Meatloaf - Comfort Food at It's Best!

This meatloaf recipe came from my sister-in-law. It is the ultimate comfort food. We have a neighborhood restaurant that serves meatloaf on Monday nights.. Lupies.. it is soo yummy. This meatloaf actually tastes as good!

Meatloaf

1 1/2 pound ground sirloin

1/2 pound sausage (Neeses)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

dash Tabasco

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, approx. 2 slices

1 can diced tomatoes ( basil, garlic & oregano), drained - save juice

Mix together meat, onion, egg, seasonings and bread crumbs.

Add tomatoes and mix.

Form into thick loaf and put into baking dish.

Pour juice over loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees for an hour.

Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake

If you have been following my blog you know my family loves sausage.. Neese's sausage! This recipe was in Southern Living several years ago. It was originally Chicken 'n' Spinach but i noticed at the very bottom it had a substitution of sausage for chicken. I made it with sausage the first time and have ever since. I am sure it is tasty with chicken but i have never tried it. I have so many recipes for shredded cooked chicken that it is nice to have one for sausage.

Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz rigatoni

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 pound sausage

1 14.5 oz can Italian - style diced tomatoes

1 8oz container chive and onion cream cheese

1/2 tsp pepper

6oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions

Brown sausage, add onions near the end of cooking. Drain.

Stir rigatoni, spinach, sausage, and next 3 ingredients in large bowl.

Spoon mixture into baking dish and sprinkle evenly with cheese.

Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Here is the original recipe with chicken: Southern Living

Chicken in a Hut

I first heard of this from my neighbor Heidi. I believe one of our other neighbors - Kitty - made this for her when she had surgery. I looked in a few of my cookbooks, thinking I had seen it somewhere and sure enough it is in In Order To Serve - Christ Church Cooks II. I began to look around on the internet and saw another recipe on Group Recipes (Chicken in a Crescent) that I ended up liking better. But Chicken in a Hut is the perfect name. These freeze nicely and kids (not mine) love them!

Chicken in a Hut

2 packages crescent rolls

about 4 to 6 oz cream cheese (depends on how much chicken you use)

shredded cooked chicken - I cook one pack and shred in food processor

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 TBSP milk

Chopped chives or onion

seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat to 350

In a bowl blend cream cheese and 2 TBSP melted butter until smooth.

Add chicken, salt,pepper, milk and onion, set aside.

Seperate dough into 4 squares - seal edges together.

Spoon 1/2 cup mixture into center of each. Bring up corners and twist to seal.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with seasoned bread crumbs.

Bake on foil covered baking sheet. 20 to 25 minutes.

Freezes well!

Grilled Chicken And Mustard Dill Sauce

Are you thinking about grilling this weekend? Well if you are, you need to try this chicken. It is wonderful! The sauce is great too. But if your like my husband... you don't even need it! I served this when my in-laws were in town with the Parmesan Roasted Asparagus and some Near East Toasted Pine Nut Couscous. Perfect Meal. I had to post this because my friend Kim gave me the recipe and I have already misplaced it once.

Grilled Chicken

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2/3 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil - I used 3/4 because I was cooking 6 chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots, minced

4 chicken breast - I used 6!

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in enough oil to make a smooth dressing with balanced taste. Stir in garlic and shallots. Place chicken in ziploc and pour marinade over, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

Sauce:

1/2 cup coarse grained mustard

1 TBSP water

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup olive oil

4 tsp sugar

1/2 cup fresh dill

Combine all sauce ingredients well and season with pepper. Sauce may be made one day ahead and kept chilled and covered. Let sauce come to room temp before serving. You may want to combine in a food processor- all but dill.

No Boil Lasagna

This recipe came from my friend Pam Anderson. I love it because you don't have to boil the noodles first and it has sausage in it.

Lasagna

1 (15 or 16 oz) Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

2 (260z) jars Classico Pasta Sauce - i use traditional sweet basil

1 package lasagna noodles

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes - i use basil, garlic flavored

1 pound sausage cooked and drained - i use Neeses

4 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

In bowl combine ricotta, parmesan and eggs; mix well.

On the bottom of 15/9 greased baking dish, spread i cup of pasta sauce.

Top with half each of uncooked noodles, ricotta cheese mixture, sausage, remaining pasta sauce, 1/2 can tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour.

Let stand 15 minutes before serving.