The Missing Meat Loaf Recipe.

Awhile back, I don't know like some years ago, I was on the quest to find a Meat Loaf recipe. I had never made Meat Loaf, but only ate it. 

So I went to my go to place for just about everything in my life. The great internet. I looked high and I looked low. I studied the recipes, pictured how the ingredients would taste together, went back and forth, finally I had it narrowed down to two. Close enough, I could work with that.

So I tried the first one, not very impressed. Don't get me wrong, it made a good loaf, but it sure wasn't like mom used to make. So the next time I tried recipe number two. Even farther off the mark with that one. Was wishing I just had my mom's recipes.

Let's fast forward three years to the present. I was digging through mom's recipe boxes, and what did I find? Not one, but two of mom's Meat Loaf recipes! I had the little buggers all along! Three years ago I never thought to dig through the recipe boxes. Sigh...

So of course I made them, well I made one of them, and it was just like mom used to make! (don't figure since it was her recipe) 

My mom loved to cook. Thing is, unless she was following a recipe to the T, it usually wasn't very good. I, as her guinea pig can attest to that. She collected most of her recipes from friends, books, and who knows where else. I'm not sure if there is any in those boxes that she actually came up with, but the ones I do have are one's I grew up on. I loved most of them, and I enjoy making them for my family so they can have a bit of grandma even though she has passed. 

So today I bring you:

Mom's Sour Cream Meat Loaf

For the filling:

1/2 c. chopped onions

1 c. mushrooms

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1/3 c. sour cream

For the loaf:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

2/3 c. oatmeal

1 egg

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. salt 

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

2/3 c. milk

Ok here goes the directions, this could get a bit hairy carry. 

Filling:

Take the onions and mushrooms and brown them in the butter or margarine. 

When done, add sour cream. 

Set aside

Loaf:

Mix the beef, oatmeal, egg, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and milk together well. Will be very moist.

Place half of meat mixture in your pan

Add the filling to the top of meat mixture.

Place remaining meat mixture over the filling.

Seal pan with tin foil.

Bake in pre-heated 350 oven for 1 hour.

Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. 

Well holy crap, hope that sounds right for you alls. If you have any questions let me know, I'll try to help you the best I can. 

SOPA , Dogs, Balls and of Course Chili

Well it's been a bit busy around here the last two days, and that would be why there hasn't been anything new. Well that and honoring the internet blackout...sort of. Ok, I have to call it what it is and it's laziness for the most part. I really tried to read the bill for SOPA, but alas it was too dry of a read for me. What I did happen to gather is that this bill is pretty vague in some very important areas, and usually when you have that it leads to a whole lot of confusion and bad out comes. We have to make sure we do our own homework when dealing with things of this nature to make sure we have the whole picture, and not just rely on someone to give us their take on it, so I do recommend that you actually read the bill for your self. I will warn you it's a long one.

Now for something a bit more lighthearted. 

It seems that BG doesn't really know how to play. I have bought different toys for her, and the out come with that was she adopted one as her baby. Wont play with it just protects it, and certainly wont let others play with it. Now Henry on the other hand LOVES to play...anything! Catch, fetch, tug, bones, rough housing, chase, track...I'm sure you have the picture now. Anyhow, I have been trying to get BG to play, and it's not going so great. 

So far the only things I have found that she likes is playing chase with me and the laser light. She will stalk it like a cat would stalk something, she will chase it, she even asks to play with it. Small problem here though and that is that our house is small. There isn't much space for her to run after it. The kitchen is out since the girl only has three legs and non-carpeted surfaces are a nightmare for her. Our living room is pretty much a walkway between the couch and tv, and the hallway ends in tiled floor so she must scrunch herself into a ball just to turn around in it. Even though we have these obstacles, we manage to have fun each night.

Now I know she does like to play, because when she first came here, at first she would just watch me and Henry play fetch and she would whine to play. Now she wants to play, and her little stub tail wags like crazy. The only problem is that instead of chasing the ball and fetching it, she thinks she is supposed to chase Henry and fetch him. She has absolutely no interest in the ball. She hasn't actually tried to fetch him, but she jumps around in confusion trying to figure out how to grab him and bring him to me without hurting him. Poor Henry is totally oblivious to the fact that she thinks he is her ball, all he cares about is fetching the ball. It is a work in progress in teaching her how to play, we just have to figure out how to teach her that it's the ball and not Henry she is supposed to fetch. 

Tonight I had a craving for Chili, and since the only meat we had in the house was hamburger I thought why not? I looked high and low for a packet of Chili mix, but we didn't have any so off to the internet to find a recipe for the mix. Boy oh boy did I strike gold! This stuff was amazing, plus I had all the ingredients so that's a bonus! Since owning a restaurant on DH's Reservation we make Chili a bit different now. We add elbow macaroni noodles in it. It helps make a bigger batch for just a 
couple of pennies, and is more filling.  So without further adieu I bring you...

Rez Chili   serves: 6-10, in other words...BIG ole batch!

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger browned and grease  drained
1 small onion chopped
3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 15oz. cans tomato sauce
1 10oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 15.5oz. can of light red kidney beans
2 c. water, or to the consistency you want
1/4 c. or to your taste chili mix*


Directions:
1)Cook the elbow macaroni noodles per box instructions, and set aside
2)In a large pot brown hamburger and chopped onions; drain grease
3)Add all ingredients into the large pot along with the noodles.
4)Bring to a boil, turn heat down cover and simmer for 30+ minutes. The longer you let simmer the better the flavors mix. I only simmered for 30 minutes since it was already past dinner time. 
5)Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream if desired.


This is in no way something I came up with, so I am due no credit to this great recipe. Click on the link to see the original recipe.


*Chili Mix 


Mix the following together. 
1/4 c. flour
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (I forgot to add these and it still had quite the kick)
1 tablespoon dry minced onion, or 1 teaspoon powder
1 tablespoon dry minced garlic, or 1 teaspoon powder
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper


The recipe for this says it makes 6 servings, but I used about half of it for this batch of Chili. Make sure you add the mix a little at a time so you don't go over the top. I started out with 1/8 c. and increased to 1/4 c.


Ha! DH will be so proud of me, I actually wrote down one of my recipes! He gets so mad when I create something and don't write it down for him to make too.

Goodbye Old Year: Things I Have Learned

     

     So the end of the year is just around the corner here. We all know what that means, new resolutions. I usually don't do this because I end up forgetting what I vowed to do for the year within a week. However this year I just might give it a try again. Hopefully it will last longer than a day. Hey come on now at least I tried!


      I'm finding it hard to come up with something unique. I mean I could say, to loose 10lbs, or quit smoking, or love myself more, get the house organized, but those are so over done don't you think? (plus,in my case unattainable) Now I'm not saying those things aren't good ideas, I just want something a bit different. That's just the way I roll dontcha know.


     So maybe you guys can give me some idea's. Just remember they have to be unique, and actually something I can do. If you don't give me any idea's then I guess I shall not partake of the New Years tradition and I shall be sad. So make sure you leave your idea's in the comment box below. 


     Some things I learned this year are: 
I can actually grow a veggie garden. I have also learned that the little rabbits that visit our yard loved everything I grew.  Little bastards. 


     I have learned that Superman continues to astound me with the things that pop out of his mouth. Some of them make me laugh, some of them make me wonder just what is going in that little head of his. His latest is, "my weinner hurts." "Why does your weinner hurt Superman?" "Cuz when I eat pizza it hurts." I'm sorry, say again please? Where does this kid come up with this stuff? He hadn't even taken a bite of his pizza yet. Flawed logic there young one. 


     I have learned that when you spend $900.00 on getting the truck back on the road, it will drop it's muffler one week later three hours before I had to go to work. This resulted in an extra $400.00 spent. Stupid truck!

     I have learned that when the lovely Mother Nature drops 12+" of snow on you in one shot, "plowing" the drive way with the van is not a good idea. Said plowing resulted in power steering going out. Now must drive broken van because broken truck is broken worse than broken van. (it wasn't me)


     I have learned that I now hate snow. 80 some inches of that white stuff almost killed me. We do not have a snow blower it was all done by shovel. Thank God for Princess's young back! Thinking of getting a snow blower, then again this year I only had to shovel once. I'll put that on the back burner for now, and kick myself in the ass later.


     I have learned that two boys, two years apart is enough to test anyone's sanity. Then again maybe I wasn't sane to begin with. The fighting is enough to send me to the looney bin...can't wait until they are teenagers. NOT.


     I have learned to test the limits of my family's taste buds, and actually have fun. Some were good some were bad. Some I think they actually would have killed me if it weren't for the fact they need me so much.


     I have learned my kids are smart-ass's. Hmm wonder who they got that from? Certainly not me, right? 


     I have learned that sometimes you just have to roll with it. Fighting it just makes it worse. 


     I have learned my children are precious when they are sound asleep and not causing chaos. Watching them sleep is the most awesome thing in the world besides holding them the day they were born. 


    So what are some things you learned this year? I hope that we all can continue learning as we go. 
May God bless you in this coming New Year, just as he has blessed me in this year.

   
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Flash Back in Time: Ravioli Casserole for Crock Pot

   I was digging again in Ma's recipe boxes and came across this one. Apparently I put a few recipes in there,since this one is in my writing from way back when I cared if people could actually read my writing. Oh so nice and neat it was. Keep in mind I have never tried this recipe, in fact a lot of the recipes you find on here is just me trying new recipes. Ready for the adventure? If it is a recipe I have tried, I will make sure I put in in the post. Any how back to this recipe.

     Now when I took the photo of the ingredients I missed a couple of things, so please don't go by the photo. Make sure you check the recipe at the bottom of this rambling.

     Ok back again...having problems staying on task here. So I will tell you a bit about this recipe that I wrote down all those years ago. First it is a Crock Pot recipe. I love these kinds of recipes, but I always forget to start them early enough to have them done by dinner. Not today! Secondly the directions call for just throwing all the ingredients in the pot, including the raw hamburger. Yeah, I just have a problem with that. You see running a restaurant kind of makes you think about the temperature of the meats your cooking. I have gotten most of my Crock Pots used, so I have no idea if they are cooking at their correct temperature. Better to be safe than sorry. I cooked the hamburger before placing in the pot. I'm going to add a bit of water to compensate for the lack of liquid from the meat.

Cooked hamburger with the missing onion and garlic

     Next  I added the tomato sauce, I only used a large can which was one ounce off of the total amount, added the stewed tomatoes, Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper, and would have added the oregano, but I found out that I was out so I used basil instead, thawed spinach, and finally the bow tie noodles. (note I should have mixed it all up before adding the noodles, would have made it much easier.)

     Then we add the last ingredients, the grated Parmesan, and Mozzarella cheese. I debated on whether to just sprinkle it on top, or to mix it in. I decided to mix it in since it wasn't going to be getting that nice brown color you get in the oven. 

     That's it! Now you just turn your Crock Pot on low for the next 7-8 hrs. Kick back and enjoy your day. I will let you know how this tastes when we eat if for supper tonight. If you try this, post your comments down below. Well I guess post any comments you have down below. You  have a good day now.

OMG I forgot to post the recipe! Here it is.

Ravioli Casserole

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb hamburger

1 medium  onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced (I used two since I really like garlic)

2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce ( I used one 15 oz can)

1 can (14 oz) stewed tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried crushed Oregano ( I used Basil since that's what I had)

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1pkg (10 oz.) frozen , chopped spinach thawed

1pkg (16 oz) bow tie pasta cooked (I put mine in uncooked-oops fingers crossed)

1/2 c. grated parmesan

1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

Directions: Throw in a Crock Pot on low for 7-8 hrs.

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