My Favorite Meatloaf with Sauteed Limas and Corn

When I was little I used to hate meatloaf.  I mean when I would hear that was what we were having for Sunday dinner...YUCK!  haha Oh how times have changed.  I love a good meatloaf now days.  The moist, flavorful inside topped with the candied ketchup...YUM!  I began making this meatloaf a couple years ago, and it is by far my favorite.  It has a little Italian flair and great flavor.  It changes a little every time I make it, but Zach said last night...don't change a thing on this one, its perfect.  SO here ya go...

My Favorite Italian Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
• 3/4 C onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves garlic chopped
• 1/3 C sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 C Fresh Basil, chopped (you can sub 2 tsp Italian seasonings)
• 1/3 C Parmesan, freshly grated if possible
• 1 Egg
• 1 Cup Bread Crumbs
• 2/3 C Ketchup
• Salt and Pepper

Ready for the Oven!

Directions:

1. Saute onion with salt and pepper for about 6-7 minutes over medium heat
2. Add garlic to onion for about a minute to soften, then remove from heat
3. Mix together tomatoes, basil, parm, egg, bread crumbs, 1/3 C Ketchup, and Pinch of salt and pepper
4. Add mixture to beef with cooled onions and garlic
5. Mix until combined with your hands, don't over work it
6. Use a muffin pan to make 9 mini meatloaves or form one large loaf on a sheet pan.  Top with remaining Ketchup.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes on 350 for muffins and 45 minutes for loaf
8. Let rest after cooking for at least 5 minutes before slicing

I served this with Sauteed Limas and Corn

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C T Pepperoni, chopped (you could sub 2 pieces cooked bacon or chopped ham)
• 1 C Frozen Limas
• 1 Cup Frozen Corn
• 1/2 Cup red onion, Chopped
• 1 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 T butter
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Saute pepperoni and onions in 1 Tbs EVOO over med-high heat for 2-3 minutes, add garlic for another 30 sec
2. Add limas and corn to saute with a splash of water, season liberally with salt and pepper
3. Saute for about 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally, add 1 Tbs butter at the end and season to taste

Tortilla-Ranch Chicken

For some reason, we have had two bags of tortilla chips at our house or a long time...not sure how that happened.  I like them and all, but they are both opened and half empty which I just find irritating!  So I came up with this recipe that Zach and were pleasantly surprised by...SIMPLE and yummy!

Tortilla-Ranch Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken breasts
• 2 T Light Ranch Dressing
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 1/2 tsp Chipotle Powder (You can use 1 tsp chili powder if you don't have this)
• 2 Cups Tortilla Chips, crushed (I used a ziploc and rolling pin for this)
• Pepper (add salt if chips are unsalted)
• cooking spray

Directions:

1. Mix together lime juice, chipotle powder, and ranch
2. Brush mixture liberally onto chicken
3. Place crushed chips mixed with pepper in a shallow dish or plate and dip chicken into them, pressing firmly to coat chicken on each side
4. Place tortilla coated chicken on a sprayed baking sheet, then spray tops of chicken as well.  
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness 

I served these with some simple Salsa Rice...

Make rice as normal but add in a peeled whole garlic clove before cooking, after cooking remove clove and add in some salsa and cumin or any spices you like.

Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

When I went to Kroger the other day they had a bunch of different squashes on sale.  I have actually never used an Acorn Squash, so I though why not?  I think it cost me about 63 cents!  They almost look like little green pumpkins, and when roasted they have a wonderfully sweet flavor.   In fact, when Zach began eating his he asked, "is this dessert?!"  haha  Nope, but it sure is delicious.    After looking at some different recipes for these, I came up with my own little mixture of flavors.   They are VERY easy to work with, and really something you should try if you like sweet potatoes and butternut squash, you'll love these!  They are so perfectly Fall!

Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
2 servings

• 1 medium size acorn squash
• 1 Tbs Butter, melted
• 2-3 Tbs Maple Syrup (I used sugar free and it turned out great, may want to use less if using the real thing)
• 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
• Cut squash in halve horizontally like so....

• Scoop out the seeds and stringy things with a spoon (I think maybe they are called membranes)
• Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes
• Take them out and turn them over, poke insides with a fork, then mix together the rest of ingredients and brush evenly on each half
• Place back in the oven cut side up for about 25 more minutes or until very fork tender

The aromas of cinnamon, maple, and ginger roasting with the squash will have your house smelling WONDERFUL for the beginning of Fall!

Wedding Photos by Rachel Williamson

Check out our wedding pictures!  Rachel Williamson has featured our pictures on her blog, and included some sweet notes about her take on the day.  She was awesome, and I highly recommend her to anyone looking for an affordable, talented, and professional photographer!

http://blog.rachelwilliamsonphotography.com/

Lasagna-Style Burgers

I typically always keep lean ground beef, freeze it, and thaw for burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, pizza topping, meat sauces, etc.  It's inexpensive, hearty, and lean!  What's not to love?  However, the other night I was in sort of a food rut.   I didn't want to make a trip to the grocery, because I knew I had enough ingredients at home to make something.  Burgers kept coming to mind, but I was a little low on traditional topping ingredients.  As I was looking in my fridge I noticed I had ricotta cheese, left over marinara, and some basil.  So my wheels got to turning, and I remembered seeing Rachel Ray make a Lasagna Burger one time.  I didn't use her recipe, but I definitely took that concept  to make my own creation.  They turned out awesome, very EASY to do, and with all the lasagna flavors we love incorporated into a yummy burger!

Lasagna Burger

This Ricotta mixture is light, flavorful and SIMPLE!!

For the Ricotta Cheese Sauce:

1 C Part skim Ricotta
1/4 C Part Skim Mozzarella
2 Tbs Parmesan
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Marinara:

1 C Marinara sauce (jarred or homemade)
1/4 C Fresh Basil, chopped

For the Burgers:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 Tbs Italian Seasonings
1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 Hamburger buns, we used sandwich thins

Directions:

1. Mix all burger ingredients together just until combined, don't over mix the meat or it will get tough
2. Heat Grill or skillet to medium heat sprayed with nonstick spray
3. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on size of burgers.  
4. While burgers cook mix all ingredients for the cheese sauce together in a sauce pan and heat through (No need to cook this sauce you just want the cheese to slighty melt and warm throughout)
5. Heat marinara in microwave or in a saucepan until hot, then stir in basil
6. Once burgers are cooked place on bun, top with ricotta mixture, top that with marinara and more basil if desired and bun-topper.  Enjoy!  

McKinney House Salad

So after my last post I thought I'd post a recipe that is a special treat!  I do believe you should splurge here and there, but if you can find a way to create something that cuts some of that fat and still tastes great, go for it!   Recreating restaurant foods we love is a great way to satisfy your cravings, save money, and control what you are putting in your body.  For instance, I love the house salad at Carrabba's...mainly due to the Creamy Parmesan Dressing...YUM!  It is extremely thick, creamy, and I am sure loaded with all kinds of mayo/fat!  So I decided I was going to make my own house salad with my take on creamy Parmesan.  It turned out delicious, and I must say just as good as Carrabba's in our opinion!  By the way, if you have any leftover bread you can make your own croutons, cornbread is just a special treat!

Serves 4

For the Salad:

• 1 bag of Romaine Lettuce
• 1/2 C Sun-dried tomatoes in oil, sliced
• 1/2 C Carrots, sliced
• Cornbread Chipotle Croutons (recipe to follow) 

I always put the lettuce in the salad bowl, then top it with all the good stuff.  That way you can see the colors and what is actually in the salad.

For the Dressing:

• 1/4 C light mayo
• 1/4 C Fat Free or Light Sour Cream
• 2 Tbs Parmesan Cheese (the kind from a shaker or freshly grated works here)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste and lots of Pepper!
• Pinch of Cayenne, if you like it with a kick

1. Mix all ingredients together with a whisk.  Done.

For Cornbread Croutons:

Ingredients:

• Leftover Chipotle Cornbread 
• Cooking Spray
• (TIP: I used a regular cornbread mix and added one Chipotle pepper, chopped and 1 Tbs of Adobo sauce to the mix before baking)

1. Cut cornbread into crouton size chunks
2. Preheat oven to 375
3. Place cornbread pieces on baking sheet, spray with cooking spray and bake for about 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway through. 

Look how browned and crispy the croutons get, they just add a mouthwatering sweet and spicy crispiness.

  I garnished this salad with some Parmesan shavings, mostly because I just need to have as much Parmesan as possible on this salad.  Served it with some simple tomato sauce pasta for a yummy Friday night dinner!

Random Thoughts about Life and Food

I have been doing quite a bit of thinking since I have started this blog and the Paula Deen Contest happened.  Basically food has become a huge part of my life in a very positive way.  However, that was not always the case.  In fact I was in an abusive relationship with food for a long time.  I say abusive relationship, because for a good portion of my life, I found myself in turmoil over what I was eating, when I was eating, and how I was eating.  Food was my best friend and my enemy.  I have been so incredibly blessed to meet my husband who helped see how, well, completely silly I was being.  I was missing out on so much enjoyment and the simple pleasures of life, because I was too worried about "to eat or not to eat the cupcake at the party or popcorn at a movie or the candy at Halloween etc."...and if I gave in and ate it...well that just lead to even more inner turmoil.   There is more to that story, but that is all I will say for now.


Basically, I have been looking through different blogs since I started mine.  Many of them are about people striving to be thin and/or beautiful.  Since obviously thin=beauty in our society or so it seems.  Honestly these blogs make me very sad.  I know the pain and hurt of striving to be perfect on the outside, and the truth is it will never happen...for anyone.  It is a constant disappointment, therefore no way to live our lives.  We will never be satisfied, believe me I know first hand.  It will never create a lasting inner joy, just fleeting happiness.  


³⁰Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the LORD deserves to be praised. Proverbs 31:30


We will all get old and wrinkled or if not wrinkled than stretched by plastic surgery which most of the time doesn't look much better especially once you hit a certain age.  Then what will we have to show for ourselves?  Pictures of when we were young and beautiful, memories of being constantly stressed about our looks?  My mother-in-law told me recently to appreciate what you've got while you've still got it.  So I am.  I believe in eating healthy and exercising.  Heck, I even got a personal trainer before the wedding and was on a pretty strict diet.  However, I did it in a healthy way, and I didn't stress over if I messed up or if I didn't lose X amount of weight.  I wanted to feel great for the wedding and I did.  I had never done that before, and it was the perfect time.  I believe God wants us to take care of our bodies here on earth.  I also believe healthy eating and regular exercise lead to a better quality of life for our mind, body, and spirit.  However, I refuse to stress over the cupcake at the party or the pizza at the ballgame.  I want to enjoy the life God has blessed me with, the healthy body he created for me, the unconditional love he surrounds me with, and the wonderful food he has provided for us in this world.


God has blessed my life so much in that past year.  I know it is because I have taken the focus of my life off obsessing over myself, and I have LET his blessings come to me by embracing the life he gave me.