MMM...Meatloaf

I've been making meatloaf all my life. I ran across this recipe online a few years ago and decided to try it. So much better than anything I had ever made before. I'm not sure why. There is no "secret ingredient". It's just uh-mazingly good! It's the only meatloaf recipe I will ever use from here on. 

Servings: 8 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 onion, grated on large holes of a box grater (I don't use a whole onion) 
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
• ¾ cup ketchup 
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth 
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley 
• 2 large eggs 
• ⅔ cup fine breadcrumbs 
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 pounds ground beef (15% fat) Preparation: 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. 
2. Heat oil over medium in a small skillet. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. 
3. Meanwhile, bring ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and cayenne to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Transfer 2 tablespoons ketchup mixture to a blender (just a large cup is fine); add broth and parsley and blend until smooth. Set remaining ketchup mixture aside. 
4. Add broth mixture, eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper to onion and garlic; mix to combine. Add beef and mix well with your hands to combine. 
5. Transfer meatloaf mixture to oven-safe pan (Nik, we know you have a good meatloaf pan!). Spread reserved ketchup mixture over top. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 165°, approx. 90-100 minutes. 
6. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing. 

Don't forget to save some for next day meatloaf sandwiches!

Egg nests

Easy, satisfying, and nutritious!

Ingredients

• Six eggs
• 2 packages frozen spinach (around 800g total)
• Chopped garlic & onion
• Herbes du provence
• Salt & pepper
• 1 package feta cheese
• Chili flakes, if desired

Baking it up

1. Thaw the spinach in a pan until there's no longer enough water in it to pool. It should be juicy but not "wet". 
2. Push the spinach to the side and sautee the chopped garlic & onions in the middle. Once soft, mix it all up and add the herbs, chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread the spinach mixture in a baking dish. With a spoon, whittle out six evenly-spaced indentations. Carefully crack one egg into each nest.
4. Crumble the whole feta cheese over the top.
5. Bake at 180 Celsius until the eggs are how you like them. The time really varies; sometimes it's 30 minutes, sometimes 45. Just keep checking on it and giving the pan a shake to see how much they wiggle.
6. Serve with crusty bread.

Spinach pie

Can never have too much spinach and cheese, nom nom nom

Ingredients

• 800 g frozen spinach (two packages)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, chopped
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp herbes du provence
• 1 package feta cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1 pie crust

Bakin' some pie

1. Roll out the pie crust and transfer it to a pie pan, pressing down firmly. You can pre-bake it a bit if you'd like but I don't think that's absolutely necessary.
2. Thaw the spinach in a pan, letting as much water steam off as you can. It should be moist and juicy still, but also dry enough that you don't see any liquid pooling up when you press on it with a spoon. This is important: If there is water, you will have a runny pie.
3. Push the spinach to the side of the pan and sautee the chopped garlic & onion in some oil in the middle. Once soft, mix it all up with salt, pepper, and herbes de provence.
4. Layer half the spinach mixture on the bottom of the pie.
5. Crumble the feta cheese over this layer, spreading around evenly.
6. Whisk up the rest of the spinach in a bowl with four eggs, the cream, a bit more salt. Pour over top of the pie.
7. Bake in the oven at 180 Celsius for about an hour.
8. Serve with a fresh green salad.

The Roast Chicken Legs

Crispy-skinned roasted chicken legs you can eat like a barbarian!

Ingredients

• Four high-quality Hähnchenschenkel (whole chicken legs). Get them organic or from a local butcher. Believe me, you will taste the difference.
• 2 tbs coconut oil
• 2 tsp thyme (fresh is good, but out of the spice shaker is fine too)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Roast 'em

1. Make sure there are no feathers on the chicken. Pluck out any bits you see. But leave the skins on!
2. Mix the spices together in a wee bowl.
3. Pan method: Heat up the coconut oil on the higher end of medium and drop in the chicken legs. Sprinkle half the spice mix generously over the top. When one side is browned (maybe 5 min?) flip them over and sprinkle the other side. Cover them and turn the heat down so that they're just sizzling, no longer frying. Cook around 30 minutes, until the meat is pulling away from the bone (or a thermometer stuck in says 70 Celsius).
4. Oven method: Coat the chicken legs in melted coconut oil and lay on a foil-lined pan. Sprinkle spices generously. Bake at 180 Celsius for 45 minutes.

Butterflied Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Ohmygosh, butterflying is amazing! The chicken cooks SO well. Fast, even, and all skin is exposed for crisping.

We made this the other night and it's heaven; definitely joining the regular rotation:

http://www.inspiredtaste.net/21410/butterflied-rosemary-roasted-chicken-recipe/

Tip: if you're not getting your potatoes crispy-on-the-outside-tender-on-the-inside, try parboiling them first. Boil; drain; return to empty-but-hot pan and shake around to get them dried out on the outside; toss with a smidgen of olive oil. Then scatter around the prepared chicken before popping it into oven. Crispy taters, I guarantee you.

Roast Salmon and Vegetables

One of the things I like best about this recipe is how little prep there is. You don’t even have to think ahead to thaw the salmon if it’s frozen. Just put it (in sealed pkg.) in a little very warm water while everything else is cooking. It will be thawed by the time you need it. You can vary the kinds of vegetables you use…whatever roasts well in the oven. These are just the ones I like. I didn’t include amounts. Just ‘eyeball’ it depending on how many people you are feeding. If you’re not a salmon fan this recipe works equally as well with any other kind of fish. 

Roast Salmon and Vegetables 

Preheat oven to 190C/ 375F Prep/Cooking time: 60 minutes 

Ingredients: 

• New or baby potatoes (cut in half) 
• Asparagus spears (cut in half) 
• Baby tomatoes (cut in half) 
• Carrots (cut however you like) 
• Parsnips (peeled and cut) 
• A couple of tsps. of capers (drained) 
• 1-2 lemons sliced into wedges Salmon filets 

Directions: 

1. Grease 9x11 glass baking dish with olive oil. Add potatoes (tossed with a bit of olive oil and seasoned to taste) and roast for 20 minutes. 
2. While potatoes are roasting, peel and chop veggies. Toss together (including lemon wedges) in a large bowl. 
3. Add veggies to baking dish and mix in with potatoes. Cook for another 20 minutes. 
4. Lay salmon filets on top of potatoes/veggies. Season to taste (I sprinkle with a mixed fish seasoning) and cook for a final 20 minutes.

Fish casserole

We had only some canned mackerel and noodles, so put together a pretty tasty dinner!

Have on hand:

  Boiled egg noodles
  Prepared veggies of choice: steamed broccoli, or, e.g., a bag of frozen veg (peas, green beans, carrots)
  Sauteed or canned mushrooms (drained)
  Cans of fish: mackerel, tuna. Probably sardines, salmon, etc. would also work.

Then for Sauce:

  Yellow onion
  Herbs (ideas: basil, oregano, parsley. Summer savory. Or tarragon, dill. Whatever you like.)
  Butter
  White wine
  Flour

  Veggie broth

  Milk

Then for Topping:

  Bread crumbs

  Parmesan (or Gruyere, or other dry, salty, tasty cheese)

  Olive oil or melted butter

Start oven on "bake" at 200C.

Prepare a cup or so of veggie broth and add some splashes of white wine.

Make the sauce: saute onion and herbs in generous butter. When onion is soft, start whisking in flour until you get a thick, smooth paste. Slowly pour in veggie broth + wine combo and keep whisking until you get a smooth sauce of desired thickness (it will also thicken a little when it cools). Add splashes of milk to desired creaminess.

Now is the time to mash a bunch of the drained fish into the sauce! Mash mash mash. Or if tuna: flake flake flake. Don't be shy with the fish, I used four cans of mackerel last time, and could probably have used more. Tip: if it's packed in oil, I would completely drain, otherwise the dish is too heavy. But if it's packed in water, you could keep the juice to retain all the fish nutrients (of course, this will thin the sauce a bit so prepare the thickness accordingly).

Add veggies and mushrooms to sauce and mix. Add noodles and mix. Dump into casserole dish.

Make the topping: mix equal parts bread crumbs and cheese. Moisten with olive oil or melted butter, and stir to make sure all is moistened. Spread over casserole dish.

Bake for 20 mins or until topping is browned, crisp and bubbly.

I recommend serving with squirts of lemon juice. :)

Variation 1: This might work well with rice as well, but haven't tried it yet.

Tip: I would avoid sautee'ing the mushrooms with the onions, as I don't know if the water from the shrooms would interfere with the roux. But if someone tries it lemme know how it works out.

Incredifish

After much experimentation, I've found a consistent way to make really good salmon. If I follow these instructions, it comes out awesome.

 

The trick to making good salmon is to start with high quality fish. In Seattle, that means going to one of the relatively direct fish markets (Ballard Locks, the place in Issaquah that shares space with Fischer Meats). You can find some at places like Whole Foods, but I don't think it's quite as good, and you'll pay an even more exorbitant rate per pound. Usually I buy a whole fish and have them pack it into one-pound vacuum bags (which they do for free if you're getting the whole fish), which I then freeze.

The species is key - you want king salmon, a.k.a. chinook salmon. It's by far the tastiest, richest, tenderest, and probably highest in omega-3s (and spendiest). And did I mention tastiest?

Second very important point: meat thermometer. You want to measure temperature, not time. The perfect temperature is about 135-137. Ideally you want a piece of fish that's the same thickness across its size so that it cooks evenly, but unevenness can be worked around - pull out the pan when the temperature in the thinner part is right, cut that part off, and then put the rest back in. Use multiple meat thermometers if you have them, or if you have one, start it off in a thin section, and then move it to the thicker section after the first round.

Now, an actual recipe! As listed, this is spice-rack-intensive and probably really annoying if you don't have a big alphabetized array of 40+ spices to choose from. The most important ones are listed first within each amount group. Dill, garlic, onion, and ancho in particular make a good mix. Turmeric is an effective anti-inflammatory (I feel noticeably better after eating it), so I look for things to add it to.

• Olive oil
• 2 lbs fish (feeds 4)
• 4T butter
• 2t - 1T each:
• dill
• garlic powder
• onion powder or flakes
• parsley
• chervil
• tarragon
• 1/2 t - 1t each:
  • salt (optional, to taste)
  • ancho chili pepper
  • cayenne
  • turmeric
  • marjoram
  • kelp
• pinches:
  • cardamom
  • nutmeg
• 2 oz lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Spread olive oil in an oven pan (nonstick or Pyrex, preferably) and put your fish in it. Ideally, the pan should be just barely bigger than the fish, so that it's sitting in a bath of butter and lemon and spices coming a finger's width up its side. Take the butter, spices, and lemon juice and microwave them (small pot on a stove would work too) til the butter is melted, give them a mix, and then pour over the fish so it coats the whole surface. Stick in your meat thermometer(s) and put the pan in the oven. Keep an eye on the thermometer and pull it out at 135-137 (will take 15-25 minutes depending on thickness).

If you're lucky (I haven't figured out what determines whether this happens), the spice mix will caramelize on top and make this fantastic, complex-flavored lightly crispy crust. Even if that doesn't happen, it's still dang tasty.

Serve on wilted spinach or just by itself. I like to scoop some of the spiced oil from the pan over the fish after it's done cooking.

Savory Quiche

Quiiiiiiche! What else is simultaneously delicious, satisfying, pretty, and super healthy? Exactly: everything on this blog. :) And like everything else, quiche is also easy!

• a 9" deep dish pie crust (or just a greased deep dish pie pan, for crustless)
• whole small onion
• a spicy chili
• optional: a little ham, or bacon, or other tasty porkstuff. Or some chicken. Whatever!
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups: whole milk, or cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese, or a combination of all of them
• 1 tsp sea salt, shakes of pepper, a dash of nutmeg
• veg, veg, veg! I did a springtime mix of spinach, green beans, red bell pepper, and tomatoes, but I imagine having a "theme" would be pretty rocking, too: maybe spinach + olives + tomatoes + feta, or asparagus + cheese, or ground beef + corn + cheddar + salsa, or a seafood scramble...
• some cheese. Mozarella, parmesan, gouda, something yellow, anything that shreds and melts.

Chop and sautee the onions and chili with the meat. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and dairy product. Add the spices and beat some more; then add the sauteed mixture. Chop up the veggies. 

If using a crust: Smear some ricotta or a couple sprinkles of shredded cheese on the bottom of the crust. Add the chopped vegetables, then pour the liquid layer over of them. Top with shredded cheese. 

If making crustless: Then don't worry about separating the layers, just add the veg to the liquid mixture, mix well, and pour it all in your pie dish. 

Top with shredded cheese. Bake on 365 F (185 C) for about an hour or until the middle is firm. If you want to get fancy, you can first cover the pie with foil to keep the cheese (and possibly crust) from browning too darkly, then remove it for the last 15 minutes for a light golden color. Let it sit for ten minutes or so after removing from the oven. 

Serve with a salad and garlic herb toast.

Mom's Lasagna

• 10 lasagna noodles 
• 2 lbs ground turkey or beef 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 16-oz can Italian Style diced tomatoes 
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce 
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste 
• 1 tsp each basil & oregano 
• 2 ½ cups small curd cottage cheese 
• 1 lb grated mozzarella cheese 
• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 clove of garlic, minced 
• ½ cup chopped onion 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 tbsp dried parley flakes 
• 1 tsp sea salt 

Cook meat, onion and garlic till browned, then drain. Stir in un-drained tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt. It doesn't hurt to toss in a bit of Italian Seasoning, too. Simmer for 20 min (or more!). It can be thinned by adding more tomato sauce OR thickened by adding more tomato paste. 

Cook noodles till tender in salted water with cooking oil. Drain and rinse noodles. 

Beat eggs, then add cottage cheese, ½ cup of the Parmesan, parsley and salt (reserving the other 1/4 c of the Parmesan). 

Layer 1/3 of the noodles in a 13x9x2 baking pan. Spread with 1/3 of the filling. Add ¼ of the mozzarella and 1/3 of the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Finally, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c Parmesan on top of the final layer of meat sauce. Add the remaining mozzarella. 

Bake in the oven at 375 F degrees for 45 min. Let stand for 10 minutes. 

• If the sauce is too thick, add more tomato sauce. 

• When laying noodles, lay three lengthwise, then 3 crosswise. Cut off excess and use the three pieces to make a fourth crosswise. The third layer is again three lengthwise (9 noodles total).

Butternut Spinach Bake

• 1 small butternut, or other orange winter squash 
• Heaps and heaps of frozen spinach 
• Onions 
• 1/2 c heavy cream (or ricotta, for less fat) 
• 4 eggs cinnamon + nutmeg + black pepper + dash salt 

Cut squash into halves or quarters, and steam until soft enough to scoop out seeds and peel. 

Saute spinach with onions until onions transparent and spinach thawed. 

Scramble eggs and mix with heavy cream. 

Mash up squash in a bowl with spices. 

Then stir in cream, eggs, and spinach. 

Butter a baking dish. Pour in the mixture and top with cheese! Bake at 350F (uh, something celcius?) for 20 mins or until firm and edges are browning (and cheese is crisping).