Sheila's Meatloaf

Sheila’s Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork or Italian sausage, casings removed

1 lb ground turkey or chicken

1 T olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 block of frozen spinach, thawed or 1 pkg of fresh

1 T worcestershire sauce

1 T smoked paprika

1 t red pepper flakes

1 T TsarDust Memories (Penzy’s Spice), optional

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup breadcrumbs

Salt as needed

Lots of freshly ground  black pepper

Glaze (recipe below)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degree. 

Combine meat in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and spinach for a few minutes until onion is translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Combine the remaining ingredients and mix into the meat mixture. 

Cover a sheet pan with foil. Shape two free form loaves on the pan. Take care to create a uniform thickness.

Place in the oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove and put glaze on the loaves and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Check doneness with a meat thermometer.

Serve. Goes great with mashed potatoes and a salad!

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Glaze

½ c ketchup

½ c brown sugar

Combine and set aside. Using a silicone brush coat the tops of the loaves well with glaze.

You can double this and reserve half to serve with the meatloaf if you like!

Kofta for a Crowd - Award Winning Recipe from Curry Clash 2015

This is Khamisa Abdulla's winning recipe in the amateur category for the Asian Community & Cultural Center's Curry Clash 2015. This makes a large amount to serve to a big crowd.

5 lb ground beef
6 eggs
2 green peppers, chopped and pureed
1 bunch cilantro, chopped including stems
2 T pureed garlic paste
1 sm can tomato paste
2 T freshly ground cardamom pods, most of the husks removed
1 c oil
3 T beef bouillon granules
2 T salt
1 T ground pepper
1 Knorr Beef cube
6 c cooked rice, cooled
4 c mashed potato flakes
1 T baking powder
2 -3 T curry powder

Turn oven on to 400 degrees. Add all of the  above to a large bowl. Mix well with your hands. Put a small amount of oil in a dish and oil your fingers. Take about 3 T of beef mixture into your hand and form it into a log shape about 3" long. Place the logs on a rimmed baking sheet. Once the baking sheet is full, put it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until the tops have lightly browned. Repeat until all of the beef mixture is cooked. Put cooked kofta in a deep baking dish.

Sauce:
2 sm cans of tomato paste
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 c water
1 T ground cardamom
1 T cumin
2 T salt
Simmer sauce over medium heat while you cook the kofta. Sauce should be thick enough to just coat the kofta. You may have to thin with additional water.

Once all the kofta is cooked and put into several deep pans. Evenly distribute the sauce over the meat, tossing to coat.  Seal pans with foil and put into the oven to steam for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

              

Sudanese Kofta

My friends from the Nuba Mountains taught me how to make these delectable treats. They are served on holidays and at special occasions such as circumcisions. It is now illegal in Sudan to circumcise girls, but boys still are circumcised. 

Kofta

Filling:

3 lb ground beef

1 green pepper, pureed

3 cups of rice, cooked

2 generous T  of crushed garlic
1 sm can tomato paste

1 t black pepper

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c instant potato flakes

4 eggs

½ stick butter, melted

1 t salt

1 t ground cardamom pods

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

¾ c pasta sauce or tomato sauce

½ c oil in small dish

On rimmed cookie sheet mix filling thoroughly. Wet fingers with oil and in one hand shape approx. 3 t of filling into small log shape and put on greased rimmed baking sheet. Bake kofta at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until browned.

Sauce:

1 green pepper, sliced into thin strips

2 c pasta sauce

2 generous t of crushed garlic

1 t salt, or more to taste

3 T oil

water to thin

Heat oil in skillet and add green pepper. Stir in pasta sauce, garlic, salt and water. Cook on medium heat while meat cooks in oven. Add additional water if needed to thin.

Add meat to 9 x 13 dish and pour tomato sauce over the top. Seal with foil and bake for 10 minutes.

Serve.