Meatloaf

Okay, I tried another one. I guess I think I'm going to eventually talk myself into liking meatloaf.

For this recipe, I used:

Ingredients:

 1 pound ground beef
 1 pound ground venison
 2 beaten eggs
 1/2 cup milk
 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
 1/4 cup chopped onions
 1 medium chopped tomato
 1 chopped banana pepper (optional)
 1 teaspoon sea salt
 1/2 teaspoon allspice
 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
 2 tablespoon Valentina mexican hot sauce
 1/2 tablespoon ground sage
 a dash of liquid smoke

Sauce

 1/3 Cup Ketchup
 1 tablespoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
 2 tablespoons brown sugar
 1 teaspoon dry mustard
 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together all incredients. Place in crock pot and mash down mixture to mould to the crockery so that it comes out in a loaf. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. If you're in a hurry, you can cook it on high for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over meat in the last 15 minutes, changing the heat setting to high.

My family likes meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans or green peas OR with corn and fried okra.

As you know from my previous posts, I, personally, am not a meatloaf person. But this time, I can finally say, "I really like this meatloaf".

If you have one of those families that likes meatloaf and like to eat sandwiches from the leftovers, you might want to double the recipe. I've never been a fan of that either but I think I might try that too this time. I'm obviously very pleased with this recipe.

*Taking it out of the Crock Pot is a little tricky. You could use a crock pot liner (which I only recently found out about myself). You can also use strips of foil to line the crockpot with and then lift it out by the strips. I choose not to use anything that might cause chemical reactions and get into the meat. I just slice in the crockpot and lift it out with a spatula.

Also: You might want to make double the sauce and use it to drizzle over the individual helpings after placing it on the plate. This meatloaf comes out to be fairly thick.

Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

8 ounces Cream cheese(cubed)
1/4 cup Whipping cream
5 ounces Frozen chopped spinach
1 (4 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons diced Pimento
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Garlic salt
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
 

Directions:

Combine cream cheese and cream and place in crock pot. Cover and heat for about 45 minutes until cheese has melted. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and heat on low for another 30 to 45 minutes. Goes great with crackers, bread or raw vegetables.

I've prepared these burgers two different ways in the last month. The first method was to place the pound of ground venison into a bowl with 1 small chopped onion, 1 chopped clove garlic, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce, a dash of tobasco, salt & pepper.

I cooked them on my George Foreman grill.

*********

Here is the second way I made these burgers (very, very flavorful).

1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. grated lime peel
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
2 tsp. cumin
2­–3 Tbs. sour cream
2 Tbs. finely chopped jalapeno
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds ground venison
Hamburger buns, split
Slices of Colby-Jack or Pepper Jack cheese

1. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, mustard and lime peel. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

2. In a bowl, combine the onions, yogurt, jalapeno, cumin, salt and pepper, and meat and mix well. Shape the meat mixture into eight patties.

3. Pile them into a crockpot for approximately 3 to 4 hours. When the burgers are done, add the cheese to the patties on top and allow cheese to melt (about a minute) Lift those burgers from the crockpot and add cheese to next layer, etc.

Serve the cheeseburgers on buns slathered with the pre-made sauce in the refrigerator (aioli).

I found this recipe at http://kitchenbitchblog.com/2011/03/10/man-meals-juicy-ground-venison-burgers