Meatloaf dinner

Because it's Sunday, and because sometimes you just need a nice, comforting, home made dinner, I made meatloaf. And mashed potatoes. And kale.
And while I know that a lot of people hate meatloaf, I can't say the same thing for me. I love it. And since I haven't made it in a very, very long time, I decided to make it today.
Now, there are tons of meatloaf recipes out there- heck, I even make it a few different ways, but tonight I decided to make it a little mushroom-y. So here goes:

For the meatloaf, I simply added a can of cream of mushroom soup to 2 lbs. of lean ground hamburg.

Then I dropped it into a loaf pan.

Then I put some sliced onions on top. Just for fun.

Then I popped it into a 400* oven for about an hour until it was nice and brown, and thoroughly cooked.

Now- if all you wanted to learn today is how to make meatloaf, then we are done.

But, we can't just have meatloaf all by itself, so if you want to see what else I made (which includes a cheese sauce), then keep reading.

Ok, while the meatloaf was baking, I boiled some potatoes. then I drained them and put them back onto the warm pot so they could steam-dry for a little while.

Next, I got started on a cheese sauce for the kale.

To start, I heated up a little milk and butter on medium heat, then added a bunch of cheeses to it.

All I had on hand was Velveeta, queso fresco, and parmesan. Strange, I know, but it will do.

Whisk until smooth, then turn off the heat.

 

 

Next, I broke up a bunch of kale and added it to a large pan.

Then I drizzled a little olive oil on top, sprinkled on a little salt, poured in a little water, then covered it and put the burner on medium-high.

Then I went back to the potatoes, turned the burner on to medium, and mashed them. Then I added a little milk, butter, salt and white pepper. I like to use white pepper so you don't see it, but black pepper is fine too.

Next, I took the meatloaf out of the oven, heated up some gravy, and got ready to eat!!!

YUMMM!!!

 Until next time... Enjoy!
<3

Apples

Last weekend I went apple picking with my sister, and 3 of my younger cousins, and we had so much fun!!
And, of course, we brought home a whole bunch of apples, a few pears, and some cider donuts!

I decided I needed to make something good with these, but I couldn't make up my mind on what to make. Pie? Crisp? Tart? bah!
So I decided to just do what I always do, and wing it.
I had a crust in the fridge, so I put that on the bottom of the new pan I got, filled it with some cinnamon-y apples & pears, and topped it with a crumbly mixture. It ended up being a half pie- half crisp.
Here's how it all panned out:

Slice up your apples and pears:

Throw them in a bowl and squeeze a little lemon juice onto them:

Then toss them with some sugar, cinnamon, a tiny pinch of allspice, and a spoonful of corn starch:

 Mix that all up and toss them into the crust:

Next, make the crumb topping by adding a stick of butter, some cinnamon, some sugar, and a bunch of brown sugar to a bowl:

Crumble this all up with a pastry knife, a couple knives, or a fork. Whatever you have. Just don't use your hands, or the butter will melt.

When that mix is nice and crumbly, and the butter is small like peas, crumble the donuts into the bowl and gently mix it all up:

When it's all mixed, put it on top of the pie, then pop it in a 350* oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the fruit is nice and bubbly.
You can also stick a fork into the pie to see if the apples are tender.
Once they are, it's definitely done.

Next, let the pie cool.
This is the most difficult step, but trust me, be patient and let it cool.
You see, the corn starch and the sugars and juices from the apples will turn into something amazing if you let them cool down.
Just trust me.

Once it's cooled down and thickened, you can dig in.
And oh man, this was so amazing!
Adding the cider donuts to the topping may be one of the best decisions I have made while cooking in a long time...

Shrimp and leek stew

So, last weekend I finally decided to go through all my food magazines and pull out all the ones I wanted to make. And, thanks to my little helper, after a few hours (and a few good movies, the Pats game and several glasses of sangria) I was done, and I had a great pile of recipes to tackle (one of which is the post before this).

And after digging through recipes all day, I finally picked a few that I wanted to make, including this one which I got from Martha Stewart:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, shells reserved, and deveined
6 sprigs thyme
1 cup dry white wine
16 ounces clam juice
2 cups water
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 1/2 cups) and washed well
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (about 3 1/3 cups), fronds reserved for garnish
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, finely ground
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 lemon

Oh, and I decided to make some risotto with this too.

 first step- start the risotto, because this takes the longest time to cook.

 Next, start the broth.
Heat the oil:

Add the shrimp shells and cook for a few minutes

Add the thyme:

Then the wine. Be sure to scrape up all the good stuff that is stuck to the pan after you add this.

Next, add the clam juice:

And the water:

And simmer for about 15 minutes:

When the broth is done, strain it and save for later. Be sure to pres down on the shells so you get all the good juice out of them:

Now, I need to back up a step, and let you know that while the broth was simmering, I chopped up all the veggies:

Then I rinsed them and put them in bowls so they would be ready when I needed them:

Ok, now its time to start the dish.

Add the butter to a pot and let it melt.

Add the leeks and fennel, and gook on medium-high until they start to brown:

Then add the broth you made earlier:

And the cream:

And let that get hot.

Once the broth has heated up, add the shrimp:

And cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are all pink and fully cooked:

To serve, scoop some rice into a dish, add the stew, and garnish with some of the fennel fronds.

And I must say, this is one of the yummiest things I have made in a long time.
Simple, yet super delicious, and super flavorful.
I highly recommend you make it!

Oh, and if you make this without the risotto, and just dunk some nice bread into it, it will also be super awesome.