Cheesy Personal Meatloaves

A smash hit! Some relatively minor tweaks and alterations, but mainly this is a recipe out of Cooking Light January 2011. Cooks faster than full-sized meatloaf, and allows for portion control, too.

Meatloaf Ingredients:
1/3 cup Panko
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3/4 tsp dried oregano
Ground pepper to taste, I used 1/8 tsp
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup ketchup
1 or 2 tbsp mustard with horseradish or regular Dijon mustard, to taste
5 ounces reduced fat Jalapeno cheddar cheese, such as Cabot, or regular cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes (this is important, don't substitute shredded)
2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 egg

Gravy ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp vegetable bouillon
1/4 tsp beef bouillon
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425.

Saute the onion until tender, then add the garlic and saute 1 minute more.

Combine all meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with your hands (wearing disposable gloves). Form into 5 or 6 oval-shaped meatloaves on a tinfoil-lined cookie sheet. Bend up the edges of the foil so the meatloaf juices don't drip and dirty your oven. Drizzle some more ketchup on top of the meatloaves, to taste. Bake for 25 minutes.

While it's baking, make your veggies and the gravy. I just boiled up some frozen mixed vegetables and put butter on them, since meatloaf has a homey, retro feel that makes me think of boiled mixed veggies.

The gravy is pretty standard; mix the flour with a little milk in the bottom of a small saucepan until combined, then gradually stir in the rest of the liquid and the other ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Gravy will form a skin if not served immediately, so rub it with butter to prevent that, or lay a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper down on top of it, pressing down so it touches the surface of the gravy.

I'm so excited to eat this as leftovers tomorrow, you have no idea.

Tzatziki (Greek cucumber yogurt sauce)

This excellent spread is also a great dip, and surprisingly versatile. It's mostly made of cucumber (at least it is when I make it) and thus a good way to get some extra veggies, too. It's low in fat, high in protein and calcium.

Tzatziki is traditionally served on gyro meat, but it's great on hamburgers, meatballs, chips (including pita chips of course) and vegetables.

Ingredients:
1 English seedless cucumber, peeled
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, finely minced, or 1/3 tsp garlic powder

The cucumber can be shredded if you want convenience, or it can be cut into very small dice (about the size of split peas) if you like the texture of the cubes. I do! So I usually take the extra effort. But most people dislike chopping and so shredding the cucumber is a good option for them.

Spread the cucumber on several layers of paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes, then lay several more layers of paper towel on top and gently press down to soak up the excess veggie liquid.

Mix together the garlic and the yogurt, then carefully scrape the cucumber off the paper towels with a spatula or the back of a knife, and add the cucumber to the dip. Give it a stir.

Note: If you have time to let it sit, the garlic flavor will permeate better. But if you eat it all up right away, you can skip the paper-towels step because the cucumber will not release enough of its liquid to make the dip watery, especially if you dice it instead of shredding it. Dicing with a sharp knife preserves the internal structure of the cucumber, causing it to hold its water better.

You can personalize your tzatziki with the addition of cumin, ground black pepper, a pinch of dill weed or parsley, or adding extra garlic. Wikipedia cites regional variations that use shallots, minced walnuts, and mint, too.

Enjoy!

Chocolate-Cranberry Cookies - Gluten-Free, Low-Carb

Long time, no post! But I wanted to post this amazing recipe for cookies made of - get this - whey protein powder! They're tender in the middle, crispy on the outside, rich and delicious, and don't take up too much of the old carb allowance. They are NOT health food, though, don't fool yourself ;)

Ingredients:
2 scoops whey protein powder (vanilla, chocolate, almost anything works)
2/3 stick of butter, softened (toldja it's not health food!)
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Splenda or equivalent sweetness of Truvia
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Oven to 400 degrees. Chop the chocolate chips and cranberries into pieces about half the original size.

Beat together the butter, sweetener, and egg until smooth. Don't melt the butter, if it melts it might curdle.

Combine the dry ingredients, then beat into the butter mixture. Form the resulting dough into balls the size of small walnuts and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes or until the edges are browned and crispy.

Pear and Cream Cheese Tart with Graham Crust

Created on-the-fly when we decided we needed a dessert!

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 brick of graham crackers
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg yolk

Filling:
1 1/2 brick cream cheese (neufchatel is good)
1/3 cup milk
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla, or to taste

Also:
2 pears
2 tbsp wine jelly

Oven 375
Grind up the graham crackers in a food processor. Add the butter and yolk and pulse to combine. Press the mixture into a pie plate or tart plate and bake for 7 minutes or until the edge is golden.

Combine the cream cheese with the milk, sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth. Pour into the baked crust.

Slice the pears thinly and arrange on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pears are tender.

Melt the jelly and brush onto the pears.

Yay!