Meatloaf!

This was my first attempt at meatloaf. I grew up eating it - my mom was all about frugal meals and this when ground beef was cheap. D, on the other hand, had meatloaf practically for the first time this summer at his grandparents'. Let me say, he was hooked!

We are getting ready to move so we've been trying to use up as much food as possible. We still had a TON of meat in the freezer from the last Costco run, so this was a logical choice! We both really liked it!




Meatloaf

Original recipe found here

1 cup of finely chopped onion
1 celery rib, chopped fine
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 carrot, chopped fine
1/2 cup of finely chopped scallions (can substitute onion)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp Worscestershire sauce
2/3 cup ketchup
2 1/4 lbs ground meat (I used beef and turkey)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten slightly
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large heavy skillet warm the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and scallions andn cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cover the skillet and stir occassionally until the carrots are tender, about 5 more minutes. Stir in salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 a cup of ketchup. Cook for 1 more minute.

In a large bowl, combine the meats, eggs, vegetables, bread crumbs, and parsley. Form into a loaf and put into a rectangular baking pan with 2-inch high sides. Cover the loaf with remaining ketchup.

Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour.

Tomato Basil Soup

Last week, the boyfriend wasn't feeling so great for a few days. What's better to eat when you are feeling under the weather than soup? Tomatoes were on sale at the grocery store, so tomato soup was born!

This recipe calls for peeled tomatoes, which made me scratch my head. I literally peeled 10 tomatoes with a vegetable peeler - not easy, and not fun. Afterwards I did a little research and found a much easier way to do things.

To peel a tomato, score the underside with a big "x". Plunge the tomato in boiling water for about 10 seconds, remove, and place in an ice bath for 30 seconds. Remove from the water. You should be able to easily remove the skins by pulling upwards from the flaps!







Tomato Basil Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 large Onions, chopped
10 tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1 Can Tomato Paste
1 tbsp dried Basil
Salt and Pepper
Heat olive oil in a saucepan butter over medium heat; add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until onion becomes translucent, but not brown (5 min).
Add tomatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes start to break down, about 2o minutes.
Season - add salt and pepper, basil, and tomato paste. Mix well.
Depending on how chunky you want your soup, you can now puree all or some of the soup to the desired consistency. Use an immersion blender or just a regular blender. If you use a regular blender like I did, blend the soup in sections (not all at the same time), returning the blended liquid to the pot until you reach the creaminess you want.

Fettuccine Alfredo

I'm a little nervous about starting out with this. Fettuccine Alfredo isn't exactly considered a 'healthy' meal, and with what I know what the next few posts will be already, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea!

So, first, a little about me and my theories. I like to eat... obviously. I like almost all foods, with the main exception being seafood (but I'm working on it!) When I cook I try to create healthy, balanced meals. I eat lots of fruits and veggies, try to keep my red meat intake reasonable, etc etc etc. That being said, I love to indulge! I love desserts. I have no remorse about an occasional artery-clogging meal, like this one. I only try to keep myself and my eating habits balanced and easy.

Now, on to the food...

I must admit, I was a little disappointed with this recipe. It was too buttery and not creamy or cheesy enough. It was delicious though, and the boyfriend and I polished off 1lb between dinner last night and today's lunch. I don't even want to think about how many calories that is :)





Fettuccine Alfredo

Original Recipe found here


1 pound fettuccine pasta
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley



Bring a pot of water to boil, liberally salt the water and add pasta. Cook about 7-9 minutes. Strain, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. The pasta will be slightly underdone but it will finish cooking in the sauce.

Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in a pan large enough to fit the pasta once cooked.

Add the garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add the pasta to the pan. Pour cream and cheese over the pasta. Toss to completely coat the pasta. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add the parsley.

Reduce heat to low, let pasta stand 5 minutes until sauce thickens. Toss just before serving.

Wilkommen, Bienvenidos, Welcome, Come On In!

I like to eat.

As the young-starving-college-student I survived on bean burros (yum) and Hot Pockets - pepperoni was my flavor of choice. Um... yuk?

Now, not so many years older or wiser, I prefer real food. However, eating real food means cooking real food, and since my cooking skills were limited to about 3 real dishes, I set off to learn how to cook. Turns out, I'm not half bad!

Armed with five cookbooks and a wealth of interweb information, I'm here to add my little voice to the world of food blogging. Hello world, and happy eating!