Cheeseburger Meat Loaf

Okay, here's the plain hard truth, I do not have enough skill to make meat loaf LOOK attractive and appetizing, but I can assure you that if Southern Comfort Food is on your radar, you should definitely give this meat loaf twist a try! I balanced out the calories by serving roasted cauliflower and steamed butternut squash seasoned with melted butter and salt and pepper. I also served fresh veggies for the kiddos.  Let me know if you try this meatloaf recipe and what you think. (I got this recipe from the Hickory Hollow Christian School A+ Recipes, page 101, submitted by my very good friend and classmate, Deborah Heatwole.)

Cheeseburger Meat Loaf

1/2 cup Ketchup, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs or oatmeal (I used rolled oats)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 pound ground beef
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
2 teaspoon dill pickle relish or chopped dill pickle (I did more like 2 tablespoons)
4 slices American cheese or 1/2 cup grated cheddar (I used cheddar)

Method: Mix 1/4 cup of ketchup, egg, onion powder, bread crumbs OR oatmeal, whichever you are using. Add ground beef. Mix well. Pat half of meat mixture into a loaf pan. Spread with ketchup, mustard, dill pickles, and then top with cheese. Carefully add remaining meat mixture on top. Spread out and seal edges. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Garnish top with American cheese triangles or a drizzle of ketchup if desired. (I added another 1/4 cup of grated cheddar and allowed it to just start melting before cutting and serving.)

Yield: 6 servings

25 Cent Memories - Priceless (Hot Cocoa Recipe)

The more my world expands, the more I become all about the little things. Today I stopped by Goodwill and besides snatching up 7 pairs of pants for Eli, I found two Christmas mugs for .25 a piece. When Eli got home from school, I made homemade hot cocoa for Eli and Elsie and served it up in their "new" very own mugs while Christmas tunes played in the background.

I know, I know, Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, but in our household we celebrate Christmas and Give Thanks all season long.

One would have thought it was Christmas morning by the delight in the children's voices as they helped make and then drink the hot cocoa. The afternoon's activities generated smiles and created memories that cannot be bought; not for .25, not for a million dollars... Its the small stuff.

Here's the hot cocoa recipe from my childhood memory. I think it is also on the side of the Hershey's Cocoa Powder box. (I use "Special Dark" cocoa powder so it is not on there, but regular is great too.)

Homemade Hot Cocoa

2 cups milk
1/8 cup Hershey's cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
Splash of vanilla flavoring
A very slight pinch of salt

Pour milk into heavy-bottom sauce pan. Add cocoa powder and stir until blended. Add sugar and heat slowly. Add vanilla and salt. (This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.)

To make it really special serve with mini marshmallows or place a peppermint stick or candy cane in the mug when serving.

Peanut Butter Snowballs/Protein Snacks

These are so easy and yummy and can be healthy in small doses :) And kids LOVE them!

Peanut Butter Snowballs/Protein Snacks

1 cup dry powdered milk
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix well. Shape into balls. Enjoy.

Homemade Soft Pretzels with Cheese and Honey Mustard Sauces

We usually have popcorn, fresh veggies and fruit, and sometimes leftovers for Sunday night supper, but occasionally we go all out and make the delicious pretzels. The kids think it is the best fun they could ever have to roll out the "snakes" and try to shape their own pretzels. If you try these, I'd love to hear your experiences. How did they turn out? Were kids involved? Don't let the steps intimidate you. Just relax and have fun and enjoy some family time doing "the pretzel twist."

You can easily half this recipe. Full recipe makes about 18 medium-sized pretzels. You can also half the sauce recipes for a smaller crowd.

Soft Pretzels

3 cups warm water (very warm)
2 Tablespoons dry yeast
2/3 cup brown sugar
10 cups flour
Mix these ingredients together in a bowl and let rise 5 minutes. Roll out pretzels. Not sure how to explain shaping them... Take small pieces of dough and roll out each piece like a snake and twist into the shape of a pretzel.

3 cups boiling water
3 Tablespoons baking soda
Boil the water in a heavy-bottom skillet on the stove top. Add baking soda. Quickly dip pretzels into soda water making sure the whole pretzel gets wet. Remove with a fork or metal spatula and place onto greased cookie sheets. Bake the pretzels at 425 degrees for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. You can sprinkle with coarse salt or if you want a sweet pretzel coat with a cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Cheese Sauce

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar or Colby cheese
1 teaspoon mustard
salt to taste

In a 2-quart sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour and stir until bubbly. Slowly add milk and stir until thick and bubbly. Add cheese, mustard, and salt and stir until smooth. Serve warm with fresh sift pretzels.

Honey Mustard Sauce

1 and 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard
1/2 (or a tad more) honey

Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate. (This is great with chicken and on salads too.)

NOTE: All three of these recipes come from page #41 of the A+ Recipes from Hickory Hollow Christian School cookbook. This is the school I attended as a child. The cookbook is filled with so many great recipes, some that are more healthy and some that cater to the meat, potatoes, and gravy crowd. I highly recommend this cookbook for personal use or for Christmas gifts. If you are not sure where to find one, I can get you in touch with the right people. Eat up and ENJOY!

Warm French Lentils and Sunday Ramblings

I don't usually cook on Sundays. I cook every other day of the week so nearly every Sunday after attending church at Beaver Creek Church of the Brethren, we stop at Dairy Queen and all four of us split a 6-piece chicken strip basket. Since that is usually the only time we eat out during the week and the four of us split one meal, I don't feel guilty about it. Sunday evenings we always have air-popped popcorn and fresh veggies and fruits for snacking. Growing up, Sunday lunch was the biggest meal of the week for us and was always made from scratch and included all food groups. Those memories are special, but it is fun creating traditions for our own family.

Today, however, was different. I was home with Eli because he was coughing and sneezing a lot. I made lunch for us here and used THIS RECIPE. The Warm French Lentils were fabulous, but the Tablespoon of salt has to be a misprint! I used just a pinch of salt. Aside from the salt, I followed the recipe exactly. One problem I ran into was wanting to eat all of the leeks and carrots before the lentils were cooked lol. I was a little leery after I mixed the dressing and dipped a pinky in to taste... seemed like an odd combination. But after the dish was assembled, it was a winner, hands down! I wanted to eat the whole dish by myself, but felt obligated to share. :) It is on the "Make Again Soon" list here.

Because I was home and we needed bread for the week I made a batch of whole wheat dinner rolls, two loaves of whole wheat English muffin bread, and a batch of our favorite sugar cookies for "dessert" for the week. I also froze some of the sugar cookies for our Sadie Rose Foundation Support Meeting this Friday. 

Again, here is the link to the Warm French Lentils. I hope you and yours love them as much as we did!

Warm French Lentils

 The children also enjoyed making "apple teeth" with apples, peanut butter, raisins, and marshmallows.

 This evening we enjoyed our popcorn supper and hot cocoa around the fire pit in our back yard.

Our dog, Sampson, loves when the children "share."

What "Sunday traditions did you have growing up? Have you established meal traditions for your own family?

Chickpea Nuggets your family will love!

I made these chickpea nuggets in place of chicken nuggets for supper this evening and the consistency, texture and taste were awesome. If I hadn't told the kids they were not chicken nuggets, they would have never made the distinction. But so simple, healthy and more than tasty enough for all the picky palates in the family.

Chickpea Nuggets

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or dried chickpeas cooked until tender)
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper
Seasoning of choice (I used Wildtree's Rockin Moroccan Rub)
1/2 cup flour
1 large egg

Method: Pulse chickpeas and onion in food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until mostly smooth. Heat 1/4 inch oil of your choice in skillet and heat medium high. Using a table spoon, dollop into nugget-size pieces in the skillet and fry until golden brown on both sides. Serve with your favorite "nugget" sauces. (I used Greek yogurt with Wildtree's Java Rub mixed in for my dipping. The husband and children used ketchup and BBQ.) YUM!

Wonderful Fresh Fruit Dip

I pulled out an old Every Day with Rachel Ray and came across this creamy fruit dip recipe. Besides the fact that I had all the ingredients on hand that made it wonderful, the fresh taste had all of us digging in for more. (Even the children!) 

Creamy Fruit Dip

1 Cup Sour Cream (I used Greek Yogurt)

2 Tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh-squeezed orange juice plus 1/4 teaspoon orange zest 

Salt and pepper 

Mix all ingredients together and serve with fresh apples, pears and pineapple or your choice I fresh fruit. (Melon and grapes would be great with this too!)