Down Home Cookin!!

So I'm going with a theme this week...down home cooking! I get caught in a few ruts with cooking. I either get stuck on a few easy favorites that I know everyone will eat. I tend to do this when I am stressed so I don't really have to think about what to fix. The other thing I seem to want to do is try a new recipe every night! I can get too fancy for my own good. It is a great way to add new favorites, but I also run into some dinners that should not EVER be repeated EVER AGAIN :)

I was thinking about what to fix for the upcoming week and decided I needed some comfort food STAT! Here are a few fabulous down home dinners. I'll also do some breakfast dishes, side dishes and desserts throughout the week, so keep checking back!!

One thing my Papa did was make the most fantastic meatloaf you've ever had. He's from the Deep South....Union Hill, Alabama!! His secret for meatloaf was to do half ground beef and half ground sausage. This keeps your meatloaf from drying out....the curse of bad meatloaf!!! To make mine a little more figure friendly I use 96% lean ground beef and light ground sausage. You can get away with the lean ground beef because the sausage adds so much moisture!! Last tip is to cook your onion before adding. It gets rid of the super strong onion flavor and also makes it nice and soft. Feel free to add carrots or other veggies (also cooked) if you'd like!!

Here is my Papa's recipe and another I like to make. Enjoy!!

Papa's Meatloaf

1 cup quick cooking oats
1 lb ground sausage
1 egg
1 can Meatloaf fixings (I was skeptical about fiding this, but sure enough it's over by the canned tomatoes)
a few dashes of Worchestershire
1 onion, finely chopped and sauteed
salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients, form into loaf and cook on broiler pan for 1 hour.

I like to use a free form loaf on a broiler pan rather than shoving it into a loaf pan. Line bottom of the pan with foil for quicker cleanup. Spray the top with cooking spray. The fat will drain through the slats and you'll come out with a fabulous meatloaf!!


Barbecue Meat Loaf

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground sausage
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped and sauteed
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients including 1 Tbsp barbecue sauce (reserve 1/3 cup barbecue sauce). Form into loaf on broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Don't forget to line the bottom of the pan for WAY easier cleanup!!

Top meatloaf with remaining 1/3 cup barbecue sauce. Cook for 1 hour.


**Meatloaf should be around 160 degrees when done! Let meat stand for about 10 minutes before you cut it. You will lose alot of the juice if you cut it too quickly!!

Quiche

Alright friends....it's time to SLAP THIS BLOG TOGETHER! I promise, now that school has started, to make a better effort to post AT LEAST once a week! (See how well that went with my last post???) :)

So, I have found myself making my Crustless Spinach Quiche a ton lately!! First for a baby shower, then for my family since I had all the fixins on hand. I also got a great tip from my good friend (and fellow heart momma) Melissa. She used to make a quiche, cut it up into individual portions, wrap each piece and freeze. That way every work morning she could grab a piece and run! What a fabulous idea!!! So....in my effort to avoid refined carbs lately and eat a more fruit/veggie intensive diet, I have been eating A LOT of quiche :)

Alright...for the recipe. I LOVE this because you can basically do it up a million different ways! Use what you have on hand, prepare the night before if you have company, and pop in the oven in the morning. VIOLA....instant delicious breakfast. What more could a girl ask for?? OK, probably a lot of things, but work with me here!!

Here is the original recipe! Feel free to add or exchange any veggies/protien you want to. It is simple and delicious!!

6 eggs, beaten
1/2 pound light ground sausage
1/2 red onion, diced
1 pint mushrooms, sliced
10 oz package spinach, thawed (excess moisture squeezed out)
3 cups shredded muenster cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pie plate with Pam.

In a large bowl, beat all eggs. Brown sausage in a pan, remove and drain. Saute onion and mushroom in same pan as sausage. Once browned, add spinach and saute until all moisture is evaporated.

Mix together eggs, sausage, onion/spinach/mushroom mixture and shredded cheese. Place in pie pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until browned and set.

Note: I only use about 1 cup of cheese to cut down on the fat content. It is still delicious! I also love to add red or orange bell pepper that I saute in with the onions and mushrooms. YUMMY! Another way to change it up would be to try a different protien. Chopped ham or canadian bacon is delicious!

When I freeze individual portions, I like to wrap each serving in saran wrap. Then I wrap 4 pieces up into a foil packet. Remove individual servings and you should never have any freezer burn!!

Hope you enjoy it!