Meatloaf Stuffed French Bread

Meatloaf Stuffed French Bread

You either like meatloaf or you don’t. Yes, despite good recipes you may still dislike meatloaf. The texture and the ingredients aren’t going to change much from recipe to recipe.

I took on a challenge when my brother confessed he didn’t like meatloaf. I bet I can make a meatloaf you’ll like. First, let me do some changes to our mother’s recipe … Too many onions I’ll bet, and the bell pepper chopped too coarse … The hamburger too fatty … No lean hamburger in those days. If your steer was fat so was your hamburger.

Meatloaf was a favorite of mine as a child especially with the mashed potatoes. Since my brother experienced the same and still didn’t like meatloaf…. Let’s see if he likes this!

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All about the extras

For Fun
Love everything here!

Trying out these baking cups. What a great idea! No mess and a nice presentation in no time. Baked my favorite Italian Cream Cake … Then simply dipped each top into melted white chocolate, added a few nuts and coconut … And here it is. Make no mistake there is a definite difference between white melting chips and white chocolate. The word, hydrogenized, we’ve come to recognize, is a big time ingredient in those chips.


Portuguese Pizza Or Folár De Carne

Portuguese Meat Bread Meets Italian Pizza = Amazing!

Linguica Prosciutto Pizza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about the crust and olive oil!

Add meats and it’s closest to meat bread. But this is one of those recipes that easily becomes vegetarian even vegan. Make this extra special by using Portuguese olive oil. There’s a definite taste difference even a non-discriminating palate can detect. That’s me! Haven’t met a quality olive oil I didn’t like. Olive oil replaces the typical pizza sauce.

This bread dough recipe is great for pizza crust. Make your crust thick, 12-13 inch pizza, or thin and crispy, 14-15 inch pizza. Perfect either way.

Enjoy!

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Orzo Stuffed Bell Peppers

Cozy kid friendly meal for the Fall!

With the greater availability of milder tasting bell peppers Stuffed Bell Peppers have found a place among the most popular home cooked meals. There are many recipe variations throughout the world. This recipe stays very close to the American cuisine with a few changes; including, orzo replacing the typical white rice and milder red and yellow bell peppers used along with the traditional stronger less sweet tasting green.

Amazing colors of Fall.

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Gingerbread Muffins & Rum Sauce

Excellent With No Frills Too!

Gingerbread Muffins

For a short time I lived in a Los Angeles apartment community. Every evening at dinner time I’d take little Stella for a walk. We both needed the exercise after being cooped up all day. Our favorite walk was the fifth level courtyard where floors of apartments faced with open windows. Then the real pleasure … the scent of spices, spices from all over the world, wafting through the air all at the same time.

Even with the pungent aroma of many dishes I make I can’t imagine having a kitchen separate from the rest of my house. These scents just play a pleasurable part in my life. Yes, more often than not my kitchen smells of garlic.

As seasons change so does my menu. Today I’ve made gingerbread muffins and I just love the way my house smells. I’ve added a rum sauce and a little ice cream to make it a dessert … But it could manage all alone.

Enjoy this recipe that mixes up in minutes by hand … And fill your house with the most amazing smells of Fall.

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Stromboli the Easy Way

Stromboli

Stromboli is a rolled up pizza! With a bread crust, a little sauce and veggies or meats or both. Prep time is about 20-30 minutes then into the oven for about the same. Nope! No jar sauce, nor pizza dough from the refrigerated section. I’m sure there’s some good sauces out there these days but for me as close to scratch as possible ensures a better taste and ingredients I recognize. Yep! I’ve taken some short cuts but I think you’ll approve.

Vegetarians can easily make this their own. Any pizza topping can go into this … So, the choices are in your hands. I’ve included a simple red sauce but give it a cream sauce or just olive oil. This is amazing.

In the next weeks I’ll be posting Portuguese Pizza. That’s right! And I’ll be making the pizza dough from scratch. If you’re into a scratch pizza dough and can’t wait for mine Mario Batali’s is super amazing … one variation even cooked on a griddle.

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Soup’s On!

Navy Bean and Ham, that is!

SoupsThe beans are soaking and later today I’ll be putting together a simple but hearty soup of Navy Beans and Ham. Here are some soups to tide you over until then:

TOP: Portuguese Green Soup, Chunky Root Soup, Basque Vegetable Soup

MIDDLE: Portuguese Bean Soup, Chicken Soup

BOTTOM: Clam Chowder, Vegetarian Black-eyed Pea Soup, Sausage and Navy Bean Soup


Viennese Cookies With Three Looks

Viennese Cookies

These can be eaten plain or as I have here … Dipped in chocolate, dusted with powdered sugar and dipped in chocolate, or sandwiched with your favorite jam and dipped in chocolate. Just anyway you try them they’re buttery delicious.

And as if these choices are not enough … I have two other posted recipes very similar to this one. I just like these ingredients in a buttery cookie dessert.

Almond Wedding Cake Cookies

Mexican Wedding Cakes

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Portuguese Salt Cod, Eggs, Potatoes, Onions

Portuguese Salt Cod

What does lox have to do with this recipe? My recipe for lox and eggs with a few changes has become this! By the way, if you haven’t tried your hand at my easy bagels recipe … It’s amazing!

As with lox and eggs holding the salt until the cooking is done is important. My first try at lox and eggs was inedible.

This recipe is amazing. Give it try.

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Country Beans and Cornbread

My children never understood just how lean those years were. A single mom making ends meet … And the most economical meal I made (and actually loved) was this one.

These recipes have few ingredients and are simple with little preparation time. I still love this meal not only because of the memories it evokes … It just tastes good!

When I say country I’m speaking about the hills of Arkansas where Granny and Grampa had a farm with just the right amount of livestock to keep the plates full. Granny wasn’t particularly a good cook but she could can and pickle like no one else.

These recipes were hers with this exception … Her cornbread had only five ingredients; cornmeal, buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and salt. The cornbread I taste in restaurants today is more of a cake texture and very sweet. With this in mind I put together a recipe I felt would give the texture of my granny’s without being too gritty and added just a bit of sugar. Bacon was a big thing in those hills … So, there is bacon in all of this. Yikes! But don’t fear … I’ve precooked the bacon and only 2 teaspoons of bacon grease are used in the beans.

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