Mozerella Stuffed Meatloaf

I am in love with this recipe. Before when I made meatloaf, we ended up pulling out the ketchup for flavor, and that's when the meatloaf already had a sauce. This meatloaf needs no ketchup. It's a great mix of meat and cheeses and a sweet sauce to cover. Probably my picky eaters favorite dish.

Ingredients

Meat Loaf:

1 1/2 lb ground beef

3/4 C oatmeal

1/4 C chopped onion *I've never added this 

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup milk

mozzarella cubes and slices

Sauce:

2/3 C ketchup

2 tsp mustard

4 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except the cheese. Put half of mixture in a loaf pan. poke mozzarella cubes throughout the meat. Top with mozzarella slices. Put rest of mixture on top and poke in more mozzarella cubes. Cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit  for 1 hour. 

Out comes cheesy, meaty goodness. Enjoy!!

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

This is my award winning side dish. Alright.. maybe not reward winning, but I'm required to make it every holiday. These cheesy mashed potatoes are heart attack inducing yumminess. To ensure you really get your cholesterol up, add some bacon to it. To make it low cal, you can always use low-fat sour cream, cream cheese, etc. But where's the fun in that? ;)

I found this recipe online about 7 years ago, I'm sorry, but I really can't remember where.

Ingredients 

8-12 medium potatoes

8 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz sour cream

1/2 C butter

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

4 oz grated cheese *your choice, I use cheddar or colby jack

With seasoning, I never measure (unless it's baking). I just do it to taste. I personally like my potatoes to have a good garlic taste.

Directions

Peel and quarter potatoes. Put in large pot and put in enough water to cover them. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender.. basically when you can break them apart with a fork.

Drain off liquid. In a large mixing bowl combine all but grated cheese. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Turn mixture into a buttered 2 quart casserole or baking dish. To with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

I make this every time I make ham or turkey, and have heard only good things from those that I've made them for. Also, my picky eater can't get enough of them!

Tamale Casserole

This isn't necessarily for your picky eater, but you'll enjoy it! I personally loved it as a kid.. Emma, not so much. I got this recipe from my mom.. not sure where it comes from beyond that. I made it for my girl friends and they wanted to try it with sour cream, and I say it tastes great with or without. It is so easy to make, and great for potlucks.

Ingredients

4 large Tamales *never tried it with fresh, I use the frozen Baja Cafe Tamales, and I use all of them because they're small. If you use those, be sure to thaw them first.

1 Large can of red beans *I use 2 normal size cans of Chile Beans (without the chile)

1 Large can of chile w/out beans *Once again, I use 2 normal size cans

1 can red enchilada sauce

2 cans sliced black olives

grated cheese

Directions 

Put ingredients in a large baking pot, in order listed. Bake at 350 degrees (fahrenheit) for 45 minutes covered and then 45 minutes uncovered.  That's it!!

I always add more cheese at the end because it all sorta melts into the center. This makes a lot, but leftovers taste just as good. Enjoy!

Lasagna Roll Ups

This is not my recipe or picture, I got them both from this site: http://blogchef.net/lasagna-roll-ups-recipe/

 

This is what we had for dinner tonight, and let me tell you, it was a hit! The sauce is delicious, has a little kick from cayenne pepper, but not so spicy that your picky eater won't devour it all.  This, of course, goes great with a tossed salad and garlic bread. This is very easy to make, and much easier to serve than traditional lasagna.. no cutting pieces! Just separate the rolls.

Here is the recipe that I got off the site. I added asterisks to what I did differently.

Ingredients:
Sauce-
¼ lb ground beef *You don't have to add the meat if you are a vegetarian, or you could replace it with sausage or soy sausage, etc.
2 tablespoons onion (chopped) 

2 garlic cloves (minced) *I used jarred minced garlic, just as good, but way easier
1 (16 oz) can crushed tomatoes *I used a 28 oz can
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 dash cayenne pepper (or more to your taste)
 

Filling-
1 ¼ cups small curd cottage cheese *I used a whole 16 oz tub
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minced) *I used dry parsley
¼ teaspoon onion powder
6 lasagna noodles (cooked) *I used 8
 

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese *I used more because I added some to the filling as well

Let me also mention that I don't measure my seasoning, I pretty much add them to taste. I also added a bit of brown sugar to my sauce to sweeten it up.

Cooking Instructions

Step 1: In a large skillet cook ground beef, onion and garlic until the beef is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat from the pan. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and cayenne. Simmer for 10 minutes. Spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of a greased 9” baking dish. *I didn't grease the pan, no sticking for me in my Pyrex pan.

Step 2: In a bowl combine cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley and onion powder. Spread ¼ cup of the cheese mixture evenly over each lasagna noodle. Roll up and place seam side down in rows in the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce.*Like I said, I added some mozzarella cheese to the filling.

Step 3: Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. About 5 minutes before the dish is finished cooking remove from the oven and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese has melted.

(Makes 2 servings) *With my variations I was able to feed 3 people and have 1 serving of leftovers.

Enjoy! I will definitely be making it again. I thank BlogChef for coming up with it.