Meatloaf with Barbecue Sauce

 I haven't made meatloaf in a long time.

When I had it for dinner at our friend Sue's home, I had forgotten how much I like it and had to make some myself.

It turns out that my sister-in-law Nancy makes the same meatloaf Sue does--Lenny's Meat Loaf from Leonard Schwartz, the former chef at Maple Drive--and Sue got the recipe from our friend Pam. Pam is Brock's mother--Brock of Grandma's Best Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls fame here on FOODjimoto.com.

Meat Loaf
adapted from Lenny's Meat Loaf by Leonard Schwartz

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup each, finely chopped onion and scallion
1/2 cup finely ghopped carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup diced mushrooms
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1/2 cup milk or chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
l pound lean ground beef chuck
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground sausage
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1 cup rolled oats (or quick cooking oatmeal)

I didn't have any red bell pepper, so I used an orange one--but then thought about the red color--and chopped a few cherry tomatoes for color. I also chopped 1 cup of mushrooms.

 I love diced mushrooms in meatloaf.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan and saute the vegetables until they're soft and wilted, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Set aside to cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

While the vegetables are chilling, get the other ingredients ready to mix. We like the meatloaf less 'meaty' so I use a bag of stuffing moistened with milk or chicken broth until the bread becomes soft.

With the addition of the stuffing mix and the oatmeal, I made 2 meatloaves and also a pot of albondigas soup with the meat mixture.

Add the sauteed vegetables to the bowl and mix well, then shape into loaves.

Top with barbecue sauce--pour around the top and use a butter knife to spread it down the sides until the surface is covered.

Sue and Pam use a jar of "Homemade Red Chili Sauce" found near the cocktail sauce at the market. It's really good but more expensive than barbecue sauce.

Bake for 1 hour at 350ºF, let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

We had it with oven roasted brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes.

 

Itadakimasu!

Gary thought this meal was especially good.
I think it was because I gave our friend Robert a care package of meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner, and he talked about how he really likes meatloaf--his mom used to make it when he was growing up and it was one of his favorite meals--so he was happy and excited to be taking some home.

The power of suggestion.


***


Remember Vaughn?

He's one of our favorite relatives--the one that brought Emmy over to visit.

I think this may be the biggest smile I've ever seen on Vaughn's face!

He won it for the work he did on Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends.

Everyone that comes over wants to have their picture taken with Emmy--even O-Baachan.
Vaughn is her sister's grandson.

 

That's Gary holding Vaughn--and that's O-Baachan in the second row on the left.

Vaughn and his family came to visit when Rick and Karen were born. Vaughn and his sister loved to draw, so I made sure I had poster board and markers for them to draw to their heart's delight. At that time, Vaughn was a Smurfs fan. He was also excited about a new cartoon--something called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Vaughn used to carry an array of Lego mini-figures in his pockets.

 This is college-age Vaughn and his then girlfriend, now wife, Goretti.
I was learning how to put a kimono on and Goretti was nice to let me practice on her.

This is Vaughn and me on his wedding day.

This morning, Vaughn called to say that he had just arrived at his new job, doing some free-lance work at Disney Studios--he's a storyboard artist. He wanted to call and say 'thank you'--he thinks it's because of us that he's working in animation. He does that often, calls to say 'thank you'.

I always tell Vaughn it's because of his talent that he gets the jobs he does. He is very talented--drawing and cartooning have been a passion for him as long as I've known him and I'm always an advocate for chasing one's dreams.

Vaughn sets such a good example for us--chasing his dreams, the success it can bring, and living life with such gratitude.

Best Wishes, Vaughn, on your new job!

Love you!

***

 

Meat Loaf 

adapted from Lenny's Meat Loaf by Leonard Schwartz

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup each, finely chopped onion and scallion

1/2 cup finely ghopped carrots

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup diced mushrooms

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup bottled barbecue sauce, plus extra for topping

1/2 cup milk or chicken broth

1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

l pound lean ground beef chuck

1 pound ground turkey

1 pound ground sausage

1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs

1 cup rolled oats (or quick cooking oatmeal)

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, scallions, carrots, celery, bell peppers and garlic until they're soft and wilted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Put the ground beef, turkey and sausage into a large bowl along with the eggs, barbecue sauce, milk spices, bread crumbs and oatmeal. Add the sauteed vegetables to the bowl and mix well with your hands, then shape into loaves. Top with barbecue sauce, spreading over meatloaf evenly.

Bake at 350ºF for about 1 hour. Let rest 20 minutes before slicing.

Chili

My friend Susan came over to cook with me earlier this week.

I wasn't sure what to make, so I gave her a few choices--we could make chicken pot pie, beef stew or ratatouille.

She chose chicken pot pie.

As we were chatting before we got started, Susan asked if I had seen The Pioneer Woman's recipe for Frito Chili Pie--she was excited and said it looked like so much fun serving chili in small bags of Fritos.

When I asked if she'd like to make that instead, Susan answered with a resounding, "YES!"

Off we went to the market to pick up the ingredients.

We had so much fun together, I hope Susan and I can cook together on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, the CF card in my camera somehow became damaged and I lost all the photos I took while we were cooking, but luckily, I was able to retake this one shot!

We couldn't find the small bags of Fritos, so we served our chili with Fritos scoops and Tostitos Multi-grain Scoops.

My taste testers liked the Tostitos Multi-grain Scoops better.

Itadakimasu!

Recipe below.

***

You may have read about Susan when we went to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market or when we go to lunch with our friend Gail.

Susan brought me a gift--this book Fig Heaven by Marie Simmons.

I am overwhelmed by her generosity and thoughtfulness.

Thank you, Susan, you brought so much fun and laughter to my kitchen the other day--I value our friendship immensely.

***

Chili

Adapted from Ree Drummond's Frito Chili Pie

We doubled the recipe to split between our two families.

This double recipe will serve 16.

Ingredients:

4 pounds ground chuck

1 pound chub hot Italian sausage

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large sweet onion, chopped

4 celery ribs, finely chopped

1 beer

2 cans Ro-tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Chiles

2 cans (14 oz.) tomato sauce

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons ground cumin

4 tablespoons chili powder

1 can (29 oz.) kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 can (29 oz.) pinto beans, drained & rinsed

1/2 cup masa flour mixed with 1 cup water

Fritos or Tostitos Scoops

optional: shredded cheddar cheese and minced red onion

Brown ground chuck and Italian sausage in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the meat is cooked, drain all fat, then add garlic, onion and celery and cook until the vegetables are soft and wilted.

Add beer, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, cumin and chili powder. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.

Add drained and rinsed beans. Stir to combine, cover & simmer for another 20 minutes.

Turn the heat back up to high to add the masa flour and water--the chili should be boiling. Stir to combine thoroughly and turn the heat to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more.

If you have the lunch-sized Frito bags, slit an opening in them on one side lengthwise, and scoop chili into the bags adding cheese and diced onion if desired. Serve immediately with plastic forks. A fun crowd-pleaser!

Cheesy Impossible Zucchini Pie

Does anyone remember the Impossible Bisquick Pies from the 80's?

I think they're called Impossible Pies because they're Impossibly Easy.

That they are.

Easy.

Remember that bag of sliced zucchini I was going to give away when I made Zucchini Okazu?

The zucchini was still in the refrigerator, despite my best attempts to give them away.

When we got back from our camping trip and looked for something fast and easy to make, this casserole was the choice.

I had put 10 cups of sliced zucchini in a zippered plastic bag and squeezed as much air out of the bag as possible before sealing it.

That seems to work for me to keep vegetables--especially lettuce--fresh for a longer time.

It worked really well for the sliced zucchini.

My mother used Bisquick, so I keep some on-hand.

I don't use it too often, so I keep mine in a zippered plastic bag in the freezer.

I have this really old recipe in a binder and use it as a guideline just to make the 'crust'.

The egg, milk and Bisquick mixture makes the casserole's crust.

Ingredients:

10 cups sliced zucchini

1 sweet onion, chopped

4 cups sliced mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups grated 

pepper jack cheese

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

3/4 to 1 cup Bisquick

Start by mincing the garlic and chopping the onions.

Get them going in a skillet with about a tablespoon or so of olive oil.

Don't you just love the smell of garlic, onions and olive oil?

I do.

Then slice the mushrooms.

Put them in the skillet with the garlic and onions.

Then add the sliced zucchini.

Season with salt, pepper and a few chili flakes.

If you have meat eaters, you can brown a half-pound of ground meat, today I'm using ground turkey.

I ran outside and picked a couple of sprigs of rosemary and a small handful of thyme.

Pick off the leaves--if the stem is not woody, you can finely chop the stem, otherwise just zip the leaves off--and give them a rough chop.

Add the herbs to the zucchini mixture and turn off heat when the zucchini are just wilted.

Grate the cheese.

You can use any kind of cheese you like or have on hand.

Spray the casserole dish(es) with cooking spray or rub the edges with butter.

I'm making two, one meatless.

If you only have one vegetarian in your family, you might be able to use one big casserole dish and make a third of the casserole meatless, since you layer the ingredients in this dish.

Just a thought.

Put the zucchini mixture on the bottom, then put the cheese on top, 1 cup per casserole.

Add the Bisquick, milk and eggs to the blender.

I added a 1/4 cup Bisquick because I had liquid left from the zucchini mixture and didn't want to dump it, so I put it in the blender vessel.

Improvise.

Blend the mixture until it's all combined well.

Pour half of the Bisquick mixture over each casserole.

It should cover the veggies.

Then put them into a 400 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Does anyone notice anything?

I forgot to add the ground meat!!!

Not to worry.

If that happens to you, simply take the casserole out of the oven and add the ground meat on top.

You don't even have to stir it, just sort of push it down under the Bisquick mixture a bit and pop it back in the oven.

When it's golden brown on top, it's done!

You can jiggle the dish a little to be sure it's set.

The great thing about these Impossible Pies, is that you can pretty much invent a new one every time you make it.

Spinach, bacon, swiss cheese and mushrooms is good.

So is taco meat, tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese.

A bag of frozen vegetables and left over shredded chicken works too.

Serve it with a nice green salad.

Yum!

Itadakimasu!

***

Here are some more photos from our weekend trip to Big Sur.

Remember Beeto?

I just got a very nice thank you note from her in the mail for taking her with us to Big Sur.

She's very thoughtful.

She and Karen call themselves "custers".

Cousins that are like sisters.

You might think Gary is doing the crane move from Karate Kid.

He and Mitchell are hooking the trailer up to go home.

Thanks again, Mitchell and Karen!

We had a great time!

Beeto kept score of how many games each person won.

We played Wits and Wagers, multi-player solitare, daihimin (that's a Japanese card game that my sister-in-law from Japan taught us--like Big 2), and other games.

She also keeps a cookie count.

Who eats the most cookies?

Beeto's taking Spanish in school.

We talked all about Gorda Springs and what it means.

She said, Chubby Lady Springs.

Fat Lady wouldn't be nice.

And Beeto's nice.

She was excited to stop and see the sea lions near San Simeon.

They made loud noises.

Dixie was scared!

Mostly they basked in the sun.

A few wiggled in from the ocean.

Beeto loved it!

She got particularly excited to see this brown little guy.

She said it looked EXACTLY like her dog Wammer!

EXACTLY!

We stopped in Moro Bay.

And these two talked about how scary it would be to climb these stacks all the way to the top.

Someday, Beeto's going to grow up and might not think it's so much fun to go with us on vacation, especially without her cousins.

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Until then, we are so thankful and happy she chooses to come with us.

Beeto, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!

***

Ingredients:

10 cups sliced zucchini

1 sweet onion, chopped

4 cups sliced mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups grated 

pepper jack cheese

Optional--1/2 lb. ground turkey, browned

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

3/4 to 1 cup Bisquick

Mince garlic and chop onions. Saute them in about a tablespoon or so olive oil until wilted. Add sliced mushrooms and zucchini. Saute over medium-high heat until wilted. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Set aside.

Grate cheese. Prepare baking dish(es) with cooking spray or butter. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Divide zucchini mixture into two casserole dishes or one big one. Sprinkle browned ground meat over zucchini as desired. Top with cheese. 

Put Bisquick, milk and eggs into blender and blend until well combined. Pour over zucchini mixture. Cook in oven 35 to 40 minutes or until set and golden brown. Serve with green salad.