Lamb-beef Mediterranean Meatloaf with Brown Garlic Rice and Collards

This recipe stems from a markdown find at Target for ground lamb. I got 2 lbs of ground lamb for $3.50 each that I had tucked away in the freezer, so I decided to get creative! I found this recipe for

Lamb, Balsamic, and Sundried tomato meatloaf and adapted to my taste. Here's what I used:

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 lb ground chuck

2 large eggs

1/2 cup rolled oats

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 tbsp onion diced

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup sundried tomato paste 

1 tbsp Penzey's Tuscan sunset

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. First combine meats together in a large bowl and set aside. Then, whisk all other ingredients together. Pour egg mixture over meat and mix until combined thoroughly. "Grease" (I used bacon drippings I keep in the fridge) a loaf pan and put meat mixture into pan, forming a "loaf" of sorts. The lamb is a finer meat so it will not be as solid as a normal meatloaf might look. Place in oven and set timer for 30 minutes. Check at 30 minutes- the loaf should have an internal temperature of 140-145. At this point I turned off the oven and let it sit a few more minutes while I finished up the rest of the meal. 

The collards were easy. I had some already chopped and washed collards so I grabbed a handful and dumped them in a saute pan with about 2 cups of homemade chicken broth (out of the freezer), two slices of bacon cut into little bitty pieces, and about 2 slices of onion diced. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir together and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer. Let collards cook, stirring occasionally so they don't stick, until desired tenderness is reached. about 30 minutes (So my suggestion is to start the collards first and then do the meatloaf- then they will be done at the same time)

I cheated on the rice. It was a 90 second microwave bag from TasyBite. These are so good, flavorful, gluten free etc!!! Whenever I see them at the store (usually Fresh Market or World Market) I'll grab a few to keep on hand. 

Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!

tomato-chili grouper over cilantro couscous with lime-cilantro black bean sauce

This one is a litte more on the fancier culinary scale. I've been doing alot of left over recreations and quick nd easy meals, so tonight it was time to go back to the finer, more intricate recipes. We had two small grouper fillets in the freezer from our last trip to the beach this fall that I wanted to use. Normally I get my inspiration from simply googling or looking on pinterest for the ingredients I want to use . I found a recipe for Jicama Grouper with Black Bean sauce. As you can tell, I comletely changed the recipe, but I wanted to give credit for the inspiration. So here we go. 

Ingredients:

Bean sauce:

1 cup black beans, 2 tbsp cilantro, 1tbsp lime juice, salt and pepper to taste

Fish: 

2 medium sized grouper fillets

1/4 cup dry wine

1 tbsp olive oil

1 can rotel tomatoes

1/2 small onion diced

1 tsp minced garlic

Couscous: (cook according to package directions- just add cilantro)

11/2 cups water/ chicken broth

1 cup couscous

1 tbsp cilantro

So now for the fun part- to attempt to explain the ramblings that occur in my brain while I'm cooking/creating... So here we go!

First start with making the black bean puree which will later become your sauce. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside in small sauce pan.

Next dice the onion and drain the tomatoes. Combine the olive oil, wine, tomatoes, onions, and garlic in a large skillet and bring to a nice simmer. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish and add to the simmer. Scoop a small amount of the tomato mixture on top of the fish to get the flavor. Cover, reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until fish has reached internal temperature of at least 130 degrees. 

While the fish is cooking, prepare the couscous, and heat the black bean sauce. Bring to a simmer, stir, and remove from heat until ready to plate. 

Arrange a small scoop of couscous on the plate. Remove fish from the pan and place ontop of couscous. Spoon a small amount of the black bean sauce over the fish and down onto the couscous. Top with the tomato-onion mixture and sprinkle around the couscous for a fancy display. 

Enjoy! Disclaimer: the rotel tomatoes make the dish slightly on the spicy side. If that's not for you you can substitue for regular diced tomatoes.  

slow cooker pulled pork with fried squash bites and steamed broccoli

This meal was super easy and contrary to the title, the pork is not the main attraction. Mind you, the pork was melt in your mouth awesome, but the squash took the cake! I'm always look for ways to change up or recreate the normal, ho-hum vegetables- it just makes life more interesting. So here we go....

Pulled pork:

I can't take much credit for this one, other than being a super observant/savy Target shopper. I've mentioned before that Target often puts coupons on items in the meat and vegetable department that they want to sell fast. This was one of those finds. Hormel makes pre-seasoned pork roasts. This one had a $3 off coupon so for $4.99 I was willing to take a gamble. See this link Hormel BBQ seasoned pork for the exact product. It was very easy. I was skeptical of the instructions: open package and place contents into slow cooker. Cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low. immediately my inner chef raised an eyebrow because there was no mention of adding water or a moisture source. However, the people at Hormel know what they're doing- nothing was needed and the pork came out later so tender I had to scoop it out of the slow cooker- it fell apart right on the fork. The flavor was amazing too. A nice smokey barbeque taste, almost as if it had just come off the smoker. There was no need for additional seasoning or sauce, and that's quite an accomplishment.

Fried squash bites:

They don't look like much in the picture, but these little things are a southern bite of heaven. Like I said above, I'm always looking for ways to change up my vegetables and side items and this one was was a homerun. Since the broccoli was steamed I needed something crisp but light to even everything out. Then some little lightbulb went off- I'll cook it like I do fried okra! It will give me the light crunch but still maintain the vegetable inside. 

- Dice squash into bite sized pieces

- Lightly mist with olive oil or cooking oil (your preference, you could even use cooking spray)

- Season Cornmeal with salt and other flavors ( I used seasoned salt and garlic)

- Dust/toss squash pieces in cornmeal until fully coated

- Warm just enough cooking oil to cover the squash 

- When oil is warm, carefully add the squash and cook until pieces begin to turn golden and crispy. 

- Drain on paper towel and enjoy!

I was so thrilled with the way the squash turned out. My husbamd loved it too. He even said "This could be used as an appetizer in a restaurant." If you like fried okra, you'll love this! 

Enjoy!!! 

Ham and Beans

Sorry for the long hiatus between posts! Life has been crazy busy and I really haven't cooked anything blog worthy recently. But tonight, we have a winner! So by now, you all know I absolutely love recreating leftovers. I really hate throwing anything away that can be used in the next meal. For Thanksgiving we had a houseful. 13 guests and a highchair all gathered in our livingroom. It was great! We had the traditional Thanksgiving meal: turkey, ham, potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, sweet potatoes... and then fried okra and stuffed cabbage rolls. Anywho- needless to say we had enough food to feed a small army. I've been using up the leftovers all week- Pineapple/Ham kabobs, Turkey quesadillas, mashed potato cakes and now this amazing ham and beans soup with cornbread. I had come home at lunch to feed my new pet dragon (yeah that's a whole other crazy story) and saw the last of the ham sitting in the fridge. I began thinking of creative ways to use it. Today was also dark and rainy so something warm and filling was in order. My mind suddenly went to a dish I had eaten recently at a local restaurant and bam! Ham and Beans was the answer. Pretty much its a fancy version of baked beans with chunks of ham- but oh my was it good! Did I mention I did it all in the slow cooker???

Ingredients:

2 cans of great northern beans

1 can red kidney or chili beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

1 lb cooked ham cut into chunks

3 tbsp minced onion

salt and pepper to taste

I first dumped all three cans of beans into the crockpot (juice and all- don't drain). I then added the onion and minced onion. Then I salted and peppered. Last I threw in the chunked ham. Stir until mixed together. Add the cup of water and stir again. Cook on high in slow cooker for 6 hours (stir occasionally). The bean will be soft and sweet and the ham will be melt in your mouth tender. 

I then made some simple buttermilk cornbread. Place cornbread in bowl and spoon ham and beans over top. enjoy!!!!