Not Yo Mamma's Meatloaf Muffins

For some people, the word meatloaf conjures up unappetizing memories. I must say I ate my fair share of nasty meatloaf as a kid. Despite the name of the post, my mom made a pretty good meatloaf, but somehow I was forced to eat greasier versions at other houses with unidentified crunchy chunks.

Now that I have you reliving all of those terrible meatloaf experiences, I wanna introduce this recipe. My mom found this recipe in Cooking Light magazine and I fell in love. It's delicious! The perfect amount of moisture without grease. A delicious flavor from sauteed onions and garlic. And best of all, they're all ready in individual portions! So whether you've had an aversion to meatloaf in the past or you love meatloaf, you've got to try this recipe. 

The recipe calls for lean ground beef. However, since I'm humbly inching towards my "bikini by summer" goal, I decided to try the recipe with ground turkey instead. I've gotta say...it wasn't bad. But if I'm being honest, I prefer the beef. Turkey is just so much leaner (hence it being better in the attack against my love handles), which means that it's not as juicy as the ground beef.

I made some mashed potatoes. I know, not the healthiest side on the planet. I used a pastry bag to pipe a little bit of mashed spuds on each meatloaf. Wouldn't this be great for kids? How fun for a kid to have a "cupcake" for dinner.

Diner Meatloaf Muffins

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Flavorful White Chicken Chili

This is my all time favorite chili recipe! It's rustic and hearty, warm and comforting. It's pure perfection on a chilly fall day. My friend Katie made this chili for me years ago and I fell in love instantly. It's her mother's recipe. Thanks Mrs. Lamont!

Yesterday, it was finally chilly enough here in Paradise to start a fire in our wood stove. That's when I knew that it was time for white chicken chili! We had friends coming over so I doubled the recipe. This chili recipe is not as thick as others, so you wanna make sure that you have some fresh warm bread to soak up all of the deliciousness.

White Chicken Chili

• 1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (I also add fresh minced garlic, if I have any laying around)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
• 2 Tbsp. diced jalapenos (optional, if you don't like it hot)
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth
• 2 (15 oz.) cans Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add cubed chicken, diced onion, and garlic powder to the pot and sauté until the chicken is cooked and the onions are translucent. While the chicken is cooking, rinse and drain the beans. 

Add the chilies, jalapenos (if using), broth, beans, salt, cumin. oregano, and black pepper to the pot and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 30 minutes.

After simmering, remove the pot from heat. Stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve warm with fresh bread for dipping.

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Somewhat Sneaky Sloppy Joes

I've never been a huge fan of Sloppy Joes. Mostly because the only ones I'd ever had were as a child, when the men in my family were making them out of a can. They were bland and never looked appetizing. That and they always remind me of that Lunch lady song by Adam Sandler. Suh-lop-pee Joe, slop, Slop-pee Joe. 

That was until I came across this recipe by the Foodie Bride. They taste nothing like typical Sloppy Joes. They have great flavor and they're packed with veggies. Hence the name "Sneaky" Joes. The Foodie Bride blended the veggies in the food processor to sneak them in on her husband. This would also be a great way to sneak veggies in, if you have kids. 

I made a few adjustments like adding chorizo and using sweet hot mustard. I always end up using ground beef, because I always have a ton in the freezer. Next time, I'm going to try it with ground turkey. Either way, I promise you'll love this recipe. It smells incredible and it reheats really well for lunch the next day!

Read on for the recipe...

Somewhat Sneaky Sloppy Joes

Adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 large carrot, peeled
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 zucchini, peeled
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey (use 1 1/2 lb if you like lots of meat)
• 1/2 casing of chorizo
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (not packed)
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• A couple dashes of hot sauce (I used Tapatio)
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Sweet Hot mustard
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• Salt and Pepper
• Buns (for serving)

Start by peeling the veggies and cutting them into large chunks.

Place the carrot into the food processor first (it needs a little extra time in the chopper). Pulse the carrots until they are finely chopped. Then add in the onion, garlic, zucchini and bell pepper. Pulse until the veggies are "obliterated" (in the words of the Foodie Bride), so that will blend into the meat mixture undetected. It will smell amazing, like salsa.

Cook the beef and chorizo in a large skillet. Be sure not to overcook the meat, because it will continue to cook when added to the veggies. Drain the fat from the meat, then set meat aside. 

Heat olive oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable mixture to the pan and cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid cooks off (about 10 minutes). Add the chili powder and cumin to the veggies, stir. Now mix the meat into the veggie mixture.

Add the crushed tomatoes, water, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, hot sauce and tomato paste to the pan. I even add some crushed red pepper, because we like it HOT. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes, until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on toasted buns. Delicious!

Is it just me or is it extremely difficult to make a Sloppy Joe look pretty in pictures?

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Caprese Panini

Ryan and I just bought a panini maker. 3 days later...I don't know how I ever lived without one! It takes only a couple of minutes to create an amazing sandwich.

I love love love Caprese salad, which is weird since I'm not the biggest fan of tomatoes. It's just so light and fresh. With fresh mozzarella sitting in my fridge and an out-of-control basil plant on my porch, I decided to make a Caprese panini.

All you need is:

• Bread, sturdy and thickly sliced (I used sourdough from Trader Joe's)
• Fresh mozzarella 
• Tomato
• Basil leaves
• Olive oil
• Salt 
• Fresh ground black pepper

The ooey-gooey cheese, the crispy bread and the fragrant basil make a heavenly sandwich, let me tell you! If you don't own a panini maker yet, add it to your Christmas list. It's so worth it.

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Chicken Stir-fry with Peanut Sauce

I had planned on making this dish last night, but Ryan's friend Ryann invited us over for dinner. She owns a pony ranch nearby. Normally, she's working the fair circuit this time of year, but she happened to be in town last night. The tri-tip she served was delicious! I love me some tri-tip. I also love me some baby ponies. So cute!

Back to the stir-fry, I've been making this recipe for years (since I was in college). I'm sorry I don't remember where I got the recipe from originally, but I have made a lot of adjustments to it since. I almost always double the batch when I make it, and triple the sauce. I like it saucy! This is one of the recipes that I think tastes even better reheated = great left-overs.

Chicken Stir-fry with Peanut Sauce

Marinade

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tbsp. vinegar
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 2 boneless chicken breasts

Sauce

• 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it, you can add even less)
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup hot water
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• a few dashes of hot sauce
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Veggies

• 1/2 cup onion, sliced
• 1 cup broccoli
• 1/2 cup carrot, julienne
• 1 cup button mushrooms

Start by whisking together the marinade. Slice or cube the chicken breast as you like it. Marinate the chicken for 30 min. room-temp or 1-2 hours in the fridge.

While the chicken is marinating, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside. Then chop the vegetables. You can increase the amount of vegetables if you'd like, I usually do.

Go ahead and laugh. Most people do. Last year, I asked Santa Claus for onion goggles. No matter what I did (believe me I tried all of the tricks), my eyes would water like crazy when I chopped onions. So now I use them and I gotta say...they work pretty well. Nothing is 100%, but they are much better than going bare-eyed. 

Heat some olive oil in a wok (or large pan if you don't have a wok) at med.-high heat. Drain chicken from marinade and cook for about 10 minutes or until done. Remove cooked chicken from wok and set aside, covered.

Reduce temperature to medium heat and add some more olive oil to the pan. Add the vegetables and cook until tender but still crisp. Return chicken to pan and toss with vegetables. 

Make a well in the center of the wok and pour sauce into it. You can add as much sauce as you want. As I said before, I make extra sauce and then keep some for leftovers (in case they get too dry). Toss sauce, veggies and chicken until sauce is incorporated. 

Serve over rice. If you don't have a rice cooker yet, GET ONE! They are amazing. Usually I use brown rice with this dish, but we were all out. 

And TA-DA...

Although it is fun to make it look nice and pretty, this is what it actually looks like when I eat it :) Either way it's delicious!

I put the extra sauce in this squeeze bottle I had laying around. It was left from a school fundraiser, when my students made crepes. This will make it easy to add extra sauce to leftovers or to add some cold peanut dressing to a salad, YUM!

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