thank you Food Network, without you I would starve. xoxo
Posted: August 15, 2011 Filed under: meat recipes | Tags: food, Food Network, Meat, Meat Loaf, Meatloaf, menu, Paula Deen 1 Comment »
old fashion meat-loaf and roasted garlic mashed potatoes
As promised from last Friday, here’s last week’s I’m-obsessed-with-Food-Network dinner! Meatloaf courtesy of butter queen Paula Deen, and the garlic mashed potatoes are from Food Network’s cutest couple The Neely’s. This was my second time cooking this meal, and it didn’t disappoint this time around either! When you love it the first time, why not make it and eat it over and over again? There are two things in my cooking repertoire that I know how to cook well and have no problems eating all the time. Those two things that I get raves about are my brookies and my baked ziti. Hahah, cookies and pasta…carbs, carbs, carbs, oh how you kill me! :)
Okay, okay, back to the meatloaf! Paula Deen’s meatloaf is extremely simple and fantastic. This is the type of recipe that you can build and add more ingredients too, it’s just the best basic meatloaf recipe there is! The first time I made it, I used bell peppers but this time around I opted for baby sweet peppers which gives the meatloaf some oomph, color, and sparkle. Hahah, just kidding! My favorite part of the meatloaf is the topping, it’s delicious!! I keep telling myself “the next time I make this I want extra topping sauce”, but I always forget! But for sure, more sauce next time! I can’t get enough of the sauce and I love covering my meatloaf in it. Do you guys love the meatloaf sauce as much as I do?
Okay, enough of my babbles! Check out below on how to make your very own Paula Deen approved meatloaf and stay tune for part two featuring garlic roasted mashed potatoes!
Here’s what you’ll need to make Paula Deen’s Old-Fashion Meatloaf…
ground beef, can of diced tomatoes, bell peppers, quick-rolling oats, half an onion, egg, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, salt/pepper
Before mixing all your meatloaf ingredients together, start chopping…
half an onion, he chops onions for me :)
I opted for baby sweet peppers
heartbroken.
Posted: August 15, 2011 Filed under: babble, thank you babble 3 Comments »
photo suninhereyes.tumblr.com
Happy start to a brand new week! Hope you all had a great weekend!
I would like to take a moment, and just say that the foodie blogging community is just unbelievable. I can’t say it enough! I am at awe at how supportive strangers are towards one another. It’s amazing and truly inspirational.
If you follow CNN’s Eatocracy or the foodie blogging community, then you’ve probably heard about Jennifer Perillo’s tragic loss (if not, read here). Jennifer’s husband, Mikey, collapsed to the floor and unexpectedly died of a heart attack. Her loss happened all too soon, and she never got the chance to say goodbye.
When I first read this, I was deeply sadden like everyone else. It’s always hard losing someone, but to lose to someone unexpectedly…that’s the most difficult. I guess I can say that I’ve been fortunate enough to only lose one person in my twenty-something years of living. A year and a half ago, I loss someone. I never got to say goodbye. I cried for months… There isn’t a day that I don’t think about her. She meant the world to me. She was just two years shy of 100. I like to think that her life came full circle when she died. Because of her, there are now three generations of us. I’m not married, but I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be to lose your spouse, the love of your life, the other half of your world…
To help with the healing process, Jennifer has asked for those that want to help to make peanut butter pie, his favorite, to celebrate his life and to share with the people we love. I plan on making this soon.
I’ve never met Jennifer or Mikey, but my heart aches for her loss… In honor of Mikey, I think it’s a great healing mechanism to share our stories about the people that we loved and lost too soon. Feel free to share.
To the one I lost, I love you.
Creamy Peanut Butter Pie (from In Jennie’s Kitchen)
- 8 ounces chocolate cookies
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 4 ounces finely chopped chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup creamy-style peanut butter
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well. Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Pour over bottom of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
- Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.
- Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream). Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan. Drizzle the melted chocolate on top, if using, and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.
