Category Archives: supper

Tropical Meatloaf

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I found this recipe here and was immediately intrigued because it sounded like my favorite burger in the world, the Bob Burger. The Bob Burger there is also sometimes called the Island Burger depending on the day, the direction of the wind, the angle of the sun, and other issues I haven’t quite figured out. Regardless, it involves pineapple and a big ol’ burger and it’s awesome.

I am thrilled to report that this was so tasty! I think it would be even better with a couple strips of bacon across the top of the meatloaf while it cooks (I mean, most things would be better with a couple strips of bacon, amirite?), but even without that this was awesome. The Yankee is a non-lover of meatloaf, and even he liked it! It was great hot with the sauce, and it made an excellent cold meatloaf sandwich the next day. Try it and let me know what you think!

Tropical Meatloaf

Ingredients

For the meatloaf
    • 1 lb ground beef
    • 1 egg
    • 1 small can crushed pineapple, juice drained and reserved
    • 1 tsp. onion powder
    • 2 Tbsp. pineapple juice
    • 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
    • 1 tsp. salt
For the sauce
  • 1/2 cup of pineapple juice (or as much as you can get from the can)
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of ketchup

Instructions

Make the meatloaf:
    1. Mix all ingredients together
    2. Bake at 350F for an hour and 15 minutes, or until the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 165
Make the sauce
  1. Stir all ingredients together in a small saucepan
  2. Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened; serve over meatloaf

Tangy BBQ sauce

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I started looking for a vinegar based BBQ sauce recipe because I so much love the tang of the Dixie sauce at Martin’s BBQ. This is a fairly thin sauce, as you can see, so it’s more suited for mixing in with the meat than as a topping on a sandwich (although, honestly, I did both — because it’s good). My “Gooble-ing” as Kiddo says, brought me to this recipe.  I halved it and made a couple tweaks and it turned out pretty great!

Tangy BBQ sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 Tbsp. hot sauce (I used Louisiana)
  • 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Bring all ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool and enjoy! It’s much tastier if it’s had the chance to chill in the fridge for a day or so

 

Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Stuffed Shell casserole

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I’ve had this recipe bookmarked forever, and finally got to play around with it. And I’m so glad I did! Mine is, um, not photogenic. But it sure is tasty! It’s like Tex-Mex comfort food, which is exactly what sounds great to me this time of year. Well, really, any time of year, if we’re being honest here. It’s a nice departure from my standby of cultural divide casserole (have you weighed in?) which gets made a lot in winter weeknights.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Shell casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 12-oz box large pasta shells
  • 1 large (29 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1 can Ro-Tel
  • 4 Tbsp. (or one packet) taco seasoning
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1/2 onion, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • Salt
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 1.5 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F
  2. Boil the pasta shells in well-salted water for about four minutes less than the time indicated on the box for al dente (mushy noodles = bad)
  3. Make the sauce by combining tomato sauce, Ro-Tel, taco seasoning, and black beans; heat to a low simmer in a saucepan
  4. Make the ground beef mixture by browning the beef, onion, and garlic together, then stirring in cumin, chili powder, and salt; turn off the heat and stir in the cream cheese
  5. Assemble the casserole by putting in a bottom layer of shells into a large baking dish, each shell stuffed with about a Tbsp. of the ground beef mixture (a small cookie scoop works great for this), follow with about half the tomato sauce mixture, then a layer of cheese. Repeat the layers, then cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or so until cheese is bubbly

I would love to hear what your cold-weather favorites are! What else should I try?

Pan-roasted chicken thighs

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I kind of never know what to do with chicken thighs. Chicken breasts? No problem. Ditto whole chickens. But I wasn’t sure what to do with chicken thighs till I saw this recipe, which looked simple and delicious. The end result is fantastic! Very tasty, with crispy skin that makes it seem like you’re eating fried chicken.

Pan-roasted chicken thighs

Ingredients

  • 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 475F. This takes my oven about two and a half years to accomplish, so start early
  2. Put the chicken pieces on a paper towel-lined plate, and season well with salt and pepper
  3. Heat oil over fairly high heat in a cast iron or other heavy skillet big enough to hold your chicken without it being too crowded
  4. Put chicken in skillet, skin side down, and cook two minutes; reduce heat to medium-high and set a timer for 12 minutes; you’re looking for crispy, golden brown skin on the chicken, so move it around as needed to make it evenly browned
  5. Transfer your skillet to the oven and cook for 13 minutes; flip the chicken skin side up and continue cooking till it’s cooked through, about 5-8 more minutes
  6. Transfer to a plate and let it rest five minutes before serving

 

I will warn you that this was crazy levels of smoky in my oven; you might want to turn the fan on before you get this going. But it was SO GOOD and SO WORTH IT. Let me know if you try it!

Coca-cola pot roast

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I’m freezing. Are y’all freezing? It’s prime comfort food time for me, and this delivers.  A librarian printed this recipe out for me once and I promptly lost the paper; I make it from memory now, and I’m not sure of the original source. Regardless of its origins, it’s hot and tasty and definitely fall-off-the-bone tender.

Coca-cola pot roast

Ingredients

  • Chuck roast, about 4 pounds
  • 2 Tbsp. oil
  • 1 Tbsp. salt (coarse/kosher salt, ideally)
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
  • 1 packet French onion soup mix
  • 1 can Coca-cola
  • Baby carrots or chopped carrots

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F and heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stovetop
  2. Season the roast with salt and pepper, then sear the roast on all sides in the Dutch oven till it’s nice and brown
  3. Sprinkle over the garlic powder and onion soup mix, pour in the Coke and add in the carrots around the roast; put a lid on it and stick the whole thing in the oven
  4. Cook till the internal temp of the roast is 165F; this will take about three hours or so depending on your oven and the size of the roast. Let it rest for about ten minutes before serving

… and may I suggest serving with mashed potatoes? Trust me.

Bonus: you can also make this in the slow cooker so it’s ready when you get home at night. Please to enjoy.