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!

Celeriac Soup II

Celeriac Soup

1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, white and light green parts, chopped
salt to taste
2-3 lbs celeriac, peeled and diced
1 lg russet potato, peeled and diced
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 quarts of stock
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
bay leaf, remove after simmering

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat and add the onion, leek, and a little salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Add celeriac with a little salt and cook for about 5 more minutes. Add potatoes, apples, and stock with bay leaf.Bring to a boil then turn down to simmer for 1 hour. Remove bay leaf.

Blend the soup with a hand blender. Add the heavy cream and season to taste.

Soba with Jammy Eggs and Kimchi

Making soba noodle bowls in the summer is the best because they are so refreshing. There are a few things to do so you can have cold noodles throughout the week if you double the recipe. First make the Soba Tsuyu or broth, then make the jammy eggs, and have a few things on hand to add to your bowl.

Soba Tsuyu

Here's the translation:

Ingredients (3-4 servings)

- Iriko (dried anchovies: can buy at Jung's): 20-30 pieces

- Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes: can buy at any asian grocer): half a rice bowl-full, or 2 small packs

- Soy sauce: 1 ladle

- Mirin: 1 ladle

- Water: 4 ladles

1. If you have time, remove the head and insides of Iriko (I've never done this). Put Iriko in water and heat on med-low for 4-5 minutes

2. Add katsuobushi, soy sauce, mirin and boil for 2 minutes

3. Strain into a glass jar and let it cool. 

Jammy Eggs

4 room temperature eggs

Boiling water to cover the eggs

Ice water

Bring enough water to cover eggs to boil. Add room temperature eggs (you can put them in a bowl of warm water to bring to room temperature more quickly). Cook for exactly 7 minutes. Cool eggs in a bowl of ice water for about 10 minutes. Peel eggs and cut in half to put in bowls. I always put as many eggs as I can in the pot and keep extra on hand to peel when I want them throughout the week. You can also keep the peeled eggs in the tsuyu to season them. I usually can't wait that long!

For your bowl:

2 bunches of Buckwheat Soba Noodles, prepared according to package instructions and rinsed in cold water

3 green onions, sliced

Seasoned seaweed, cut into strips

Sesame seeds

Chonggak kimchi or baechu kimchi (optional)

Shredded daikon radish (optional)

Divide noodles between four bowls. Pour divided, chilled, soba tsuyu over each bowl. Add a sliced egg to each bowl, with seaweed strips, a sprinkle of green onions, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and the optional ingredients if you wish. Eat and enjoy!

Note: I keep the prepared soba tsuyu and eggs in the fridge for up to a week and make the noodles at the time I want to eat.

Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric #thestew

This is my version of Alison Roman's NYTimes recipe that is taking the internet by storm. It is REALLY good. #thestew

Ingredients:
1/4 c olive oil
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 knob of ginger (3 inches), finely minced
kosher salt and black pepper
1 T ground turmeric
1 T Trader Joe's South African Smoked Red Pepper (or combo of smoked paprika and red pepper flakes will do)
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 (15 oz) cans coconut milk
1 box of stock (chicken, veggie, or Aldi's Tom Yum Stock)
1 bunch of kale (or other greens)
1 c mint leaves or 1 T dried mint

Yogurt and bread for serving

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent and starts to brown a little around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. 1. Add turmeric, red-pepper flakes and chickpeas, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, so the chickpeas sizzle and fry a bit in the spices and oil, until they’ve started to break down and get a little browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove about a cup of chickpeas and set aside for garnish.
   2. Using a potato masher, further crush the remaining chickpeas slightly to release their starchy insides (this will help thicken the stew). Add coconut milk and stock to the pot, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits that have formed on the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until stew has thickened and flavors have started to come together, 30 to 35 minutes. (Taste a chickpea or two, not just the liquid, to make sure they have simmered long enough to taste as delicious as possible.) If after 30 to 35 minutes you want the stew a bit thicker, keep simmering until you've reached your desired consistency. 
   3. 1. Add greens and stir, making sure they are submerged in the liquid. (Note: I added the reserved chickpeas back in at this point, you can also save them for garnish). Cook a few minutes so they wilt and soften, 3 to 7 minutes, depending on what you’re using. (Swiss chard and spinach will wilt and soften much faster than kale or collard greens.) Season again with salt and pepper. Add dried mint if using dried instead of fresh.

1. Divide among bowls and top with fresh mint, reserved chickpeas, a sprinkle of red-pepper flakes and a good drizzle of olive oil. Serve alongside yogurt and toasted pita if using; dust the yogurt with turmeric if you'd like.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019772-spiced-chickpea-stew-with-coconut-and-turmeric?regi=1&join_cooking_newsletter=false

Sheila's Red Chili

2 lb of ground beef
1 lg onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 lg can whole tomatoes
2 lg cans diced tomatoes
2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained
3 cans chili beans
32 oz tomato juice
2 T cumin
5T chili powder
1 T paprika
1 t chipotle powder
salt pepper

Brown ground beef in a large pot with onion and garlic, salt and pepper generously while cooking. Drain fat from beef. Add other ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer for several hours. As chili cooks break apart the whole tomatoes.

Serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, and saltines or oyster crackers.

Baked Creamy Mac 'N Cheese

1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
salt
8 T butter
8 T flour
4 C whole milk
6 c shredded cheese (smoked gouda, swiss, sharp cheddar)
salt and pepper
garlic powder

Turn oven on to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a large pan. When it is bubbling, add flour and cook for several minutes until it turns light brown. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to a low boil to allow sauce to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Slowly whisk in cheese until sauce is smooth. Add macaroni and pour into a buttered baking dish (you can serve at this point if you don't feel like baked mac 'n cheese).

Bake macaroni and cheese until bubbling around the edges.

Cajun Chicken and Sausage Alfredo Pasta

This is a recipe made by special request from my son.

3 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 C cooked andouille sausage
1 C sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
cajun seasoning
1/4 c white wine
3 c heavy cream
1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente
1 c parmesan cheese
parsley

Turn on oven to 350

Coat chicken in cajun seasoning and blacken both sides over high heat in a cast iron skillet. Put in oven for 10 minutes or until it comes to 165 degrees. Slice chicken in strips and set aside.

In a large pot, heat oil and sauté garlic, sausage, chicken slices,  sun dried tomatoes, and T of cajun seasoning. Deglaze pan with white wine. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil to thicken sauce.

Add Parmesan, salt and pepper, parsley. Then stir in pasta.

Serve with green salad.