Colorful Meatloaf

2¼# ground butcher's blend

(½ beef - ½ pork)

½ sweet orange pepper

½ sweet yellow pepper

2 stalks celery

1 med. onion

3 lg. eggs
1c rolled oats

10-15 oz. crushed tomatoes

1T Rosemary Seasoning 

(or your favorite salt and pepper based seasoning)

This is 'What's For Dinner' tonight

In a large bowl or pot, break up the meat then add the chopped vegetables and everything else in this group.  Using your hands or a big heavy wooden spoon, mix all this together for several minutes.  Form into however many loaves you want, bake at 350⁰ for 40-60 minutes.  I have a recipe in mind for this, for later, so I'm freezing 2 of the 3 loaves I made today.  These freeze well for another time or to give to someone who needs some home cooking. . .Lin

Pork and Vegetable Curry

20oz. boneless pork

⅓ med. purple onion - chopped

fresh ground garlic sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

2T coconut oil

⅓c dry white wine

3 med. carrots

3 green onions

4 sm.-med. red potatoes

⅔ med. purple onion

½ celery heart

1c water

1c golden raisins

2T tomato paste

1-2T curry paste - or -

1-2T curry powder

1-2c coconut cream

Put the first group of ingredients in a heavy-bottomed 3 quart pot.  Heat it all, only until the coconut oil melts.  Stir to coat everything then cover it and remove from the heat.  Let that stand for an hour or two.  Meanwhile, chop the vegetables then add that group of ingredients and bring to a simmer in the 3 quart pot with the meat.  Cover and leave on medium heat for an hour or until the vegetables are the way you like them.  Stir in the coconut cream and serve, as is or over rice.

Plan for leftovers!  This tastes even better after chilling and reheating. . .Lin

Meatloaf Potatoes and Carrots

BISON, TURKEY and PORK MEATLOAF

1# lean ground bison (lamb or beef)
1# ground turkey (or chicken)

1# pork sausage

2 lg. or jumbo eggs

1c quick cooking rolled oats

1 lg. onion - chopped

6oz. sun-dried tomato pesto*

6oz half & half* - may not need

1t fresh ground garlic sea salt

1t fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients *(or 8oz. tomato sauce and 8oz. half & half - the half & half last, after mixing, only if needed) in a large bowl, using a heavy wooden spoon or very clean hands 😊 Form into 2 loafs and bake at 350° for one hour.  Only slice what you need while the meatloaf is hot.  Once chilled, it cuts nicely into thin slices for meatloaf sandwiches.  You can also cut it a little thicker and into cubes and serve with spaghetti and red sauce, for Spaghetti and Meat Cubes. 😀 . . . Lin

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ROSEMARY BUTTERED POTATOES and CARROTS

2# baby assorted fingerling potatoes
2 lg. carrots - scrubbed & sliced
1/4c butter - and/or - Italian Herb Olive Oil
2 sm.-med. sweet potatoes - scrubbed & sliced
1/2 lg. purple onion - rough chopped
1-2t Rosemary Seasoning *

Scrub the potatoes well, leave them whole and combine them with the carrots in a 2-4 qt. heavy bottomed pot.  Add a little water, partially cover and simmer over low-medium heat on the stove, for about 10 minutes to steam and evaporate about half the water.  Add the remaining ingredients, partially cover once again, and continue to heat another 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are still a little crisp tender.  Serve with some of the seasoned butter cooking 'sauce' spooned over the vegetables. . .Lin


A POSTSCRIPT - - LEFTOVERS

Have I mentioned how WONDERFUL meatloaf is - in regard to 'leftovers' of ANY sort?  Dinner, sandwich, spaghetti, covered in cooked vegetables and mashed potatoes - then broiled to brown the potatoes....sort of a Meatloaf Baked Alaska....  hash when combined with chopped potatoes and vegetables and browned. . .or whatever else you can dream up.  Today I did some town errands.  I cut that short, saving some for another day since it turned rainy and damp.

I came home, put the sweaters on the dogs 😊 then decided to have an early dinner and maybe just a simple salad later.  I quick sautéed 4oz. white mushrooms with ½ a large purple onion, both slice-chopped, in 2T butter.  Then I cubed two slices of meatloaf.  Added those just before the mushrooms and onions were done cooking.  At this point a splash of steak sauce or ketchup and a little water, or just Vodka (!!) This is a great way to get all flavor of the pan brownings into the food Mmmmm. . .It was ready in minutes.  Happy Leftovers 😀

Mmmmeatloaf! With Pork and Turkey and Lamb - Oh My!!

2 large eggs

2 grated carrots

1-1/2c rolled oats

1 med. chopped onion

1 14.5oz. diced fire-roasted tomatoes

1# each: ground pork, turkey & lamb

½t± ground red and black pepper

1-2t± fresh ground garlic sea salt

1t± dried-crushed rosemary

Mix everything together in a large bowl with your hands or a wooden spoon.  Let stand 10-15 minutes to blend all the flavors while preheating the oven to 350°.  Form into 2-3 loaves, which freeze nicely either at this point, or after baking.  Bake about 1 hour.  It's always nice to have a healthy-comfort-food meatloaf in the freezer to give to a friend when they're sick, or on a busy day when you don't feel like messing with food prep.

Meatloaf is great with mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables, baked potatoes and fresh green beans - or - as shown here, with chopped kale and assorted baby potatoes, steamed together, covered, in a little water until it evaporates.  Finish with fresh ground sea salt & garlic, fresh ground pepper and a little sour cream, on the stove. . .Be Creative - Happy Cooking! . . .Lin

Pork and Cabbage Soup

1# very lean 'leftover' pork

1 med. onion - chopped

2T butter or extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lg. heavy head of green cabbage

2-3 lg. carrots

1 28oz. can diced tomatoes

28oz. ± water

your favorite soup seasonings

Cut the pre-cooked pork into cubes and brown with butter or olive oil, and a little of the onion in a 3qt. pot.  Brown and deglaze with a little water, white wine or beer, several times until the meat and pan are nicely browned.  Add cabbage you've cut into cubes, sliced-chopped carrots, tomatoes, water and seasonings.  Simmer, covered, on medium heat for an hour or so.  Serve when vegetables are done the way you like them.  Would go nicely with some crusty garlic bread. . .Lin

Surprising Sauerkraut Pork

3# boneless pork

2T butter, coconut oil, bacon fat

16oz sauerkraut 

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

This is a recipe my daughter's fiance' started using several years ago, it's not one of my originals, but I wanted to post it here since it's SO good!

After trimming away all visible fat, brown the meat on high to quick sear it.  Turn heat down and continue to brown well.  Add sauerkraut and soup - and a little water if this mixture looks a little too dry.  Simmer on low, covered for several hours, checking so it doesn't stick and turning it regularly to keep meat coated and moist.  Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables. 

Never Fail Chicken (Beef, Elk, Pork, Venison) Stew

1 to 1-1/2# excellent quality meat - cut in small cubes

extra virgin olive oil and butter

1 lg. onion - part minced and part chopped

3 stalks celery - chopped

3-4 carrots - cut into chunks

2 potatoes - cut in cubes

4-6c water

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 pkg. dry onion soup

Saute' the meat and minced onion in olive oil and butter.  When brown, add a little water, chicken or beef stock, or wine. Saute' and brown again, repeating several times.  Add chopped vegetables, stir and saute' another 15 minutes or so until the onions are translucent.  Add the remaining 3 ingredients, stir well then cover and simmer an hour or so.  Serve in big bowls with crusty bread. . .Lin

Stuffed Zucchini

1 lg. zucchini

1/3# beef-pork mix

1 med. onion - chopped

2 stalks celery - chopped

1-2T extra virgin olive oil

1/2c water

1-2T chicken Better Than Bullion

1/2 sm. box of stuffing mix

1 egg

Cut the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Brown the meat, onion, celery in olive oil.  Add water, BTB, stuffing mix and egg.  Simmer a couple minutes after stirring it all together.  Fill the zucchini and bake, covered at 350° for a half hour.  Uncover and continue to bake another half hour - until zucchini is tender.  Serve with a tossed salad. . .Lin

Quick Corn Chili

½# pork loin

1 can corn

1 med. onion – chopped

1 can chili tomatoes

1 can red or black beans

Cut the pork in cubes and brown in a little butter with the corn and half the onion. Cook and stir this until the pork and corn have picked up a little bit of a char. Add remaining onion, tomatoes and drained beans. Simmer about a half hour. Top with a little sour cream and serve with some crusty bread. . .Lin

Pepper-Pork Curry

1¼# very lean pork

~ cut in cubes or strips

1 lg. onion – chopped

2T butter

2 med. sweet potatoes – peeled and cubed

2 carrots – cut in chunks

3 stalks celery – sliced

6 multi-colored mini peppers

~ core, seed and cut in rings

Saute' the pork and a little of the chopped onion until pork begins to brown. Add remaining vegetables and stir-saute' a few minutes before adding curry sauce. Simmer on low heat about an hour. Serve as is or over rice. . .Lin

Chorizo Pepper-Pork

1# boneless center cut pork chops

6-7 colorful sweet mini-peppers

1 lg. garlic clove or shallot

1 med. onion

2 stalks celery

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes

*6-12oz. Mexican chorizo 'sausage'

Cut the fat off the pork and cut the meat into cubes. Saute' it in a little butter – stir fry until browning – about 15 minutes. (*Chorizo isn't always a solid. Often times it's soft, and more sauce-like, as is the case with this chorizo. If you can find the solid chorizo sausage, cut it in pieces and saute' it with the pork. Otherwise, hold the more liquid form chorizo, to add at the end of the cooking process.)

Add all the vegetables, chopped or sliced, to the pork pot. Continue to saute' about 15 minutes, covered, until translucent. Next stir in the tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes. At the end, add the sauce-like chorizo and continue to simmer another 20 minutes adding a little water if needed. Serve over rice with a side of refried beans. Or as I did, add a can (or two) of rinsed-drained beans for a Chorizo Pork Chili to be served with crusty bread or crackers. . .Lin

Beany Pork Roast

2# boneless pork roast

1c water

1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes

fresh ground pepper

1 med. onion, chopped

1 lg. finely chopped clove of elephant garlic

2 chopped carrots

1 15oz can of rinsed and drained black beans,

~ kidney beans or garbanzos

1 28oz can of baked beans

Allow 4-5 hours for this cooking process from start to finish. If you need to be away from the kitchen for the afternoon, it can all be assembled and started on medium heat then left, for 5 hours. If you're going to be home and able to fuss with this a little, follow the timed steps. Cut all fat off the outer surface of the roast. Pour water and juice from tomatoes into bottom of a crockpot. Add roast and cover with tomato chunks. Cover and start on high, until everything bubbles, for about an hour and a half. Add chopped onion, garlic and carrots. Continue to cook on medium another couple hours. Cover roast and vegetables with baked beans and black beans, stir a little then cook another hour on medium heat. Let the roast rest, covered on a platter for about 5 minutes then slice and serve with a mix of the beans and vegetables. . .Lin

Savory Pork Stew

1¾# lean pork – cubed

2T extra virgin olive oil

¼c± Balsamic vinegar

½ finely chopped onion

Saute' the pork and onions in the olive oil and about half of the vinegar. Cook and stir 10 minutes or so until the liquid evaporates and the meat is nicely browned. Then add the following ingredients:

1 can stewed tomatoes

3 ribs of celery, sliced

3 carrots slice-chopped

1½ rough chopped onions

1 lg clove of elephant garlic

~ or 3-5 regular cloves, sliced

½-2T Rosemary Seasonings

~ or salt, pepper, seasoning salt, etc.

¼c± Balsamic vinegar

Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Check the meat. If it's tough, simmer an additional 30-45 minutes. When tender, add 3 scrubbed, rough cubed potatoes. Simmer, covered another 30 minutes. Thicken liquid if you want, with a couple tablespoons of flour dissolved in ½c cold water, or serve in a bowl as is. At this time you can also add 1-2c half & half or whole milk if you'd rather have a tomato-cream gravy. Photos shown both ways – before and after adding the milk. Check seasonings adding whatever is lacking. Serve with biscuits or crusty bread. . .Lin

Pork Curry

1 med. onion

3 stalks celery

3 sweet potatoes – peeled

2T organic, virgin coconut oil

Rough chop the vegetables into a 4-quart pot. Saute' them for 8-10 minutes in the coconut oil. (Oil is somewhat of a misnomer since it's solid at room temperature, but has a low melting temperature, quickly turning to oil when heated.) Then add:

1 14oz. jar or can red or yellow medium heat curry

1 can or jar of water

2-4T dry or fresh cilantro

12 pitted prunes – cut in quarters

The prunes provide a sweet-fruity element to the curry. Raisins, dried cherries or dried apricots can also be used.

Simmer the vegetables and fruit in the curry sauce, slowly, for about an hour or until the celery is soft. Add meat, heat through and serve as is in bowls or over a scoop of white rice. I used 6oz. leftover, cooked pork but lamb, beef or chicken would also work well in this curry. . .Lin

Country Ribs

I bought these beautiful pork ribs at a meat market in a nearby town. There are a lot of ways they could be cooked but I'm opting for slow and steamy today. This will ensure tender, fall-of-the-bone meat and boil out the fat which is a good thing. If you're having a busy day, these can be cooked in the crockpot on high to boil, then low for 6-8 hours.

country pork ribs

fresh ground pepper

Pepper the ribs in a large pan. Add water up to the top surface of the ribs. Heat to boiling then reduce to a simmer. Cover and check every half hour or so, turning and adding more water if needed. Cook 90 minutes this way, then add big chunks of vegetables on top of or around the meat. Continue to simmer another 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are done as you like them. Serve with A-1 or barbecue sauce. . .Lin

Comfort Food - A Retro Dinner

These are two things my mom made a lot when I was growing up. I made the meat loaf from memory and it turned out almost identical to hers. She always used 'meatloaf mix' which I believe was ½ ground beef and ¼ veal, ¼ pork. This is hard to find at the butcher store since meatloaf seems to be a vanishing dinner. The creamed cabbage is a bit more rustic and flavorful than hers was. I love being able to bring a comfort food memory to life :-)

Creamed Cabbage

½ head of green cabbage cross-cut and cubed

fresh ground pepper

2T butter

2-3T sour cream

smoked sea salt

Steam-saute' the well peppered cabbage until almost cooked, about 10 minutes, adding water when needed so a little remains at the end. Add butter, stir in and continue to cook until liquid is absorbed. Stir in sour cream and season with the smoked sea salt. . .Lin

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Mom's Meat Loaf

2# ground chuck

½# pork sausage

fresh ground pepper

1t ground allspice

1T salt

1 'sleeve' of crushed soda crackers

2 eggs

1c± milk

1 lg chopped onion

4 strips of uncooked bacon

catsup or chili sauce

Mix the first ingredients together, with your hands, in a large mixing bowl. Form into 2 loaves in a 9x13” glass pan. Add a little water to the pan. Make an indentation, lengthwise, down each loaf and fill that with catsup or chili sauce. Take a long strip of bacon and twist it then place it on top of the meatloaf, one on either side of the catsup well. Bake at 350° for an hour or a little more until done. Let stand on the counter 5 minutes before slicing. Refrigerate uncut leftovers. Sliced thin, it makes wonderful sandwiches! . . . Lin

Pork and Shrimp Black Bean Gumbo

3 ears of fresh corn

1/3# ground pork

1 chopped onion

Cook the corn in boiling water or leave fresh. Cut kernels off the cob and set aside. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for about a minute then put them in a bowl of ice water. Saute' the pork and onion in a little butter until snappy and browning.

Add the following chopped ingredients:

3 Vidalia onions

sweet mini peppers

1 medium zucchini - or

12oz. fresh (sliced) or frozen okra

4-6 kale leaves w/ stem removed

4-6 peeled tomatoes

1# frozen shrimp - thawed and cleaned

1#± can black beans - drained and rinsed

Simmer and stir occasionally. Cook covered about 30 minutes. Add shrimp and black beans. Heat again and serve.  The shrimp will be tough if overcooked.  I also found this a bit bland.  If yours is too, add a couple tablespoons of powdered soup base and/or Cajun Seasonings :o) . . . Lin  

Pork Loin and Vegetables in the Crock Pot

2 ½# pork loin roast

1 onion – chopped

4 carrots – scrubbed and cut in half

4 russet potatoes – peeled

seasonings

Quick brown the meat in a little butter. Place in crock pot with the *vegetables. Add about 1c of water and seasonings. Today I used onion and garlic powder, a little seasoning salt and pepper. Cook 1 hour on high then switch to low. *Vegetables could be added now to keep from overkooking. Check it after a half hour or so to be sure everything is bubbling just a little bit. Cook an additional 4-5 hours. . .Lin

Pork and Chicken Stew — for a big group

1½# pork roast

1# boneless-skinless chicken

fresh ground pepper

1-2t Rosemary Seasoning

3 onions - finely chop one ½

rough-chop-slice the rest

4 stalks celery-sliced

1 lg. Elephant garlic clove - slice-chopped

6 carrots sliced

4-6 spring onions - bulbs and greens - sliced

1 lg. can tomatoes

~ sour cream - optional

Saute' seasoned, bite-size pieces of pork and chicken in a little butter and bacon grease with ½ finely chopped onion. When the pan browns and the meat begins to stick, stir, add a little beer, white wine or water. Let evaporate and repeat process 3-4 times until meat is nicely browned. Add remaining onions, celery, garlic and carrots. Saute' a while longer, until onions are a little translucent, to release the flavors, adding more deglazing liquid if needed. Next add spring onions, potatoes and tomatoes. Simmer with several bay leaves and fresh basil until potatoes and carrots are done the way you like them. Stir in a little sour cream at the end for a tomato-cream gravy. Infuse with LOTS of love and serve with LOTS of hugs to hungry friends who mourn or celebrate. . .Lin

Porketta Roast, Green & Purple Cabbage, with Rosemary Potatoes

I cooked this spicy pork roast on the stovetop in a little water for several hours, adding water as needed.  The spices would brown as the water evaporated and in the end created a nicely done roast with gravy that had lots of flavor.

Slice 1/2 head each of purple and green cabbage, simmering them in a small amount of water, salt and pepper.  Toward the end add 1T sugar, cover and simmer again.  Right before serving stir in 1/2c sour cream.

We had a lot of Rosemary Potatoes in Costa Rica.  They use very small russets or fingerlings and fresh rosemary.  I used larger potatoes and my powdered Rosemary Seasoning.  Scrub the potatoes, cut in quarters and simmer in a little water until half cooked.  Drain, add a little chopped onion, extra virgin olive oil and Rosemary Seasoning.  Cook and stir on high heat to brown and crisp up the outsides.  Add a little more sea salt and fresh ground pepper if needed. . .Lin