Mini Chili Meatloaf with Smoky Potatoes

Meatloaf isn't something that I eat very often, but for some reason I was craving it the other day.  I didn't want to just make regular meatloaf though, I wanted to try something different.  I decided to try making a chili meatloaf, and it turned out to be delicious.  I also wanted some mashed potatoes on the side (because meatloaf and mashed potatoes are soul mates), so I decided to add some smoky spices to them so that they would compliment the meatloaf.  And to get some veggies on my plate I made some roasted peppers and zucchini to go with it.  It was a wonderful meal, and I will definitely be making this meatloaf again!

Chili Meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef

1 egg

2 green onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 + 1/4 cup taco sauce

1/2 + 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne

Smoky Mashed Potatoes

4 large potatoes

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp chipotle pepper powder

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all ingredients except for the 1/4 cup each of taco sauce and grated cheese.  Divide the beef mixture into four mini loaves.  Top each with a tablespoon of taco sauce and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes.

To make the smoky mashed potatoes peel four large potatoes (if you are using new potatoes you can leave the skin on for a more rustic look) and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Place in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, but not mushy.  Drain the potatoes and place back in pot.  Add  milk, sour cream, and spices.  Use an electric mixer to puree them, or just mash with a potato masher.  Add extra milk if the potatoes seem too dry.

Mexican Lasagna

This is definitely one of my favourite recipes, it's cheesy, delicious, and a crowd-pleaser.  I have made if for quite a few different people and they always love it.  I usually serve it with sour cream and salsa, but you can also throw some sliced black olives, tomatoes, avocado, or shredded lettuce on top as well.  The recipe doubles well, just make it in a 9x13 inch pan instead.  I find this lasagna just as good the next day, so I definitely like to have left-overs.  

Mexican Lasagna

1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp. chili powder (homemade recipe here)
540 ml can tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
3 large tortillas
2 green onions, sliced
Toppings:
salsa
sour cream
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add onions and cook until soft.  Add ground beef and garlic and cook until beef is browned.  Mix in chili powder and then add tomato sauce and sugar.  Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Preheat oven to 350F.  Beat the egg and then mix with cottage cheese.
Spread the bottom of a 9x9 pan with 1/3 of the beef and sauce.  Cover with 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese.  Place a tortilla on top, cutting so that it fits.  Add the cottage cheese and cover with another tortilla.  Cover the tortilla with 1/3 of the beef and the rest of the Mozzarella cheese.  Place the last tortilla on top and cover with the rest of the beef and the Cheddar cheese.  Sprinkle the green onion over top.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Serve with salsa, sour cream or any other toppings.  Enjoy!

Freezer Meals

The end of August and start of September is one of my favourite times of the year.  I think that for me the real 'new year' will always be September 1st, and not January.  I love everything about the start of fall...cozy sweaters, the beginning of soup season, fall vegetables, going back to work...ok, maybe not so much the going back to work, but everything else is great!  I went to the huge St. Jacob's Farmer's Market to get ready for canning and to buy some other veggies.  I bought red and golden beets for pickling, baby cukes for making dill pickles, yellow zucchini for making my delicious vegetable macaroni and cheese, a whole bunch of basil to make pesto, and some patty pan squash that I'm excited to cook up.  I feel the need to get my freezer and canning shelves full!  I have already canned 7 jars of pears from my pear tree and have made a bunch of freezer meals that I will soon be adding the pesto to. 

I wanted to have some quick lunches available to me for the times that I don't feel like making anything, as well as a few things to make dinner time easier.  I made Curried Carrot Soup, Meatball Stew (from this site), 44 Clove Garlic Soup (from this blog), mashed potatoes with gravy on the side, ground beef with onions and garlic, and some strawberry puree for quick smoothies in the morning. 
I divided the soups and stew into small bags for individual servings.  I divided the mashed potatoes into bags for 2 people, with a small baggie of gravy in with each, and I froze the strawberry puree in ice cube trays so that they would be easy to blend.
For the beef mixture (recipe below), I divided it into different sized amounts so I could use it for a variety of recipes.  I put 3 cups together to make my chili with, another bag with 2 cups to add to a pasta sauce, and a small bag of a cup and a half for making Jamaican patties.  And when I see ground beef on sale I am going to keep these bags replenished.

So here is the recipe for the ground beef:

2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Brown the beef in a large skillet, drain.  Return meat to skillet and add in the onion and garlic.  Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then drain.  Put the cooked meat in a large container or bowl and leave in the fridge until cooled down.  Divide into freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.

Taco Salad

There have been occasions where I have made tacos for dinner just so that I can make taco salad the next day.  I love it so much.  Of course, I could just make the salad without making tacos, but I like tacos too, so it's win-win.  My girlfriends and I actually have an annual taco party where everyone brings different ingredients for the tacos. And each year we always get into a huge discussion about what order the toppings should go on on a taco.  Personally I like meat first, then the cheese so it can melt, then taco sauce, sour cream, lettuce (it needs to be next to the sour cream so that it has something to stick to!), guacamole, and then the tomatoes.  The guacamole keeps the tomatoes on nicely.  And it has to be a hard taco shell, and not the stand-and-stuff because the bottoms break after the first bite.  So...ya, that's my opinion about tacos, how do you like yours made?

So anyhow, back to the salad.  As I said, I usually make mine with leftover taco ingredients, but I will write the recipe for just the salad on it's own.  It's easy and delicious, and a salad that my hubby loves because it's full of beef.  Enjoy!

I forgot to buy avocado, so it's missing:(

Taco Salad
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pkg taco seasoning mix*
1 head iceburg lettuce
2 tomatoes
1 avocado
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed corn chips or tortilla chips or taco shells
1/4 cup taco sauce
1/4 cup French or Catalina  salad dressing
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

Cook beef and taco seasoning according to package directions.  Shred the lettuce and dice the tomatoes and avocado.  Put into a large bowl with the shredded cheese and crushed chips. Top with the ground beef.  Mix the salad dressing and taco sauce together and pour over salad.  (Only salad dressing can be used if taco sauce is not available.)  Serve with cilantro, if desired.

*The package is for a pound a beef, so just use half:)

Easy Delicious Chili!

My mom gave me this recipe when I moved out 11 years ago and it's always been one of my favourites.  It's just so simple to make, especially once I got a crock pot (also from my mom:)).  Ok, I think I say that all of my recipes are easy, but this one really, really is!  And it costs less than $10 to make 4 large bowls of it.  I always make my chili into chili cheese fries, because I think that's the best way to eat it.  My hubby eats his with Tostitos.  We both top it with grated cheese, sour cream, and chopped green onion though.  It's also great with homemade cornbread.  Ok, I'm getting hungry, can't wait to leave work so that I can go home and eat some of this!

Chili

1 lb. ground beef

1 can tomato soup

1 can browned beans in tomato sauce

1 can kidney beans (small or large can, depends on how much you like them)

1 pkg. chili seasoning...or make your own (see below)

1 onion

1 celery stick

1 carrot (optional)

Peel carrot and remove skin from onion.  Finely chop the vegetables by hand or in a food processor.  Add a little bit of oil to a large frying pan and cook them for a few minutes to soften.*  Put them into a crock pot.  Brown the beef in the frying pan, drain, and add to crock pot.  Add all the other ingredients to the crock pot, stir, cover, and cook on low for anywhere from 2-8 hours.  Serve with any combination of sour cream, grated cheddar, sliced green onions, or bacon bits.  

*My crock pot will only cook vegetables fully if it's set to high heat, that's why I pre-cook them. I don't like crunchy pieces in my chili!  If you don't cook them first, you will definitely need to keep them in the crock pot for more than 2 hours.

Homemade chili seasoning:

This seasoning is good, but it does lack the bright red colour that the store-bought stuff has.  I just assume that means it has no dyes and is therefore healthier:)

-1 tsp. paprika

-1 tsp. cayenne pepper

-1 tsp. oregano

-2 tsp. ground cumin

-2 tsp. garlic powder