Meatloaf? You really like meatloaf?

Not sure why, but meatloaf has always seemed like a rather unexciting meal. My memories from childhood include my mom always making a special one for my sister and me since we didn't like onions- oh the vegetables you don't like as a kid! It was prepared in one of those small blue and white corning wear casseroles and was topped with some good ole Heinz ketchup. I have no idea how my mother prepared her meatloaf- she's not big on recipes and such- and I had never made a meatloaf until I met the Dave. Yup, the Dave (anyone get that reference?) loves meatloaf.

I have seen numerous cooking shows as people have prepared ultimate, cheesy, taco, and many various other forms of meatloaf, but I did not settle on just one recipe. I took this and that from various recipes and came up with what I consider to be a damn good meatloaf.

Fantabulous Meatloaf

1.5 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound italian sausage
1 egg
1 sleeve Ritz (or ritz style) crackers finely ground
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons Dale's seasoning
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup barbeque sauce

1. Mix all the above together and form into a loaf. I place four slices of bread on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish and place the loaf on top of bread. That will help soak up any grease that bakes off the loaf. Cover and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
2. After 45- 55 minutes, take off foil and check loaf- bake an additional 10 minutes if loaf is not ready. when it's ready, pour barbeque sauce on top and spread. Bake another 10 minutes without foil and broil to top for about 3 minutes at the end.
3. Remove from baking dish and enjoy...

Meatloaf is funny... so I use a thermometer to make sure it gets good and done... Once again Dave tested and Dave approved... makes fabulous sandwiches too!

Nothing better than a burger....

Saturdays and Sundays were 'grillin' days in my childhood. Every weekend my daddy would fire up the charcoal and grill away. Burgers were the standard fair along with grilled smoked sausage hit with a little Ole Hickory sauce (those of you from El Dorado, Arkansas KNOW the sauce I mean and mourn its loss with me). He would grill an onion, drink about a case of Miller beer, and about five hours after this whole process started- some time in the middle of the night- we would finally eat a very well done, if not, burned burger. Daddy believes in drying out your food- the idea of a little pink in his burger is quite unthinkable. As an adult, I have discovered the wonders of NOT charring the meat to death and I prefer a burger that's a tad bit more rare than my daddy's. Ok, I lie as basically I would prefer that it still moos a bit.... In short, a burger on the grill is one of the most perfect things in the world.


The Perfect Burger

1 lb 85/15 ground beef- you have to have some fat in a burger
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cracked black pepper
4 -5 tbsp Dale's steak sauce (found at most Wally World's and out of Birmingham Alabama... just a a wonderful thing!)

1. Mix seasonings (not the steak sauce) with 1 lb of ground beef. I use 85/15 as you need a little fat with a burger.
2. Construct 4 -5 patties depending on the size of the burger you would like. Press your thumb into the middle of the burger to make a well.
3. Pour one tablespoon of Dale's seasoning into the well of the burger and place in refrigerator for at least one hour. Remember to pull out burgers thirty minutes before grilling as they don't need to be cold going on the hot grill... room temperature is perfect!

Remember, after putting the burgers on, LEAVE them alone for at least 5 minutes. If you try to flip too soon, you will mess the burger up! Seriously, I could probably eat cheeseburgers every night for the rest of my life and be VERY content!

Sloppy Seconds... on the Sloppy Joes...

When I was a little girl, my momma would sometimes make sloppy joes using the ever popular Manwich out of can- I mean how else do you make them? And I think that Manwiches were pretty much an invention of the 1970s along with hamburger helper as it's something to help the working mom get dinner on the table quickly, right? I have never thought of it as a 'homemade' meal- it's just open a can.

So last night after I mentioned we were going to have burgers, Dave mentioned that he has had an 'awful lot of burgers lately"- he's been getting burgers on the way home from football practice much to my chagrin, but I shall begin packing his lunch as of tomorrow! Long story short- we had Mexican out last night, but I still had burger meat to deal today! What to do? What to do?? I decided to revisit the ultimate man sandwich- the sloppy joe! Somehow I just knew the Dave would LOVE a sloppy joe... after all, it's meat on a bun, right? But I did not want to go buy a can in a sauce. How hard could it be? This is what I can up with and I gave the dish it's own signature name...

"Sloppy Daves" ....
(hmmmm sounds kind of kinky huh?)

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1 cup chopped tomatoes (or one can drained tomatoes or Rotel)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 teaspoon Dale's seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder


1. Brown the beef with the peppers and onions. Drain any grease ('cause these are not greasy joes!)
2. Add tomatoes, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. If the sauce is too thin, add 1 tablespoon of dried onion. Dried onion will help thicken the sauce.

And that's that: two basic steps... oh how wonderful! I imagine you could add other spices to change it up a bit, but I thought this combination was perfect. Dave however did think it needed a bit more spice so NEXT time, I will kick it up a notch. But overall, these Sloppy Daves are Dave tested and Dave approved!

Finger licking good....

Ok, I have noticed that I tend to cook with certain VERY specific types of sauces or seasonings. Some of it is based on tradition in my family, what I have tried/discovered, or what has been suggested to me. I thought I would do a post about the specific items I use.

1. LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE- this is the ONLY hot sauce I knew growing up! That yellow label with the red dot was a stable in my family's refrigerator since I was living on Magnolia Drive in El Dorado, Arkansas. When we moved to the Carolinas, it was something that bought and brought back when we traveled 'back home'. I found it in a seafood shop in Wilmington, NC and bought all the bottles they had. Wal Mart began to carry it here, but stopped I believe due to the utter devotion to Texas Pete here in NC -- PEOPLE please, it's HORRIBLE compared to Louisiana Hot Sauce- Branch out NC!! I did find it in a Wal Mart in Fredonia, NY, but alas I am back to picking up bottles when I am lucky enough to be 'back home'.

2. Duke's Mayo.... well, I did not care much for mayo growing up, but as I evolved and put on my big girl panties (yes, a bit bigger than some girls ) but I have to admit that Duke's is where it's at when it comes to mayo. There is as difference and you just need to experience it for yourself. Nothing like a summer tomato sandwich with Dukes oozing all over!

3. Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning: I am not quite sure when my daddy discovered cajun/creole seasoing, but oh what a blessed day! I put this stuff on everything- from eggs to mashed potatoes. Simply a wonderful seasoning that has no equal!

4. Dale's Steak Sauce: Some one suggested this sauce to me years ago, but where to get it? I found it in the Atlanta area when my sister lived there. However, it is something I believe that most southern Wally World's. I use in place of worscheshire sauce. (yeah, I only pretend to be an English teacher so I think I spelled it wrong- that goodness for spell check)

5. Beer and Brat Mustard from Silver Spring- may I just say, this is a wonderful mustard, but I can't find it locally any more. Used to be able to purchase at the local Sam's Club, and I think you can order it online. It's great on a burger or in sauces with that amazing horseradish that explodes in your mouth. I love hot and spicy and this fits the bill... I used this with a wing sauce that was pretty dang HOT!

I know I am forgetting something, but he that just leaves me another topic to share with you, now doesn't it? As I have thought about my blog, I see it's going to develop into a real 'foodie' blog, but hey, why not?

It's like summer in a bowl...

I love SUMMER for so many reasons! As you know, I teach school so I get to act like a "lady of leisure" during the summer, but that's not even the number one reason I love summer- but no shocker here, it's the FOOD. I love all the fresh homegrown veggies you can snag at road side stands that pop up all over the place- I mean who doesn't love fresh corn on the cob or a perfect 'mater' sandwich with Dukes mayo? From farmers markets to great produce stands on the way to the beach, summer sings of freshness. My favorite summertime dishes is Cucumber-Tomato-Onion Salad. So easy to make and yet so awesome that it makes any day feel like summer. I feel kind of ridiculous posting a 'recipe' for this, but I do add some different touches to it... however it's still one of those things you can put your own spin on!

CUCUMBER/TOMATO/ONION SALAD

3-4 medium sized cucumbers, sliced about a 1/4 inch thick
1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced anyway you desire
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and sliced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup of Splenda sweetner
1 tsp dill seed
1 tsp celery seed

1. Combine the oil, vinegars, and Splenda in a mason jar and shake to mix up. Play with the amounts of oil and vinegar- sometimes less is more as you know!
2. Pour over vegetables and store in container in the refrigerator. Stir the mixture a couple of times which allows for the flavors to meld and come together.

So easy, but I am afraid to share that the Dave will not go any where near this one... raw tomatoes are his enemy as he hates the texture.... poor man, no mater sandwiches for him! But more for me!

Leftover Mania

I now must hold the record for being able to make a soup out of leftovers. Just made Jambalaya Soup with the leftovers from the other day.

Simply add the leftover jambalaya to one can of tomato soup. Heat and enjoy!

Now how simple was that? So glad the Dave loves soups!

Skipping the Mix....

Ok, so I got a wild hair up my batootay and decided to skip the mix and make jambalaya from scratch... I mean how hard could it be? I know the basic components so it should be a piece of cake! Right? And I am happy to report, it was and Dave did approve this recipe.

Now, you know I have taken some shortcuts as I am not Emeril Lagasse (so this is a VERY basic and easy jambalaya) but I think you'll find that this is some mighty fine jambalaya! One thing I did use is precooked shrimp- it's fairly inexpensive and can be found in the frozen food section. I love shortcuts, don't you?

What you'll need:

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup green pepper
1 cup celery
1 can diced tomatoes
2.5 cups of instant rice
1 cup of pre cooked salad shrimp
1 half link turkey sausage diced
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning- Tony's!
2 tsp of cumin
salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute the 'Southern Trinity' of peppers, onions, and celery in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp of REAL butter- yep, you know it's gotta be real butter- saute til onions begin to turn a bit clear- less than 5 minutes. You can use a large fry pan for this or a stockpot.
2. Add the canned tomatoes, one can of water, and seasonings Bring to a boil then add sausage and rice. Cover and reduced to simmer for 15-20 minutes allowing the rice to cook and absorb the liquid. Stir the rice occasionally and you may need to add more water if it becomes too dry.
3. Lastly, run cold water over the shrimp and add to the rice mixture. Allow shrimp to warm through and serve away!

We added some of our favorite hot sauce, LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE, and adjusted it to our tastes- Dave not as much as me because as you all know, he can't handle the heat being a Yankee and all....

Laissez les bons temps rouler......