OK I will admit. I am not a big fan of the meatloaf but this one is fan-freakin-tabulous and definitely work the try!

Glaze

• 1 c ketchup
• 1/4 c packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 T cider vinegar
• 1/2 t hot sauce

Meatloaf

• 2 t vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 c crushed saltine crackers
• 1/3 c whole milk
• 1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef (I used 97%)
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
• 2 t Dijon mustard
• 2 t Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 t dried thyme
• 1/3 c finely chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Make glaze: whisk all ingredients in saucepan until sugar dissolves. Reserve 1/4 c glaze, then simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.
In a nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering then cook onion until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to large bowl.
Process saltines and milk in food processor until smooth. Add beef and pork and pulse until well combined, about ten 1-second pulses. (This didn’t work for me, after the 10 pulses I transferred to bowl w/ onions and hand mixed just till blended. Don't overwork the meat mix) Transfer meat to cooled onion mixture. Add eggs and yolk, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, parsley, 1 t salt and 3/4 t pepper to bowl. Mix with hands until combined.
Adjust oven racks to upper (about 4 inches away from broiler element) and middle positions and heat broiler. Transfer meat mixture to prepared baking sheet and shape into 9 inch by 5 inch loaf. Broil on upper rack until well browned, about 5 minutes. Brush with 1/4c uncooked glaze over top and sides of loaf and then return to oven and broil until glaze begins to brown, about 2 minutes.
Transfer meat loaf to middle rack and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until meat loaf registers 160 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes.
Transfer to carving board, tent with foil and let rest 20 minutes, then slice and serve, passing cooked glaze at table. It doesn’t take much glaze per slice.

Ingredients:

4 slices white sandwich bread , torn into pieces
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup bottled clam juice (No clam juice? Substitute chicken stock)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
4 scallions , chopped fine
2 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons grated zest and 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt
1 1/4 pounds colossal shrimp, peeled and deveined

Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse bread in food processor to coarse crumbs. Transfer crumbs to broiler pan bottom and bake until golden and dry, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove crumbs from oven and reduce temperature to 275 degrees.
Combine toasted bread crumbs, mayonnaise, clam juice, parsley, scallions, garlic, lemon zest and juice, mustard, cayenne, and ¼teaspoon salt in large bowl.
Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt. Grease empty broiler pan bottom. Following steps 1 to 4 at left, butterfly and cut hole through center of each shrimp and arrange cut-side down on prepared pan. Divide bread crumb mixture among shrimp, pressing to adhere. Bake until shrimp are opaque, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove shrimp from oven and heat broiler. Broil shrimp until crumbs are deep golden brown and crispy, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve.

Ingredients

• 1 (5-7 lbs.) smoked, sliced ham

Glaze:

• 1 C. brown sugar, well packed
• 1 can (10 oz.) crushed pineapple, un-drained
• 2-3 chipotle chilies in adobo, seeded
• 1-2 tbsp. adobo sauce (from your can of chipotles)
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. cold water
• pinch salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place ham in a large baking dish, the cut end facing down.
With a sharp knife, score the skin of your ham in a tight pattern unless it comes scored. Bake for 15 minutes to get it started.
While ham is baking, prepare the glaze. Combine the sugar, pineapple, chilies, adobo sauce, nutmeg, and ginger in a blender. Blend well until smooth.
Pour this mixture into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Mix the cornstarch with the water until dissolved, and whisk into the simmering sauce. Cook until thickened.
After the ham has baked 15 minutes, brush it with the glaze.
Baste ham every 15 minutes until heated through, which should take one hour or so. When it's ready, the internal temperature she be about 140 degrees.
Use any extra glaze as a dipping sauce!
It's sure to be the hit of your Easter dinner!

From the Italian side of the family - Fuhgetaboutit!

Cheese Mix

Ingredients:
• 2 lb Ricotta
• 1 lb Mozzarella (grated)
• 2 t grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 3 eggs
• 2 t crushed parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
When Ziti is cooked put a small amount of sauce in baking pan to cover the bottom then add half of the cooked Ziti. Spoon cheese mix over Ziti, being generous. Add remaining Ziti and cheese the same way. Cover good with sauce being sure sauce goes all the way through. Bake until all bubbly and cheese is all melted.

Sauce Mix

Ingredients:

• 1 small can Tomato paste
• 2 cans crushed Tomatoes
• Dash Olive Oil
• 2 T Basil
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t oregano
• 1 t minced onion
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Fry tomato paste in a small amount of olive oil, then add basil, garlic powder, oregano, minced onion and salt& pepper. Add crushed tomatoes and meat. Let cook on very low temperature, for about 2 hours.

This is another one from the family vault (box) of recipes. I haven't had this in a while but it is a great comfort dish!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Stew Beef
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1 large Onion – sliced
• 1 C diced celery
• 4 to 6 medium potatoes
• 4 medium carrots
• 1 t salt
• 1 C water
• 1 C peas
• ½ recipe biscuit dough (using tomato sauce as liquid)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Brown meat in a greased 2 qt. baking dish in the oven. Add salt, 1 ½ cans tomato sauce, water and onion. Cover and bake 45 minutes. Add other vegetables, cover and bake another 45 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Prepare biscuit dough substituting ½ can tomato sauce for milk. Roll about ½ inch thick, cut into six 2 inch biscuits. Increase oven temp to 425, place biscuits on top of stew and bake until done.

You may or may not have noticed my profile pic and my "uh hum" great impression of my catch of the day, Mr. Lingcod. We had taken a trip to Alaska (SUCH a great place) and did a little deep sea fishing. We caught Salmon, King Salmon, red snapper and lingcod. Catching all these fish was AWESOME, but the Lingcod were especially thrilling! They look a bit like a wet prehistoric lion when they start getting close to the boat. Anywho.. they are great eating and this was a recipe shared with us while in Alaska. Everyone may or may not can get their hands on a Lingcod, but the recipe works well with any white fish fillets that are thick and flaky...

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 large egg white
• 1 T Dijon Mustard
• 2/3 C fine, dry, unseasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ C chopped. Toasted Almonds
• 1 T chopped fresh Oregano
• 1 T chopped fresh Mint
• ¼ t salt
• ¼ t fresh ground pepper
• 1 ¼ lbs. Lingcod, cut into 4 pieces
• 4 lemon wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.
Lightly oil a wire rack large enough to hold the fillets in a single layer. Put the rack on a baking sheet and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg white and mustard until creamy. In a shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs, almonds, oregano, mint, salt and pepper.
Dip each piece of fish in the crumb mixture, then in the yogurt mixture, and once again in the crumb mixture. Set on the prepared rack; they should not touch. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the fish is lightly browned on the outside and opaque in the center. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

My mother used to spend all day making spaghetti sauce. She would start it that morning, (after a cup of joe and a smoke) and simmered it for hours. The whole house would smell wonderful and we couldn't wait to eat it. This recipe has been added to over the years and makes the best sauce ever!

REVIEW INGREDIENTS

Ingredients –
2 Quarts Diced Tomatoes
1 Quart Whole Tomatoes
2 Quart Tomato Sauce
1 Quart Crushed Tomatoes
1 pint Tomato Paste
4-5 Fresh Tomatoes
2 heads Garlic, peeled, chopped and pressed
2-3 large Onions, chopped
2-3 Green Peppers, chopped
1 large Celery Bunch, chopped
4 pounds Lean Ground Beef
Fresh Mushrooms
2 tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon Basil
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
pinch Cayenne
pinch Red Pepper Flakes
pinch White Pepper
pinch Celery Seed
pinch Rosemary
pinch Thyme
pinch Garlic Powder
pinch Ground Sage
pinch Turmeric

Preparation:

Add garlic, onions, green pepper, celery, cayenne, red pepper flakes, white pepper, celery seed, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, ground sage, turmeric to large deep skillet.

disclaimer: coffee not included, that's the hub aggravating me!

Cool weather is starting to move into NC and gets the taste buds all fired up for soups, stews and casseroles. This one is an oldie but goody from my childhood and Nannie's house..

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion - diced
• 1 green pepper – diced
• 1 T butter
• 1 ½ lbs ground round
• 1 t Seasoning Salt
• ½ t pepper
• 1 t sugar
• 3 small cloves garlic
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 C Water
• 8 oz wide egg noodles
• 12 ox shredded mozzarella – divided in half

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion and green pepper in the butter, the add ground beef and brown. Drain the fat. Add in the seasonings, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and water. Heat to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Using a large casserole dish layer the meat sauce, uncooked noodles 6 oz of the mozzarella, then remaining sauce and remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. (I uncover for the last 5 to 10 minutes)


Serve it up and put a fork in it!

Guest Cook: Today's guest cook is Cathy Deaton from a great small town in North Carolina. Cathy is sharing with us a recipe she loves for Pot Roast.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless beef chuck roasts (2.5 lbs each)
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 envelope brown gravy mix
• ½ C water

Directions:

Place chuck roasts in an 5 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing and gravy mixes; stir in the water. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or until tender. If desired thicken the juices for gravy.

makes 12 to 15 servings