Meatcakes

Meatcakes—as in meatloaf cupcakes! Sound gross? Get over it! It’s deeeelicious! And, cute to boot. If you cook meatloaf, chances are you serve it with potatoes anyway, so why not combine the two into a really nice looking, creative entrée. Talk about bringing something new to the table…

You’ll need:
1. 1 lb ground chuck
2. 3 tbsp ketchup
3. 2 tbsp marinade (such as Dale’s or Moore’s)
4. 1 tspn Worcestershire sauce
5. ½ tspn salt
6. ½ tspn black pepper
7. ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
8. 1 egg, lightly beaten
9. ¼ cup baking mix (such as Bisquick)
10. 2 baking potatoes
11. 3 tbsp butter
12. 3 tbsp sour cream
13. 2 tbsp milk
14. ½ tspn onion powder
15. Salt and pepper to taste
16. Parsley (optional)

You’ll do:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Bring water to boil in large pot.
3. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Drop in boiling water
4. Mix ground chuck with ingredients 2-9 above, until well blended.
5. Line 8 cups in a cupcake pan with foil liners. You can use paper, but the little grease these produce will make that kind of a mess. Either way, though, they’re prettier if you remove the liner at the end.
6. Separate meat mixture into 8 equal segments and roll each into a ball. Place one ball in each cupcake liner, and press down lightly to flatten on the bottom.
7. Place meatcakes in the oven on 350F and cook for 15-18 minutes.
8. Once potatoes are soft to the touch, drain the water off and put potatoes into a large bowl. Add milk and sour cream to potatoes and mix with a hand mixer.
9. Add salt, pepper, butter, and onion powder to potatoes and blend until mostly smooth. You don’t want any large chunks, but small ones are fine.
10. When meatcakes are done, remove from oven and allow to rest about 10 minutes.
11. Transfer creamed potatoes to sandwich-size Ziploc bag and cut the corner off.
12. Remove liners from meatcakes (if you want, but this step isn’t necessary). Place meatcakes on serving dish.
13. Pipe creamed potatoes onto the top of each meatcake in circles, beginning on the edge and working towards the middle.
14. Pair with a salad, some extra creamed potatoes, or a green vegetable and you’ve got a fun, creative twist on a traditional meal!

Nom! Nom!

Rosemary Marmalade Chicken

This is an excellent one-dish dinner...and it's great for leftovers if you're only feeding one or two people. The best part: it only has a few ingredients, and those aren't very expensive!

You'll need:

1. 5 lb. whole chicken
2. 4 medium russet potatoes
3. 1 large purple onion
4. 2 cups orange marmalade (I used sugar-free to save the calories)
5. 1/4 cup olive oil
6. 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
7. salt and pepper

You'll:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. First, remove the inner bag from the chicken and discard (don't look--it's pretty gross to me!). Then, wash the chicken with tap water inside and out. Set aside.
3. Wash and cut potatoes into cubes, bite-size or slightly larger. Place potatoes in the bottom of a large roasting pan, or 9x13 deep baking dish.
4. Cut onion into wedges. Spread onion over potatoes, and gently toss with your hands to mix them together.
5. Sprinkle potatoes and onions with about 1 tspn of salt and 1 tspn of pepper, or until your little heart is content.
6. Strip the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary and sprinkle them over the potatoes and onion.
7. Place the chicken, with wings tucked under, on top of the potato/onion mixture in the dish.
8. In a bowl, mix orange marmalade, leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, oil, 1/4 tspn salt, and 1/4 tspn pepper.
9. Spoon marmalade mixture on top of chicken, and put about a tablespoonful inside the chicken (just for good measure).
10. Cover dish with lid, if available, or securely with aluminum foil.
11. Place in a 400F oven, and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until completely done. Cooking time is altered depending on the size of your chicken. For a shorter cooking time, about 1 hour, you can use 2 2-lb chickens. To check for done-ness, cut all the way to the bone after resting period.
12. After removing pan from oven, uncover and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
13. With a large serving spoon, spoon some of the juices onto the chicken. Transfer to a serving dish, or serve it in the same one you cooked it in (I certainly did!). Face it--there is nothing prettier than a centerpiece of a whole bird! HaHa! Enjoy. You can serve it with another side dish if you would like. I recommend something green, perhaps a salad.

Nam! Nam!

Colorful Kebabs

This meal could probably be classified as womanized man food! There is steak and potatoes, with some veggies, and it makes a gorgeous plateful! And, by using a less expensive cut of steak, you will save money too!

What you need for kebabs:

1. 1.5 lb London Broil, at least 1" thick
2. Pint of cherry tomatoes
3. 1 medium purple onion (or 1/2 a large one)
4. 1 medium green bell pepper
5. Meat marinade (such as Dale's or Moore's)
6. Salt and pepper (to taste)

What you need for potatoes:

1. 4 medium idaho potatoes
2. butter
3. salt and pepper
4. cheddar cheese
5. green onions, chopped

What you need for squash:

1. 2 pounds yellow squash, sliced
2. 1/2 large white onion, cut into slices
3. 1 teaspoon olive oil

What you do:

1. Wash tomatoes. Set aside.
2. Cut onion into wedges, keeping several layers together in one wedge. Set aside.
3. Cut bell pepper into strips, and then cut the strips in half. Set aside
4. Cut meat into 1" cubes. Set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 400F.
6. Holding blunt end of the skewers, add an onion wedge with the outside purple toward the blunt end. Add one cube of meat. Add bell pepper strip to skewer by folding strip so that the skin faces out. Add another cube of meat, a tomato, another cube of meat. Repeat bell pepper addition. Add another cube of meat. Add wedge of onion so that the purple faces the pointed end, this time. Repeat until all meat and veggies are used.
7. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
8. Place kebabs on cookie sheet, side by side.
9. Sprinkle salt and pepper over kebabs. Don't add too much salt, as the meat marinade has a lot and you don't want to overwhelm the meal with salt.
10. Drizzle meat marinade over kebabs.
11. Place cookie sheet in oven. Cook for 8 minutes.
12. Remove cookie sheet from oven. Rotate each kebab 180 degrees, so that the opposite side is up.
13. Place kebabs back in oven and cook another 8 minutes.
14. Serve immediately with sides.

Potatoes: These are simple baked potatoes. Just pierce each potato several times with a long fork. Place on paper towel in microwave. Cook on hi for 5 minutes. Flip potatoes so that opposite side is up. Cook on hi another 5 minutes. Squeeze slightly to determine doneness. If potatoes are done, they will be very tender. Otherwise, continue cooking in 2 minute increments. Add desired topping. Pictured is butter, cheddar cheese, green onions.

Squash: Heat olive oil on med in large saucepan. Add squash and onion to saucepan. Let cook about 2-3 minutes, stir, and cover. Allow to cook about 10-12 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Nam! Nam!