Chicken Vegetable Meatloaf Muffins

I have been looking for some new foods to try with S since we've been having a difficult time getting her to eat meat. Trader Joes sells something called Turkey Meatloaf Muffins which are mini ground turkey meatloafs topped with sautéed spinach and parmesan mashed potatoes. The first time S tried these I had to hide the meat in the potatoes in order for her to eat it but on the second try she gobbled up every morsel. Because the muffin tin is the perfect portion size for Stella I starting this about what else I could make in a muffin pan.

Today I made a chicken veggie meatloaf. I literally just started adding ingredients and was keeping my fingers crossed that it would turn out ok.  The recipe is below.

In a sauté pan, cook the following ingredients on low to medium heat:

1 tablespoon of olive oil
2/3 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons diced garlic
3 tablespoons grated carrot
3/4 cup grated zucchini
2 tablespoons diced red pepper
3 tablespoons chopped celery leaves
Salt & pepper

Cook until the vegetables are soft.   In a large mixing bowl combine sautéed vegetables with 1 pound of lean ground chicken thigh and 1/2 pound of ground chicken breast. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of Montreal Steak Seasoning, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of ketchup. Stir well to combine all ingredients.

In a separate bowl, dice 2 pieces of firm white bread (it should yield 2 cups once it is diced). Add 1/3 cup of milk and let it soak into the bread. I used skim milk. Once the bread has soaked up all of the milk combine it with the meat mixture. Stir well.

Prepare the muffin pan by spraying each section with cooking spray. Add approximately 1/4 cup of the mixture to each section of the muffin pan. Cook on 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes. Be sure the internal temperature is 170 degrees so that the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

S tried my meatloaf muffins this afternoon and really seemed to enjoy them.  Tomorrow I am going to saute baby chard and make some of my famous mashed potatoes to top the meatloaf. Hopefully S with still like it once I add the additonal toppings.

Test Kitchen

Tonight I did a little experimenting with a recipe. I had a yellow zucchini and some petit Yukon gold potatoes that I needed to use up.  In the past I have made a Potato Pancake recipe that has always turned out quite well, so this was my inspiration for the dish.  When I was trying to figure out what exactly I was going to make I knew I wanted to incorporate both the zucchini and the potato and wanted the dish to be on a smaller scale.  As a result I ended up making mini potato-zucchini pancakes.  The taste was definitely good but I think I will continue to do some work on how to cook them so that they stay together better.

Menu
Mini Potato-Zucchini Pancakes
Roasted Carrots
Mickleberry Ham

Mini Potato-Zucchini Pancakes
I grated 1 yellow zucchini and 4 petit Yukon gold potatoes. This resulted in about 2 cups of zucchini and 1 1/4 cups of potato.  I squeezed the grated zucchini and potato to get some of the water out.  Then mixed them together and seasoned them with salt and about 1 tablespoon of Montreal Steak Seasoning. I also added about 1 tablespoon of shredded and then chopped garlic scape.  I covered my cookie sheet with a silicon baking mat and then I stuffed a round cookie cutter with a handful of the zucchini/potato mixture. I flattened it pretty well.  I repeated this until I had 6 pancakes.  I drizzled the top of each pancake with a little olive oil and then cooked them on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I then put them under the broiler for a minute or two to try and get a bit of a crust on the top.   Unfortunately when plating them I had to pretty much re-create the shape as they were not crisp enough to stay together.  They may not have been too pretty but they had a really good taste.

In addition to my experiment I made the Barefoot Contessa Roasted Carrots recipe for the first time. They were quite good. I opted for the minced dill rather than the parsley, I would highly recommend it.

As far as the ham goes you really can’t get any easier of a meal. I heated it on 325 degrees for about 25 minutes. Just enough to get it heated through since it’s already cooked.

Delicious Summer Pasta Salad

Last night I made a fantastic recipe that I found on Epicurious, Orzo with Grilled Shrimp, Summer Vegetables and Pesto Vinaigrette. The best part about it was I had everything on hand except for the heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, which made for a short shopping list.

I didn't use near the amount of vinaigrette that the recipe makes; my recommendation would be to add just a little at a time until you are satisfied with the taste.  This recipe is a perfect meal for a hot summer evening when you are looking for something light to eat.  It's also kid-friendly, my daughter loved the pasta.

Ingredients
8 ounces orzo (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
2 medium zucchini or summer squash (about 9 ounces total), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 red or yellow bell pepper, quartered
3 tablespoons purchased pesto
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 heirloom tomatoes (8 to 10 ounces total), cored, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves plus sprigs for garnish
1 8-ounce ball fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Cooking Instructions
Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Transfer to large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon oil.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat).

Whisk 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar in small bowl. Brush zucchini and bell pepper with oil mixture, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Whisk pesto, lime juice, remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons oil, and remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar in small bowl for pesto vinaigrette. Place shrimp in medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons pesto vinaigrette; toss to coat.

Grill zucchini and bell pepper until crisptender, about 3 minutes per side for zucchini and 4 minutes per side for bell pepper. Transfer to work surface. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper; grill until charred and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Place shrimp in bowl with orzo. Chop zucchini and bell pepper; add to bowl with orzo. Add remaining vinaigrette, tomatoes, sliced basil, and mozzarella; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; chill.
Garnish with basil sprigs and serve cold or at room temperature. 
(Bon Appétit, June 2008, by Sara Foster)

This meal was rated 3.5 asparagus spears

Mushrooms again!

Chris walked into the kitchen, saw me slicing vegetables and immediately started giving me grief about cooking with mushrooms again. What can I say; I needed to use them before they went bad.

Menu
Center Cut Pork Chops in a White Wine and Mushroom Sauce served over egg noodles
Sauteed Zucchini

In a pan (I used Le Creuset French Oven) heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, add 3 large chopped garlic cloves and roughly 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion. Sauté  for approximately 1-2 minutes. Add center cut pork chops that have been seasoned with salt, fresh ground pepper and Olde Thompson Steak & Burger seasoning. (Any steak seasoning would work, Montreal Steak Seasoning is another great option.) Brown the chops on both sides. Add approximately 1/4 cup of dry white wine, I used Chardonnay.  Be careful not to let the wine drip over the side of the pan like I did;  it causes a large flame. Let the alcohol burn off and stir the brown bits off then bottom of the pan. Add 10 oz of sliced Cremini mushrooms, 3 chopped scallions (use green and white parts), 4 sage leaves chopped. Season mushrooms with a little fresh cracked pepper and a couple pinches of White Truffle Salt. Lower the temperature, place the lid on French oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Right before you are ready to serve remove the chops from pan and add 1 teaspoon of sour cream to the mushroom mixture. Make sure to stir well so that the sour cream is incorporated into the sauce.  Add approximately 1 tablespoon of chopped curly leaf parsley and  let cook for a few more minutes.  

Cook about 4.5 handfuls of egg noodles per instructions on the package. Drain noodles.  Add cooked egg noodles to mushroom mixture which should be on low heat, continue to stir to coat noodles. Once the noodles have been combined with the mushrooms you are ready to plate up the meal.

In a separate pan heat a little olive oil and add sliced zucchini, season with salt and pepper, sauté for approximately 10 minutes.

Note: I used pork chops that were bone-in, next time around I think I would use boneless chops.

This meal was rated 3.5 asparagus spears

Greek Chicken and Grilled Vegetables

The inspiration for last night’s meal was a Greek salad; however I knew my husband would want something more substantial for dinner, so the end result was the following menu.

Greek Chicken
Grilled Summer Vegetables
Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous
Red Leaf Lettuce with a Red Wine Vinaigrette, Feta, Sliced Cucumbers and Kalamata Olives

Greek Chicken

In a shallow baking dish, salt and pepper two boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Drizzle the chicken with Grapeseed oil and the juice of one lemon. Season with ½ tablespoon of chopped fresh Greek oregano leaves and ¼ tablespoon fresh summer savory leaves. Top with slices of lemon.  Bake on 350 degrees. 

Grilled Vegetables

You can really use any vegetables you have on hand. I used 2 mini red, yellow and orange bell peppers, 2 baby eggplants, 1 zucchini, 1 summer squash, a couple of scallions, and several cherry tomatoes.  To prepare the vegetables:

·         Halve and seed the peppers

·         Cut the tops off the eggplant, zucchini and squash and then slice lengthwise

·         Keep scallions and tomatoes whole

·         Drizzle all of the vegetables lightly with olive oil. Salt and pepper.

I cooked my vegetables using a grill pan on the top of the stove.   It’s important to have the stove at a pretty high heat so that you can get the grill marks. Last night I decided to chop the vegetables into cubes however you can also nicely display the vegetables on a platter in the larger pieces that you grilled.

As far as the couscous goes I used the Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous that cooks in 5 minutes. It’s quick and easy!

The salad is where I fit in the remaining ingredients from Greek Salad that I enjoy so much, Feta Cheese and Kalamata olives.  I made the vinaigrette by mixing 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard with 1-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.  As I was whisking together the vinegar and mustard, I added Grapeseed oil until I had the consistency I was looking for.  I seasoned it with a dash of salt, fresh cracked pepper and some thyme.  I don’t like an over abundance of dressing on my salad, unfortunately last night I added too much since I was in a hurry. If time would have allowed I would have preferred to grill the vegetables and the chicken on the charcoal grill to get the additional flavor.

This meal was rated 3 asparagus spears