Easy weeknight meals: old-fashioned meatloaf to fast shrimp and grits

Have you run out of ides for dinner? Here are some suggestions to get you through this week ... and maybe next depending on how much you cook!

Monday:  Old-fashioned
A reader who called last week said she didn’t have a good meatloaf recipe so I am offering my Alton-Inspired Meatloaf (recipe below) in the hope she’ll see it and others will try it. The Food Network celeb recommends sauteeing the aromatics before adding to the mix. Sometimes I do that, sometimes I don’t, but it does make a delicious difference. I always serve meatloaf with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Always.

Tuesday: Veggie delight
Make a Quick Ratatouille by chopping a can of plum tomatoes and stewing them with diced zucchini, green, yellow or red pepper, eggplant, onion and dried Italian herbs. Add sliced kielbasa (optional, or add beans for vegetarian protein) and simmer until veggies are soft. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with French bread. Leftovers are delicious over rice or pasta.

Wednesday: Rotisserie chicken
California Barbecue Chicken Salad starts with shredded meat from a barbecued rotisserie chicken. Mix it with corn — canned or thawed frozen — and chopped, ripe avocado and diced red onion. Serve over lettuce with ranch dressing and crushed tortillas chips.

Thursday: Southern night
Fast Shrimp and Grits starts with inspiration by Bobby FLay and 6 slices chopped bacon, fried, drained and set aside. Make cheese grits according to directions on box. While grits cook, saute 1 pound peeled shrimp in the bacon grease with a cup of sliced scallions, the juice of 1 lemon and a handful of chopped parsley; season with salt if you’d like. Add back bacon bits. Pour grits into a shallow serving dish and scoop shrimp over the top. Serve with corn bread. (Photo above taken by me ... our dinner last Wednesday!)

Friday: Gone fishing
Make Lemon-Herb Fish Packets for the grill using whatever fillets look best to you at the market. Put fish on a layer of slices of lemon and onion and sprinkle on lemon pepper and dried or fresh herbs of your choice, then wrap foil tight and grill for about 15 minutes. Skewer grape tomatoes and zucchini brushed with olive oil and grill those, too. Rice pilaf on the side.

Alton-Inspired Meatloaf
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground chuck (see note)
1/2 pound ground lamb
1/2 pound ground sirloin
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Saute onion, garlic and celery in olive oil until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool.

Mix cooled sauteed vegetables with remaining ingredients. Using your hands, incorporate thoroughly. Form into a loaf shape and place in the middle of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce to 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees.

Note: This is a basic meatloaf recipe made using suggestions from Alton Brown, host of Food Network’s Good Eats. Cooking it at a high temperature for 20 minutes gives the meat a crispier crust. The lamb provides a bolder flavor, but you can use all beef or a beef-pork combination.

Source: Janet K. Keeler, St. Petersburg Times

Basic meatloaf recipe with bread crumbs

About a million years ago, okay 2002, we ran a contest in the paper to find the best meatloaf in the Tampa Bay Area. Five-hundred people sent in recipes but I still like the basic meatloaf recipe with bread crumbs. It's partly mine and partly Alton Brown's. He's the one who told me meatloaf is always better if you saute the aromatics veggies (celery, onions, green peppers), let them cool slightly and then mix in with the rest of the ingredients. I don't always do this, because I don't always have time. It is a good idea though. If you click around on the link, you'll find Alton-Inspired Meatloaf and some other good recipes.

I had forgotten until I started thinking about how I wanted to make my meatloaf tonight, about Jean Lanier's "The Surpise Is Inside Meatloaf." It was our very favorite and worthy of your efforts. The surprise inside is a layer of chopped spinach and Swiss cheese. Delicious.

Jean's The Surprise Is Inside Meatloaf
1 package of fresh spinach or two frozen boxes of chopped spinach
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 pinches Kosher salt and pepper
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk or cream
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 slices bacon (optional)
1/4 cup ketchup (optional)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)

Cook spinach and drain well in sieve. Squeeze out excessive liquid. Mix together remainder of ingredients, except bacon, ketchup, brown sugar, in order listed. Divide meat mixture in half and press into a greased 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. Spread cooked spinach evenly over meat and sprinkle cheese on top. Put the other half of meat mixture on top.

Mix ketchup and brown sugar together and spread on top of meatloaf mixture. Lay bacon slices over the top and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Times testing notes: This was one of our favorite meatloafs because of its fantastic flavor. It held together well and the day after it was made, cut like pate. We opted to make it without the ketchup/brown sugar topping and loved the way the flavor of the bacon seeped into the top layer of meat.

Source: Jean Lanier, Seminole; photo by Patty Yablonski, St. Petersburg Times

 

Mile-high tostadas on the menu tonight

When life gives you avocados, make guacamole. I've got three ready-to-rock Florida avocados on my counter at home, so when I get home, I am making trashy beef tostadas with guacamole.  Florida avocados are huge but not quite as flavorful as the smaller Hass. On the other hand, they have a higher water content so they've got less fat. That's the trade-off.

Nothing fancy about my tostadas. I like these knife-and-fork open-face tacos every now and then. They're made with just a schmear of refried beans, ground beef spiked with a packet of seasoning (Yeah, maybe it's Taco Bell, maybe not), diced tomatoes and onions, shredded lettuce, Mexican queso blanco and sour cream. Then that heaping scoop of guacamole. Maybe some salsa, too.

I make guacamole by mixing the diced avocado with salsa from a jar, lemon or lime juice and few shakes of garlic powder. I wouldn't call it authentic but I do call it good.

Photo from www.delriomexicanrestaurant.com

Homemade hamburger helper gets dinner on the table quickly

Stir Crazy classic from March 27, 2007. Forget Hamburger Helper, make your own.

Click here for the recipe.

Easy dinner ideas, Monday through Friday: Beef sliders, baked salmon, shrimp quesadillas

From sliders to ravioli casserole to shrimp quesadillas, we've got you covered this week. Here's your Monday through Friday meal plan:

Monday: Double slide
Have you seen the new slider rolls from Pepperidge Farm? Get yourself a pack or two and make miniburgers tonight. If you want homemade faux White Castle sliders, roll the burger mix thin between two sheets of wax paper and cut out small squares with a pizza cutter. Saute and pile with chopped onions and cheese — or whatever toppings your heart desires. Shoestring fries and Florida corn on the cob on the side.

Tuesday: Going meatless
Go easy on yourself tonight with Baked Ravioli Casserole. Prepare a couple of bags of cheese ravioli, drain and arrange in a baking dish. Cover with sauce of your choice (herb, pesto, red or Alfredo) and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese melts. Serve with a green salad and bread.

Wednesday:  Rotisserie Chicken
Carve the bird and serve with Goat Cheese, Grape and Walnut Salad. Use either baby spinach or mixed baby greens and add knobs of soft goat cheese, halved red grapes and toasted walnuts. Dress with a honey-mustard or raspberry vinaigrette.

Thursday:  Melted delight
Simple Shrimp Quesadillas start with lime-soaked shrimp sauteed in a little olive oil. Layer the shrimp on flour tortillas with chopped scallions, fresh cilantro, jalapeno slices (always optional) and a handful of Monterey Jack cheese. Top with another tortilla and bake or heat in a large skillet. (Flip halfway through.) Serve with sour cream and avocado slices.

Friday:  Power to the people
Some 1,100 home cooks can’t be wrong. That’s how many folks have left reviews for Baked Dijon Salmon (recipe below) on Allrecipes.com. Sure, a few give low marks but the total ranking is 4 ½ stars out of five. That’s good enough for me. Serve with veggie of your choice and couscous.

Baked Salmon Dijon
¼ cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 ½ tablespoons honey
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup finely chopped pecans
4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
4 (4-ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans and parsley.

Brush each salmon fillet lightly with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Serves 4.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Photo from Dallas Morning News

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Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, it's what's for dinner

Oh, lordy. It's after 2:30 p.m. and I didn't get any lunch. I just went to my mailbox and there's the new Food & Wine magazine with a ginormous cheeseburger on the front. A Cheddar BLT Burger With Tarragon Russian Dressing, to be exact.

I am not kidding. Food porn, pure and simple.

The June Food & Wine is loaded with grilling recipes. And wine pairings. This recipe is the brainchild of Laurent Tourondel of BLT Burger in Vegas. Weirdly, Tourondel has you soak the patties in ice-cold water for 30 seconds before grilling. Think it cuts down on scorching? For extra oomph, he brushed the patties with melted butter to get the sugars in the meat to caramelize. The butter seems like it would cause the flames to flare. Who am I to quibble with a world-renowned chef?

Yeah, it's got a lot of ingredients. But what the heck. It's Friday. Pour a big glass of Cabernet.

Here's a time-saving tip. Use bottled Russian dressing with added minced tarragon. I won't tell Laurent if you won't.

Cheddar BLT Burger With Tarragon Russian Dressing
For the dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
For the burgers:
12 ounces thickly sliced bacon
1 1/3 pounds ground beef chuck
1 1/3 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 6 slices
6 hamburger buns, split and toasted
6 iceberg lettuce leaves
6 slices of tomato
6 slices of red onion

In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the ketchup, red wine vinegar, onion, parsley, tarragon and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and refrigerate.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat, turning once, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Drain and cut the bacon into large pieces.

Light a grill and fill a large bowl with ice water. Gently mix the ground chuck with the ground sirloin, salt and pepper. Form the meat into six 4-inch patties, about 1 1/4 inches thick. Submerge the patties in the cold water and let soak for 30 seconds. Immediately transfer the burgers to the grill and brush with some of the melted butter. Grill over high heat for 9 minutes for medium-rare meat, turning once or twice and brushing occasionally with butter. Top the burgers with the cheese during the last minute of grilling and let melt.

Spread the Russian dressing on the buns. Set the lettuce leaves and tomato slices on the bottom halves and top with the burgers, red onion and bacon. Close the burgers, cut in half and serve right away.

Serves 6.

Photo from Food & Wine, June 2009

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Fire up the grill for spicy burgers

The newest issue of Chile Pepper magazine plopped in my mail basket today. It's the barbecue and grilling issue and is packed with a bunch of great recipes. Plus, there's a feature on burgers: quick, spicy and juicy. Right up my alley. Oh, if only one had goat cheese. You know how I like my goat cheese.

But I can break out, really I can. Tonight I'll be in Winter Haven for a baseball tournament but you, lucky you, can make Jalapeno-Pimento Cheeseburgers. Boil up some corn and get a head-start on summer. (Not sure exactly why they call this pimento when it calls for roasted red peppers. They are two different things but that will be our secret. The pimento is the top photo; red pepper the bottom.)

 

Jalapeno-Pimento Cheeseburgers
2 cups Mexican shredded cheese mix
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, finely chopped
3 scallions, white parts, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika, divided
1/3 cup mayonnaise
4 jalapenos, divided
1 1/3 pounds ground chuck
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 potato rolls, toasted
8 slices cooked bacon
Arugula

In a bowl, combine cheese, red peppers, scallions, 1/2 teaspoon paprika and mayo. Finely chop 2 jalapenos and add to cheese mixture. (If you want them less hot, make sure to remove all the seeds and ribs.) Using a fork, mash to combine mixture into a chunky paste. Refrigerate until needed.

Prepare grill to medium-high heat, or preheat broiler. In a bowl, add remaining paprika, beef, granulated garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Gently combine without over-mixing the meat and form into patties. Cook on grill or in broiler 5 minutes; turn and cook 3 minutes longer. Top with a generous amount of jalapeno-pimento cheese, and cook until melted, about 1 minute.

Slice remaining 2 jalapenos. Place cheeseburgers on potato rolls and top with jalapeno slices, bacon and arugula.

Serves 4.

Source: Chile Pepper magazine

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Happy St. Corned Beef Day!

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's Tofu Tuesday. But it's also St. Patrick's Day, and that means corned beef and cabbage. And maybe some green beer. We've got to put off our meatless day this week.

Don't hate me but I've got my corned beef burbling away in the Crock-Pot already. I loaded up the pot with little red potatoes, carrots, onions, the corned beef and cabbage early this morning. A fresh loaf of rye bread awaits.

If you haven't made plans to cook corned beef tonight . . . it does take a few hours on the stove . . . then think about this delicious sandwich. Corned Beef on Rye With Caramelized Onions and Sauerkraut makes use of leftover corned beef tomorrow or deli corned beef tonight. Sweet caramelized onions and grated Granny Smith apple mellows the tang of the sauerkraut. I would serve this with potato salad. 

Corned Beef on Rye With Caramelized Onions and Sauerkraut
3 cups thinly sliced onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup drained sauerkraut
1/2 Granny Smith apple, grated coarse
3 tablespoons water
Salt and pepper
Unsalted butter, softened, for buttering bread
8 large 1/2-inch-thick slices rye bread
1 large garlic clove, halved
1 large dill pickle, sliced paper-thin
3/4 pound thinly sliced chilled cooked corned beef (about half a cooked 3 1/2-pound corned beef; recipe follows)
1 cup coarsely grated Swiss cheese
Mustard as an accompaniment

To prepare onions and sandwich:

In a large, heavy skillet, cook onion in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until golden. Stir in sauerkraut and apple and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Stir in water and salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a bowl.

Preheat broiler.

Butter one side of bread slices. On a baking sheet set 4 inches from heat, broil both sides of bread until toasted lightly. Rub buttered side of each toast with garlic. Arrange 4 toasts, garlic side up, on a baking sheet and divide pickle and corned beef among them. Top beef with onion mixture and cheese and broil under broiler about 4 inches from heat until cheese is melted. Top sandwiches with remaining toasts, garlic side down, and halve.

Serve sandwiches with mustard.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

Source: Gourmet magazine

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Rachael Ray inspired me

Well, this photo from her new "Big Orange Cookbook" did. I guess it's called that because the book is orange; it's not about oranges. Anyway, she's got this involved recipe for Lamb Meatballs Over Polenta (photo here), that really made me hungry. But I didn't have polenta or ground lamb.

So I tinkered and came up with Giant Meatballs Over Grits With Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce. It was a dee-lish, as she might say, and here's how I did it:

Meatballs: I mixed about 2 pounds of meatloaf mix (packaged at the store as ground beef and pork) with 3 minced cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, 1 beaten egg and two English muffins, diced small. From this mixture I formed 8 meatballs (about 2 1/2 inches around). In a 350-degree oven, I roasted them on a baking sheet (2 inches apart) that had been lightly coated with olive oil. Roll the meatballs in the olive oil to coat. They'll be cooked in 20 minutes.

While the meatballs were cooking:

Sauce: I simmered a large can of crushed, fire-roasted tomatoes with about 1 tablespoon each of balsamic vinegar, red wine and honey, plus a few shakes of dried Italian herbs for about 20 minutes.

Grits: Made quick-cooking grits and when they were done, added some sharp shredded cheese.

To serve, scoop the grits in a bowl, add a couple meatballs and then drape with sauce. Big hit with the wolverines. Give it a try.

Photo: www.rachaelraymag.com

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Need comfort? Make meat loaf

I wish someone's mother would make these mini meat loaves for me for dinner tonight. It's cold and gloomy and  . . . mashed potatoes sound great, too.

I LOVE meat loaf and making mini versions gets them out of the oven faster. A loaf-sizer takes about 1 hour while these are ready to nosh in about 15.

(I don't make meat loaf in loaf pans anymore. I find they tend to stew in their juices, which makes the meat tough. If you do a free-form shape in a larger baking dish, there's more crispy browning. That's a good thing!)

This recipe calls for fresh basil that I wouldn't use unless I happened to have it. Instead, I'd add a few shakes of dried Italian seasoning. And maybe a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Mini Meat Loaves With Green Beans
1  egg, lightly beaten
1  cup purchased pasta sauce
1/2  cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/4  cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped if large (or a few shakes of dried)
1  pound lean ground beef
1  cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
12 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed
1  tablespoon olive oil
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to boiling. In large bowl combine egg, pasta sauce, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of fresh basil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add beef and 1/2 cup of the cheese; mix well. Divide beef mixture in four equal portions.

Shape each portion in a 5 1/2- by 2-inch oval. Place on 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan. Spoon on remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees.

Meanwhile, cook green beans in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain; toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and red pepper. Serve with meat loaves. Sprinkle all with remaining basil leaves. Serves 4.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens, recipe and photo

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