Not Your Mama's Meatloaf

Yuck.  I've never really liked the traditional meatloaf.  The heavy sweet tomato sauce on most meatloaves just make the dish unappetizing to me.

The other day while searching through the Foodnetwork.com site, I found a recipe for Giada's Turkey, Feta and Sundried Tomatoes Meatloaf.  I absolutely LOVE feta and sundried tomatoes, so I thought I would give this one a shot.  I followed the recipe (mostly) but I did use a mixture of Italian and panko breadcrumbs.   OH MY GOODNESS - this meatloaf is sooooo good. YOU MUST try it!!

I also used Giada's Loaf Pan that I purchased from Target the other day.  I plan on purchasing more of her bakeware.  Cleanup was a breeze (virtually non-stick) and this pan goes from oven to the table with style.

Try the meatloaf - let me know what you think.  Hopefully you love it as much as we did.    

Crock-Pot (R) Beef Stew

Everyone needs a few Crock-Pot(R) recipes in their file for those week nights when there just isn't time to cook.  You will need to adjust the cooking time based on how your slow cooker cooks.  If you don't have a Crock-Pot (R), Kohl's has a great sale right now on a 5.5 quart programmable Crock-Pot (R).  It is on sale for $29.99, with a $10 dollar mail-in rebate, dropping the price to $19.99 (the regular price is $49.99!)

1.5 lbs stew beef meat
4-6 baby red (“new”) potatoes, quartered
4 carrots, peeled, cut in half and then 2-3” lengths
1 can Campbell’s ® Beefy Mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can Campbell’s ® Cream of Mushroom soup, undiluted
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Weber Chicago Steak Grind 'N Grill
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 beef bouillon cubes

 

Directions:

 

1. Place stew beef in bottom of Crock Pot. Next add carrots, then the potatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients.

2. Cook on low approximately 8 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

 

** If you want a thicker gravy, after 5 hours of cooking, remove ½ to 1 cup of the gravy and whisk in 2-3 tbsp. flour then return to Crock Pot.

 

Teriyaki Beef Shish Kabobs

This recipe is one of my mother's.  Growing up, we would have this just a few times a year and it was always one of my favorites.

1 ½ to 2 lb English roast or London broil

Marinade Ingredients:
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup water
1 tsp. meat tenderizer
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. Lawry’s seasoning salt
2 T brown sugar
¼ tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Cube the beef into 1 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate the beef overnight.
3. Place on gas or charcoal grill and grill until of desired "done-ness".

Cook's notes:  My mother always grilled the meat and served "as is".  I use this marinade as the basis for shish kabobs.  I marinate vegetables for 4-6 hours (overnight is too long) and alternate the beef and vegetables on skewers.