Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

This is THE BEST meatloaf ever. The combination of the ground beef + pork, all draped under a layer of streaky bacon…to die for. I’ve made this a couple of times now and it’s just too awesome not to share. Now, I never grew up eating meatloaf so this whole thing is somewhat new to me. But I like it. We served it with some steamed veggies and some frozen mashed sweet potatoes (which are kind of weird and bland, don’t recommend). Perfect Sunday meal. Also! I have fun plans for re-purposing the meatloaf leftovers – stay tuned.

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Escarole Soup with Mini Meatballs

I am yanking this one from the archives and re-posting with some upgraded pictures. From time to time I think of what a shame it is that some of these particularly yummy recipes I post are stuck in blog archives that will probably never get seen. This soup is just too good for that.

Today we had a lovely 70-degree humidity free day in Boston. This got me wanting to dust off my dutch oven, which during colder months is in heavy rotation, but is basically abandoned come May. I’ve been under the weather with one thing after the next over the last week+, so I went looking through my old posts for some comforting, yet light, old standbys.

Reading through the old post, I was reminded that the recipe is from the Sopranos Cookbook that someone had given me as a gift many years ago. Since James Gandolfini’s death (sniff sniff), Brian and I have been re-watching the series from the beginning and loving it. Although i am having a lot of mob-related dreams and I think I actually briefly considered blackmail as a solution to a real-life problem. Might need to cut back on The Sopranos.

Guinness Beef Stew with Puff Pastry Topper

I’m not really Irish, but I love holiday food. Also, my man is Irish, so I figured I would try to give him some of his favorite foods this weekend. Read: potatoes (mashed for me, please!), beef, and beer. This beef stew is hands down the best beef stew I’ve had/made. Mix in some of the crunchy buttery pastry topper, and it. is. heaven. Really.

Delicious Dogfood Casserole

So, as the originating blogger pointed out, this kinda looks like dogfood. But, BUT, it does not taste like dogfood. Good news! It’s actually really homey and comforting, and a great use up for some canned goods that are in my pantry right now. Really, it’s very much like a simplified Shepherd’s Pie, and I’ll take simplified anything these days, dogfood or otherwise.

Giardiniera Pot Roast (slow-cooker)

This might be the best thing I’ve tried in the slow-cooker to date. It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of the slow-cooker (it’s a mushy texture thing), but I have found that if you take the time to sear meat before you braise it (i.e. toss it in the crockpot with some liquid), it does a lot for the final product.

This meal was a bit serendipitous as it served a few purposes. I’ve been pinning a ton of slow-cooker recipes lately as we are moving AGAIN  and I will be staring down the barrel of a 2-hour round-trip commute starting in a couple of weeks. I have a feeling my slow-cooker is about to get real popular ’round here.  Also, because of the impending move, I am REALLY trying to use up some of my pantry items that I a) haven’t used since the last time I moved or b) have hoarded since the last move a year ago and don’t want to move now. I found a dusty jar of giardiniera (italian pickled vegetables) that I needed to just finally use or lose. I’m so glad I did. This recipe was the bomb, and I am more than pissed that I didn’t get a pic of the resulting tender roast that we served atop fluffy mashed potatoes and smothered in a homemade beef gravy. YUM. Make this.

Slow-Cooker Shredded Steak Tacos

This might very well be the simplest meals I’ve ever posted here. Season, slow-cook, and shred. All there is to it. I’m especially excited about this one because, in addition to it’s ease, it’s also SO yummy. We served them up with a side of refried beans and topped them with plain greek yogurt (or you could use sour cream), slices of avocado, and chopped tomatoes. Salsa/pico de gallo or shredded cheese would also be yum.

Lightened Swedish Meatballs

This was delicious! I’ve been craving swedish meatballs forever, and was even contemplating a trip to IKEA for a fix, but I really wanted something healthier. I found this recipe on Gina’s WW recipes and it’s a winner. Though, I did add some dill to the meatballs (I LOVE dill and had a bunch of it in the fridge already) and a pinch of cayenne to the sauce for a little heat. I served this up with some pappardelle from Trader Joe’s, but some whole grain egg noodles would also be great.

Reuben Sandwich

I made corned beef for the first time this weekend in honor of both St. Patrick’s Day and of my Irish boyfriend. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the end result (Italian girl), but, to be fair, I think it’s because I overcooked it and it was a little dry. But, I was SO happy when the leftovers turned out to be fantastic in this sandwich. More than fantastic — comfort food at its crispy, buttery finest.

Sage-Scented Veal Burgers with Fontina and Honeyed Squash Rings

Ok, so, I’m a total hypocrite. I politely turned down some beautiful imported foie gras on Christmas Eve due to “philosophical objections”….meanwhile I had this veal burger on my menu plan for a week. I’m not exactly ‘pro-veal’, but I eat it a few times a year. Also, have I mentioned how much I love cows? I do. Life is hard. BUT, this burger is SO GOOD, and dare I say, worth the guilt. The acorn squash drizzled with honey was amazing on this burger, which tastes like a giant, tender meatball covered in cheese.

Horseradish Dill Roast Beef Dinnah.

Anyone watching The Chew? While they still have some bumps to work out, I quite enjoy it. Mostly because of Clinton Kelly, who I think is pretty awesome. When I watch the show, I love his long island pretend-accent, and I can totally hear him saying “roast beef dinnah”. I can also hear anyone in my hometown Boston saying the same thing, but anyway…
This roast beef was so good and so easy. If you’re anything like me, different cuts of beef totally baffle you. I found this guide online and I literally brought it to the grocery store with me to help me find the right cut for roasting. Handy! I served this with simple roasted carrots and individual potato gratins (recipe to come soon).

Steak with Gorgonzola and French Fried Onions

Juicy New York Strip steaks topped with blue cheese and crunchy, buttery french fried onions. If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Hamburger and Grape Tomato Pizza

It’s no secret that we’re pizza lovers in this house. I have a stack of pizza recipes that I want to try, and we have pizza night pretty much once a week every week.  This tasty sample is one in the stack that I’ve been wanting to try, and we really enjoyed it.

Logan County Cheeseburgers

Holy comfort food. This is essentially a patty melt, and it’s awesome. This recipe comes from Katie Lee, Billy Joel’s ex. This means nothing to me, outside of the fact that I first learned about her earlier this week while watching RR’s talk show (no judgment). I loved her calm, warm personality, and was actually thinking about picking up her cook book, The Comfort Table. Unknowingly, I had printed this recipe of hers back over the winter, and it was delicious! Pretty much a grilled cheese with a burger inside, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Mexican Tortilla Pizza

A success for the “kid friendly” file!  Whenever I cook for just the two of us, I ask Brian afterward if he thinks the kids would like it. I typically get a gentle “Oh, I don’t know…” or “notsomuch with x ingredient”, etc.  This recipe is a bonus because it’s mostly assembly, which is perfect for kids (or boyfriends) to help out with. So, tonight, the official Kid Friendly category on this blog is born, which hopefully will contain more than this recipe!

Oh, and I should mention how YUMMY this is. SO good. And SUPER easy. Easily made vegetarian by subtracting the beef and using with more refried beans, too, which is a double bonus.

Steak Sandwiches

“Steak Sandwiches” is probably a bit of an understatement. This is a steak sandwich. The steak sandwich, even. Seared flank steak surrounded by a spicy and sweet mixture of onions, cubanelles, roasted reds, and jalapeno, covered in a blanket of provolone cheese.

Yes, please.

Oh, and then, top it with some chopped bacon, for good measure. 🙂

Butter-Basted Pan-Seared New York Strip

I don’t even know what to say about this recipe except that it is simply yummy. Try it next time you’re craving steak — you won’t be disappointed.

Taco Stuffed Zucchini

Is it possible to have a crush on a blog? If so, I currently have two hard-core crushes. Our Life in Food — my savior in my efforts to eat low-carb and not kill myself.  Seriously, I stumbled on to this blog as a “normal reader” — aka, not looking specifically for a low-carb site. Her photos are impeccable and you don’t even realize that most of the recipes avoid carbohydrates until you’re already hitting the print button.

And On the Woodside, for the kind of writing which helps you live life a little more…tenderly.  Absolutely can’t get enough.  I’ll stop there for fear of sounding like a stalker, even though I kind of am.

Anyway, I found and printed this stuffed zucchini recipe a few months back, before I realized I was obsessed with Our Life in Food.

I love mexican flavors, and again, the photo of these just called to me. I’m sorry to say that my photo is BAD, but this dish is YUMMY. Seriously yummy. The filling tastes like the best taco dip you ever had, and Brian devoured two halves in no time. Since I am such a dainty eater (…), I only had one half.  SO good, and can’t wait to eat the leftovers.

Beef Burgers with Pimiento Cheese Sauce

I have been eyeballing this burger all week. With all of it’s beefy, cheesy, fried eggy glory. But, as you can see, this burger is sans egg. As you might imagine from the amount of eggs you see here, I’m drawn to pretty much anything that features a runny egg, which the original recipe for this burger in fact did.  But the strangest thing happened — neither B or I were feeling the egg. Weird.

Also, we used grass-fed ground beef for this recipe. This was my first time cooking with grass-fed beef, and the texture and flavor was definitely different than grain-fed. Not better or worse, just different — closer to the texture of actual steak.

Marinated Flank Steak

In order to amp up for my next Costco trip (I say this as if I don’t go to Costco like once a week…but I just love it!), I wanted to use  a few things from my freezer this week.  Flank steak is one of my favorite cuts of meat because it is tasty and can feed quite a few people for a pretty good price. I dig that, as a social worker on a limited income. This steak is flavorful and juicy, and when dipped into some guacamole as we did, is a hugely satisfying meal.

(Slightly Lightened Up) Chicken Fried Steak

#1 This is a big boy meal.

#2 It is delicious.

#3 This will be my go-to batter for “chicken frying” stuff. So good!