Meatloaf Stuffed Bell Peppers

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

1. Start with my meatloaf recipe
2. Cut the bottoms and tops off of the bell pepper (making a cup with no bottom), de-seed, and then cut in half making two decent sized rings (see picture)
3. Put the rings on a baking sheet and spoon in the meatloaf mix
4. Glaze with my meatloaf glaze.
5. Cook for 30 minutes

HINT: Get a deep baking pan and fill it with water, put it in the over for moist meatloaf.


Meatloaf Glaze:
1 1/2 cups ketchup
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Just mix it all together

Beef Jerky

(#beef, #beefjerky )



A few weeks ago I was in the office and needed a little break, so me and a co-worker went across the street to the drug store. He was working out later and wanted something high protein and didn't like the selection of powders. I just said "try some beef jerky."

He looked at me funny and asked "isn't that bad for you?"

I laughed and said "slim jims are bad, really greasy and high in fat, but normal beef jerky is low calorie, high protein, and low fat. But the drawback is that it is high in sodium".

Long story short, he looked at a packet and confirmed the information I gave him and we got some to take back to the office. When I got home that night, I looked for dehydrators on Amazon. I decided to make my own damn jerky with less salt. I ended up buying the Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator.

I called up Mean Joe and he got me some extremely lean organic grass fed beef:



I marinated the meat for 12 hours with a simple recipe:

Marinade:

2 lbs of extremely lean beef cut into 3/4 inch long strips
6 crushed bulbs of garlic
3/4 cup of teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning 29 oz

Jerky Directions:
1. Allow the meat to marinate for 12 hours in the refrigerator. Place the meat on paper towels before you start to dehydrate to get off any excess liquids.
2. Follow the directions of your dehydrator - but mine is a round multi-leveled system. I placed the meat in the trays and re-stacked them once they were full...

3. Based on volume, allow the device to dehydrate the meat for 7-14 hours. I took mine out at 7 hours because the meat was starting to look crispy.
4. Place the completed jerky on paper towels again to soak off any grease.
5. Place in mason jars or plastic bags and refrigerate for maximum freshness.

Pepperjack Pull Bread

( #cheese )

I found this recipe via Simply Recipes. Check out that site for more information and pictures.

INGREDIENTS:
1 rustic loaf of bread, unsliced, either Italian or French
12 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup (less or more to taste) chopped pickled jalapeños
1/4 cup chopped green onions, including greens
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the bread almost all the way through (not all the way) in a cross hatch pattern, spacing an inch between the slices.
2. Place the shredded cheese in a large bowl. Toss with the green onions and jalapeños. Pour over with melted butter and use your clean hands to toss, to distribute the butter evenly through the cheese.
3. Place the bread on a large sheet of aluminum foil (large enough to wrap the bread) on a baking sheet. Stuff every crevasse with the cheese mixture. Wrap with the aluminum foil.
4. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Then uncover the foil from the bread and cook for 10 minutes more, until all of the cheese has melted.

Joey's Meatballs (Version 2)

( #meatballs )


NOTE: You can use whatever meat you want for this recipe, but I used a blend yesterday so that is what I am going to use in the directions.

INGREDIENTS:

Meatballs:
1 lb - ground Beef (80/20)
½ lb - ground veal
½ lb - ground pork
3 slices of Italian bread (cut off crusts and cube)
½ cup of milk
2 eggs
½ cup of breadcrumbs
½ cup of grated cheese (parm-reg)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
½ teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
1 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes
½ large Spanish onion (diced)
3 cloves of garlic (pressed/diced)
½ cup of white wine
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

You have to make the sauce first because you will line the pan when baking the meatballs.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Get a sauce pan and set stove top to medium heat. Add olive oil and let it warm up. Then add the onions and cook for about 4 minutes.
3. Add the garlic cook for 3 more minutes
4. Optional: Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce to the onions and garlic and stir.
5. Bring the heat to high and then add the white wine to glaze the onions (1-2 minutes - don’t let it burn)
6. Add the crushed tomatoes, mix everything well.
7. All the oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper to the sauce. Mix well and then drop heat to a simmer.
8. Allow the sauce to cook for 15 minutes (leave the sauce in the pan, you will need this setup later)

9. Get a deep cookie sheet and line the pan with the tomato sauce. Set it aside until you are ready to roll the meatballs.
10. In a large bowl, soak the bread you cube in the milk. Let it get really soggy to the point that it falls apart.
11. Add the two eggs and the oregano, parsley, thyme, garlic salt, salt and pepper to the bowl and mix well.
12. Add the meat and mix with your hands. Then add the grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Continue to mix well with your hands.
13. Start to roll the meat into balls with your hands (I like them to be the diameter of a half dollar, or just a little bit smaller). Place the meatballs onto the cookie sheet that you put the sauce on.
14. Put the meatballs in the oven for 40 minutes.
15. Heat up the tomato sauce again and when the meatballs are done, put them in the pan and toss them around for 5 minutes to soak up the tomato sauce flavor.

Serve them in a bowl alone, in a sandwich, or with pasta.

Enchilada Soup

( #Enchilada )

Since it is a busy week, I was looking for something simple to cook in the crock pot. I came across a version of this recipe over at SkinnyTaste.com but I had to tweak it due to my raging hatred of cilantro.

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low sodium fat-free chicken broth
8 oz can tomato sauce
1-2 tsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce (or more to taste)
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
2 cups frozen corn
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 8 oz skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total)
1/4 cup chopped scallions, for topping
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes.
2. Slowly add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and chipotle adobo sauce and bring to a boil. Pour into crock pot.
3. To the crockpot, add drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir. Add the chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
4. Remove chicken and shred with two forks.
5. Add chicken back into the soup, adjust salt to taste.

Asian Chicken Salad

I made this salad on Xmas Eve and people really seemed to enjoy it. Here is the official recipe.

INGREDIENTS: Main Dish

2 large handfuls of chicken or turkey
1 large handful of cashew nuts
1 handful of dried cranberries
2 teaspoons ground all-spice
a handful of fresh mint, leaves picked (optional)
a handful of fresh coriander, leaves picked (optional)
4 large handfuls of mixed salad leaves such as chicory, rocket, spinach, watercress
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and finely chopped

INGREDIENTS: Dressing

juice of 2 clementine
juice of 1 lime
1 pomegranate, halved
1/2 red onion, peeled and coarsely grated
extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely grated

DIRECTIONS:

To Make the Dressing:
1. Since Clementines are small I like to use two. Roll it, then cut it in half, and then squeeze into a large bowl.
2. Cut the pomegranate in half (try to pop out a few seeds and set them aside), and squeeze hard to break the seeds and release the juice.
3. Grate the red onion and add that to the bowl
4. Add the fresh lime juice
5. Add the olive oil - the general rule of thumb is add as much oil as there is liquid in the bowl, but I suggest a little less.
6. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce (this is the only salt compound), then the sesame oil.
7. Peel and grate the ginger. Get the shavings and squeeze the juice into the bowl.
8. Whisk like crazy.

Putting It Together
1. In a large frying pan set on medium low heat, add the chicken or turkey (lightly coat the pan with oil or use a non-stick). The great thing about this dish is that it uses leftovers. If you don't have cooked chicken or turkey, prepare it anyway you like, but you want chunks of meat (you can also use a nice fish). 2. Then add whole cashews and cranberries. Toss the ingredients in the pan to mingle the flavors and then add the all-spice. Let it simmer.
3. In another large bowl, get all of the greens (salad leaves, coriander, mint - clean them first!) and mix them together.
4. De-seed the chili pepper and finely dice it. Set it aside.
5. Back to the chicken, add some honey to the pan and mix around to give texture and crust. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool a bit (so the greens do not wilt).
6. Add the cooked ingredients to the greens, add dressing to taste. Place chili pepper and pomegranate seeds on top as a garnish.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

( #thanksgiving )
Credit: PBS

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion diced
2 cups Kabocha pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes
3 sprigs thyme, stems removed and minced
1/2 teaspoon salt pepper
4 cups baguette, torn into rough pieces
1/2 cup cream
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1.5 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

Directions:
1. Add the olive oil to a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the onions and until fragrant. Add the Kabocha, and fry until tender. Add the thyme then salt and pepper to taste.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the cream, milk, eggs and salt to combine. Add the bread, sautéed pumpkin and parsley, and then stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter a 9” x 9” x 2” baking dish. Add half the shredded cheese into the pumpkin and bread mixture and stir to distribute. Empty the contents of the bowl into the baking dish and spread the mixture evenly. Cover with the remaining cheese and place it in the oven.

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the middle reads 155 degrees F. If the top hasn’t gotten browned and crispy, turn on the broiler and broil until the top is golden brown. Serve immediately.