Thursday, December 6, 2012

Meatloaf







Ingredients
 

For the loaf:
  • 1 chopped yellow onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 3 chopped green onions
  • 1 chopped carrot
  • 1 cup of bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1.5 lbs of medium ground beef
  • Fresh or dried thyme, to taste
  • Salt and pepper
     
For the glaze:
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs Dijon mustard
  • 1/3 cup of ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon of Sriracha
     
Served with cubed turnip and boiled asparagus

Method

  1. Loosely chop the vegetables
  2. Mix the egg, bread crumbs and milk to the vegetables
  3. Mix in the ground beaf, and season with thyme, salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Mould into a loaf, or place in loaf pan
  5. Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Sriracha to make glaze
  6. Coat the loaf as desired with the glaze, and bake at 350F for at least 1 hr




Estimated cooking time: 1.5 hrs (30 min prep, 1 hr bake)

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Easy (Lactose-Free!) Creamy Seafood Linguini

Ingredients

  • Red and Yellow Bell Peppers, 1 each
  • Zucchini 1x
  • Yellow Onion x2
  • Green onions x1 bushel 
  • Brocoli florets, 1/2 cup
  • Portobello mushrooms x3-4
  • Garlic, 2-3 cloves
  • Salmon filet, 1 steak
  • +/- Shrimp
  • Lactose free milk
  • Basil, fresh (2/3rd package or to taste) - loosely chopped
  • Thyme, fresh (to taste)
  • Pesto mix in oil
  • +/- broth
Served on linguini pasta


Method

  1. Cut the bell peppers into narrow strips
  2. Cut the zucchini into thin slices, then cut in half (or to taste). Combine with the bell peppers.
  3. Dice the yellow onions and portobello mushrooms into large squares. 
  4. Slice the green onions and combine with the brocoli florets. 
  5. Crush and chop the garlic, combine with the yellow onion/mushroom mix.
     
  6. Brown/Pan fry the onion/portobello/garlic mix in olive oil. Set Aside.
  7. Heat the bell pepper/zucchini mix in a frying pan (Med/High) in olive oil until vegetables are soft. Add broth and season with salt/pepper to taste. Mix in the green onions and brocoli. Once vegetables are soft, turn down heat (Med/Low).
  8. Cook salmon steak on Med/High in covered frying pan until cooked through. Separate into flakes and set aside.
     
  9. Mix all vegetables and salmon into a large pot. Add milk and broth to cover mixture, or as desired.  Add 3 tablespoons of pesto mix. Add the fresh herbs. 
  10. Set burner to Med/High, and reduce to Med/Low after the sauce boils. Mix often.
  11. Set burner to Low once desired consistency is reached.

Note: if adding shrimp, mix into sauce at step (11) if pre-cooked. When using raw shrimp, briefly pan fry until pink in garlic butter at step (8) and add to sauce at step (11). 

Addendum: can also add mussels, scallops, etc, fresh or frozen, as well as seasonal vegetables as desired. 

Estimated cooking time: 1 hr