Kelly's Famous Meatloaf (Slow Cooker) w/Cheddar Cheese and Macaroni

Today was work from home day, which means slow cooker dinner day. I love a good meat loaf. There are so many variations on the meat loaf, but I'm pretty much a plain Jane meat loaf kinda gal. Meat loaf is one dish it never would have occurred to me to cooking the slow cooker. One reason is that awesome little crust you get on the outer edges when cooked in the oven. But, this recipe from my Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook is too awesome not to eat over and over.

I decided to make mac 'n cheese with it instead of mashed potatoes, which I would normally make, since we just had potatoes with the CFS on Sunday. The recipe I like to use is one I saw Rachael Ray make years ago on her show. It is probably the best homemade mac 'n' cheese I've ever had--perfectly creamy and cheesy. It also travels well--I've taken it to potlucks with friends and work.

Kelly's Famous Meat Loaf

(Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook, 2006)

Prep: 9 minutes
Cook: 5 hours
Slow-Cooker Size: 3-quart oval

• 1 1/2 pounds ground round
• 1 (1-oz) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup ketchup, divided
• 1/4 c. water
• 3/4 c. fine, dry breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1 c. (4 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. prepared mustard

Combine ground round, soup mix, 1/2 cup ketchup, and next 6 ingredients; shape mixture into 8- x 4-inch loaf. Place loaf into lightly greased 3-quart oval slow cooker.
Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour. Reduce heat to LOW, and cook 3 hours. Remove ceramic insert from cooker, and carefully pour grease off meat loaf; return insert to cooker.
Stir together remaing 1/2 cup ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard in a small bowl; spread over meat loaf.
Cover and cook on LOW 1 more hour or until meat loaf registers 160. Remove meat loaf from ceramic insert, and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Sissy's Variations:
I try to use ground turkey as much as possible in place of ground beef. We've gotten to where we don't really even notice the difference. But, I still have a small aversion to ground turkey in large "chunks"--burgers (I'm almost over this one), loaves, balls. So, for this dish, I mix half ground turkey with half VERY lean ground beef. This time I also went ahead and used a pound of each for a 2-lb loaf. I just adjusted the cooking time 30 minutes at each level and it turned out fine.
I also use low fat cheese because I have it on hand and it is just one more place to cut back fat and calories.
As I've mentioned before, I have an 8-quart slow cooker, but I don't find that to be a hinderence in this recipe. If anything, it might help in that it keeps too much of the grease from getting on too much of the loaf.

Cheddar Cheese and Macaroni
(Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals 2, 2003)

• 1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked 8 minutes or al dente to package directions
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil (once around the pan)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 c. whole or 2% milk
• 3 c. shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (a couple pinches)
• Salt, to taste

Heat a medium-size deep skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts into oil, stir in flour. Gently cook, whisking flour and butter together, until smooth and flour has had a chance to cook, about 3 minutes. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Gently bring milk to a bubble while stirring frequently. Allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, a handfull at a time. Season sauce with nutmeg an cayenne. Taste and add a little salt, if you like. Add cooked pasta to the sauce and coat completely by turning over and over in the cheese sauce. Transfer to a baking dish, top with remaining cheese, and place under a hot broiler for a minute to brown the top.

Sissy's Variations:
This recipe is way too heavy and fattening for a normal, everyday meal, so I took some steps to lighten it up.
I used skim milk instead of whole. I actually meant to buy some fat free half and half, which I've used in another light mac 'n' cheese recipe, but I forgot, so I used what I had on hand. The trick to using skim milk in something like this is to heat it slower than you normally would. But, I had no problem with it thickening right up.
I also use Smart Balance Whipped as opposed to regular butter. Fewer calories, less fat, less sodium, and good things like Omega 3 added. And you still get the butter taste.
I prefer to use the Ronzoni pastas. I don't really like whole wheat so much, so this is a good compromise. It may still be higher in carbs, but it also has good things like more protein, more fiber, and I think the Omega 3 too.
And, like in the meat loaf, I used low fat cheese. I used a combo of pre-shredded medium cheddar and a block of Cabot reduced fat sharp. The cabot reduced fat is a bit more expensive than a generic cheese, but it's really good. I do use the white cheddar when I'm making this dish for a potluck, but the difference isn't THAT great.

CFS&G

Well, that's what it was called in MY house. That would be Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy. I'm a Texas girl through and through--I love warm Spring days, the Dallas Cowboys, and Chicken Fried Steak. Fortunately for me, my daddy happened to make a killer Chicken Fried Steak and he taught me how to make it as soon as I could stand on a chair at the kitchen counter and dredge the meat.

About 6 months ago, I had some time to make a good Saturday night dinner at home and the subject of Chicken Fried Steak came up. I realized that in almost 8 years, I had never made this dish for B. I am not really sure how that is even possible, but it was, so problem solved. That was dinner. I've made it a couple of other times and he says it's the best CFS anywhere. So, last weekend we were having dinner with our friend Scotty P. and we were all eating CFS at a local restaurant. We all agreed it was awesome, but B said mine was better. Now, I'm not bragging, but I had to agree. I have a theory that, like so many other dishes, CFS is better homemade. I don't know what it is--the batter is better, it isn't too crisp (yes, that can be a bad thing), you aren't only tasting the crust. I don't know; just better.

Anyway, we decided that Scott deserved dinner for mowing our lawn (B can't mow right now due to his condition) and that Chicken Fried Steak would the perfect payback--what can I say, I know what the guy likes!

What's going to follow isn't a traditional recipe as I sort of believe this dish is more of a method than a recipe. And, really, no one way is probably right. It's just what you like. Personally, I think there are a few things you absolutely HAVE to do/have to make it just right.

Chicken Fried Steak

• Tenderized Steak--cubed, round, sirlion; doesn't matter as long as it is tenderized
• Flour
• Bread crumbs
• Seasoning of choice
• Eggs
• Milk
• Vegetable Oil

Prep batter and "assembly line" first. Place milk in first bowl/pie plate. Crack and slightly whisk eggs in second bowl/pie plate. Mix flour, bread crumbs, and seasonings in third bowl/pie plate. If meat is in large pieces, cut into serving size pieces and salt/pepper each side. Line a baking dish/cookie sheet with paper towels and heat over to warm/low. Put vegetable oil in a deep skillet and heat to high/medium high. While oil heats, batter your meat.

1. Dredge through flour mixture.
2. Dip in eggs.
3. Dredge through flour again, covering competely.
4. Dip in milk.
5. Dredge through flour again, covering completely, then shaking off excess.
6. Place on plate in single layer.

Place meat into hot oil one at a time, not overcrowding the skillet. Cook on first side until you the crust form on the sides. Turn. Cook again until crust forms. Turn again and cook on each side one more time to crisp up the crust. Transfer to towel lined baking dish and put in over to keep warm until ready to serve.

Sissy's Variation:
All amounts will vary based on the amount you are cooking. My seasonings of choice are salt, pepper, garlic powder--and two "secret" ingredients:  ground cumin and ground thyme. I wish I knew how long I cook the meat, but I usually just eyeball it. Next time, I'll time it, I promise

Gravy

• Pan drippings from steak
• Flour
• Milk
• Salt
• Pepper
• Spices

Heat drippings in a separate skillet. Whisk in an equal amount of flour to the about of drippings. Season and continue to wisk for a few minutes until slightly thickened. Whisk in milk and cook, whisking constantly, until gravy boils and thickens. Remove from heat and taste to adjust seasoning.

Sissy's Variations:
All amounts are going to vary based on much you are making. I am so NOT an expert on gravy. It has taken me many years of many failures to "perfect" a white gravy. For me, the big thing was to transfer the dippings to a new skillet, something I didn't do for a long time. 

Of course, you can't have CFS&G without mashed potatoes. I won't bore you with a recipe for that. I also made some green beans loosely based on some green beans my boss makes for Thanksgiving at work every year. One large can of flat, Italian green beans sauted with chopped onions in olive oil and tablespoon of butter (Smart Balance) with garlic powder and pepper. Green beans are the perfect veggie to serve along side this meal.

Steak and Potatoes

So, we love a good steak in our house. Bill actually cooks the steaks quite a bit. Three years ago, for Valentine's Day, he decided that he would cook dinner for me. He looked up some recipes, went to the store and bought ingredients, and cooked all by himself. He picked a steak dish with a cream sauce/dressing over salad. It was really good. He also "discovered" a new way to cook steaks at home. I grew up on steak cooked on a grill, so it never really occurred to me to cook them any other way.

So, in our house, steaks are seared on the stovetop, in a pan, then transferred to stove to finish cooking under the broiler. We also love to eat steaks at Outback Steakhouse, and their method is searing before cooking, so I suppose it makes sense that's how we'd cook them.

So for tonight's menu, I chose steaks, twice baked potatoes, and green beans. (I meant to make garlic bread, but I never got around to it.) All of these "recipes" are ingredients I sort of threw together and that can be adjusted to taste/dietary restrictions.

Steak Marinade:
garlic, finely chopped
shallot, finely chopped
onion, finely chopped
parsley, chopped
red wine vinegar
olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
salt substitute
fresh ground pepper
salt free steak seasoning
cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients in large plastic bag. Marinate steaks for at least one hour.

Heat pan over medium high heat with a little olive oil or cooking spray. Make sure you use an oven-proof pan. Turn oven to broil. Sear steaks for about 30 seconds on each side. You want them just browned on the outside. Transfer pan to oven and cook to desired doneness. We like medium to medium rare, so about five minutes each side. I don't have a pan large enough to cook both steaks at once (they were pretty big sirloins), so I transferred the first steak to a baking sheet and covered tightly with foil, then cooked the second.

Twice Baked Potatoes:
two large baking potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
garlic cloves (I used four)
butter (I used a little Smart Balance butter and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray)
sour cream (light sour cream)
bacon (low sodium, cooked in microwave)
Parmesan/Fontina/Asiago/Romano cheese blend
sharp cheddar cheese (I used light)

Pre-heat oven to 400. Poke holes in and spray potatoes with cooking spray and wrap with foil. Place garlic gloves on sheet of aluminum and toss with a little olive oil; wrap. Place potatoes and garlic on baking sheet. Garlic was done in about 30 minutes. The potatoes took about an hour. Allow the potatoes to cool just enough to handle. Cut slit in top and spoon out the insides, leaving just the skin. To the potatoes add the roasted garlic and next four ingredients (amount is purely based on taste) and loosely mash together with fork. Spoon mixture back into potato skin and top with cheddar cheese. Put potatoes back in oven and bake until cheese is melted.

Green Beans:
frozen green beans, thawed
olive oil and olive oil cooking spray
garlic, chopped
onion, chopped
fresh ground black pepper
vinegar
butter

Heat pan over medium heat with a little olive oil and cooking spray. Saute onions and garlic until slightly tender. Add green beans to pan and coat with a little more cooking spray. Saute green beans until almost cooked through. Add vinegar and pepper and reduce heat. Just before serving, add a little butter or spray butter (I used spray).

Sissy's Variations:
For the steak, I think I will sear just a little longer next time. I don't think mine turned out as well because I didn't sear as long. And I'll probably use less vinegar next time.
For the potatoes, I think more roasted garlic, but they were just about perfect. Oh, and I'll make sure I'm not out of green onions next time.
For the green beans, I want to try them with fresh next time and maybe add a little Parmesan cheese at the end.

Overall, the steaks tasted good, although Bill's wasn't a very good cut. The potatoes were awesome. Bill said it was the best potato he'd ever had. Bill didn't like the green beans and I thought they were just okay. But, still, an all-around good dinner, which is good because I burned myself again on the stupid pan that came out of the oven!