dried
• 4 Fresh thyme sprigs, or 3 Teaspoons dried
• 1 Tablespoon pepper
• 1/4 Cup Olive oil

Instructions:

1. Mince the fresh herbs and garlic if you are using them. 
2. In a small bowl mix everything together and massage it into the beef roast on all sides. 
3. Marinade the beef for at least an hour before roasting or up to over night.  
4. Be sure to remove the roast from the fridge about 30 minutes before you are ready to roast. 
5. Roast the beef at 350°F to medium rare. 
6. Use a meat thermometer! Let rest 15 minutes before carving and slice thinly.

*You can also sear the roast on all sides in a hot skillet over medium heat before finishing the roast in the oven, but I more often than not skip this step. 

Enjoy!

Meatloaf with Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Meatloaf with Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon mustard
• 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl whisk all ingredients together until evenly combined and set aside.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1.5 Pounds ground beef
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 Carrot, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 Teaspoon allspice
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tablespoons parsley
• 1 Tablespoons basil
• Salt and Pepper to season
• About 8 butter flavored crackers, crushed to crumbs
• About 1/2-3/4 Cup bread crumb

Instructions:

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat until hot, then melt butter in the pan. 
2. Add the finely chopped onion and minced garlic, onion, and carrot and stir fry cook for about 7 minutes or until onions begin to get soft and carrot starts to cook. 
3. Transfer cooked vegetable mixture to a bowl. 
4. Add the ground beef to the bowl with veggie mix, season with a bit of salt and pepper and mix well with your hands and set aside.
5. In another small bowl whisk the egg with the Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, allspice, parsley, and basil. 
6. Add the egg and spice mixture to the beef and vegetable mixture and add the crushed crackers and about 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. 
7. Mix well with your hands.  
8. The meat mixture shouldn't be sticky or overly wet, keep adding a small amount of bread crumbs and mixing well until everything looks to be evenly mixed, and when the mixture is shaped into a loaf it holds together in the right shape.
9. Transfer the shaped loaf to a greased pan that has at least a 1 inch side on it to catch any fat that will render out of the loaf.
10. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes at 350°F. 
11. After 20 minutes remove the loaf and coat the top of the loaf with the sweet and spicy glaze, reserving some glaze for serving time. 
12. Return the meatloaf to the oven and bake for about another 40 minutes, or until a meat thermometer says it is good to go.
13. Once cooked, allow the meatloaf to sit outside the oven for about 10 minutes before slicing. 
14. Serve with potatoes and a green veg with the leftover sweet and spicy glaze as a table condiment.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Because occasionally I start to feel nostalgic and want to feel like a 1950's house wife, but without using the same recipes. I have nothing against most traditional recipes, but my family always made meatloaf with onion soup mix. Which is not worthy of being called a source of food as far as I am concerned. But without onion soup to flavor it, it takes a bit more effort to get a yummy moist meatloaf.

After carefully testing out several different meatloaf recipes over the past year, and deciding they were all pretty bad,I have compiled my own recipe! Filled with the best elements of all the recipes I tried. Basically we need to start by creating layers of flavor in the meatloaf itself, and then to add a little zip so it doesn't just taste like a big meat ball, I made a nice and spicy glaze to be baked on top. I tested this on my skeptical fiance who does not like traditional fare as much as he should and he had two helpings. I consider this a sign of success.