 Bacon. Wrapped. Meatloaf. What more do I need to say?  Seriously. This meatloaf is no joke. Packed with lots of meaty flavor, coated with sweet and smoky glaze and wrapped in bacon - this meatloaf is ridiculously good.
 Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf 1/4 BBQ Sauce 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard 19 Ritz crackers 4 slices bacon, chopped 8 slices bacon 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic 1/3 cup milk 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk 1/3 cup fresh parsley 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 pounds 90% lean ground beef  Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack in sheet. Whisk together barbeque sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and glaze.  Process crackers in food processor. Process chopped bacon and onion in food processor until coarsely ground.
Transfer mixture to a skillet and cook over medium heat until onion is soft. (About 5 minutes.) Add garlic and cook another minute.   Stir together milk, eggs, yolk, parsley, salt, pepper, 2 Tablespoons glaze and cracker crumbs. Stir in bacon mixture and beef.  Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Line pan with plastic wrap. Line pan with bacon, overlapping slightly. Brush with 3 Tablespoons of glaze.
Press meatloaf mixture into pan. Fold bacon ends over mixture.   Cut a 14x3 inch piece of foil. Poke 15 holes in foil with skewer. Place poked foil over meatloaf and carefully invert onto wire rack. Gently lift off plastic.  Bake 1 - 1 1/2 hours at 375. Use a thermometer to make sure that the meatloaf registers 150 degrees before removing from oven.  Brush with remaining glaze and heat broiler. Broil meatloaf until glaze begins to char and meat registers 160 degrees.   Let rest 15 minutes then slice and serve with extra barbeque sauce. This meatloaf was so tasty that it really didn't need any extra barbeque sauce or ketchup. And you know that I have an extreme love affair with ketchup so the fact that I ate this meatloaf without it - speaks volumes about its flavor. You are going to love this meatloaf. Ciao!
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 So much for our sunny and warm "Spring-like" January weather. Looks like we are back to cold and rainy Georgia weather for the weekend. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. I'm missing the sun today but doing my best to embrace more winter-like conditions. I have a big pot of chicken soup on the stove and a crackling fire in the fireplace. (That's my way of "embracing" winter.) It looks like my Friday night will consist of sipping steaming a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup curled up in front of the fire. :)  Just in case you're planning on staying in this evening, I have a perfect recipe for you to warm yourself from the inside out. These Cuban quesadillas are the perfect compliment to a cup of soup or just enjoy on their own.  Cuban Quesadillas 1/2 cup dill pickle chips, patted dry and diced 3 Tablespoons yellow mustard 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise 1/4 teaspoon pepper 4 (10 inch) flour tortillas 8 ounces thinly sliced deli ham 8 ounces thinly slices deli turkey 4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese (or provolone) 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil Combine pickles, mustard, mayonnaise and pepper.
Spread relish over half of each tortilla.  Top relish with slices of turkey and ham.  Top with cheese.   Fold Quesadilla in half.  Heat oil in skillet. Toast quesadillas over medium heat until lightly browned. Slice into thirds and enjoy.   Happy Friday friends. Enjoy your weekend - stay warm. Ciao!  Is it bad that I have spring fever in the middle of January? (I fear that I just might be in for a cold, harsh reality check later this month.) Surely I'm not the only one. Anyone else out there with a serious case of Spring Fever?  All it took was a couple of sunny 60 degree days to put me in the mood for Spring. Yesterday, I even moved the plants that have been spending the winter in my basement, outside for a few days of much needed warmth and sunshine. All of this warm sunny weather has me in the mood for fresh vegetables too. On the menu last night --- parmesan crusted asparagus. Perfect for a girl with Spring Fever.  Parmesan Crusted Asparagus 1 bunch of asparagus 1 egg 1 Tablespoon water 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs 3 Tablespoons parmesan cheese salt  Snap ends off of asparagus stems. Beat egg and water together in a shallow bowl.  Combine panko, salt and parmesan in another shallow bowl.  Dip asparagus in egg mixture, then in panko mixture.  Lay coated asparagus on a greased, foil lined baking sheet.  Bake 12-15 minutes at 375. (Baking time depends on thickness of asparagus.)   Grilled chicken breasts, parmesan crusted asparagus and roasted baby potatoes - Spring dinner in the middle of January. Sometimes Spring is a state of mind. Ciao! Perhaps it's a little too cool outside to be craving your favorite ice cream but that doesn't mean that that you can't enjoy your favorite ice cream flavors in cupcake form - even in the middle of January.  Neapolitan ice cream is a classic flavor combination - chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. You just can't go wrong with any of those delicious flavors. So why not transform that tantalizing flavor combination into a cupcake?  These Neapolitan cupcakes are absolutely irresistible. They're light and fluffy and yummy and simply perfect. Shoutout to Cooking Classy for the inspiration behind these delicious treats.  Neapolitan Cupcakes (makes 12 jumbo size cupcakes) Chocolate Cupcakes 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup boiling water 1/4 cup butter, melted 2 1/2 Tablespoons oil 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 egg yolk 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 cup flour White Cupcakes 1 1/2 cups cake flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 cup salt 7 Tablespoons butter 3/4 cup sugar 3 egg whites 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Strawberry Buttercream  Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together cocoa and baking soda.  Pour in boiling water and whisk until bubbling subsides. Cool 5 minutes.  Blend together melted butter, oil. sugar, vanilla and salt.  Blend in egg and egg yolk.  Blend in cocoa mixture and cream.  Slowly mix in flour.  Scoop into bottom of paper lined muffin cups. Spread into an even layer.  Combine baking powder, salt and cake flour for white cupcakes.  Whisk together egg whites, milk and vanilla. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
 Add milk mixture, alternating with dry ingredients until just blended.   Scoop a layer of white cake mix over the chocolate cake mix. Bake 23 minutes at 350. Cool on wire racks.   For some reason, all of my cupcakes came out of the oven with a brown ring around the edge. I have no idea why this happened or how to stop it from happening. Whip up a batch of strawberry buttercream.  Pipe strawberry buttercream onto cooled cupcakes.
 A perfect winter treat - ice cream flavors in cupcake form. Ciao! Welcome to my new home!!! I am so excited to introduce my new website to you. I hope that you enjoy it. It was definitely a labor of love to get this website up and running and there were plenty of days when I thought that it really wasn't going to be worth all of the frustration but I'm happy to report that I was COMPLETELY wrong. It was totally worth it!  One of my favorite parts of the new site is the amazing recipe index with over 1100 of my recipes! The picture index is just as helpful as it is beautiful too. Use it to make weekly menu planning easier. I have a schedule that I use to plan our meals and on Meatless Mondays for example, I head to the seafood page, browse until I find a picture that I like, click on the picture and pull up the recipe. All that's left to do is the grocery shopping. I am so thankful that you found my new website and I hope that you will stop back often. Make sure that you stay connected with me on social media so you know when the newest recipes and blogs are posted. Visit my connect page to see all of the different ways that you can stay connected with me.  I wouldn't be very hospitable if I didn't have something sweet to offer you for stopping by so please accept this decadent Hot Chocolate Cupcake. Enjoy!  Hot Chocolate Cupcakes Cupcakes 6 Tablespoons butter 1/3 cup oil 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 cups flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1 1/2 eggs 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt Marshmallow Meringue 6 egg whites 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar  For Cupcakes: Heat oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in jumbo cupcake pan. In saucepan, combine butter, oil, chocolate and water. Heat over medium heat until melted.  Whisk together flour, sugar and cocoa powder in bowl of standing mixer.  Pour hot chocolate mixture into mixer and beat until combined.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Sprinkle baking soda and salt over batter. Combine buttermilk and vanilla. Add to batter. Mix until well combined.  Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake 23 minutes.
 Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely.   Use a cupcake corer to cut a hole in each cupcakes.   Marshmallow Filling: Combine butter, marshmallow fluff and powdered sugar in bowl of standing mixer.  Add cream and beat until combined. Fill each cupcake with marshmallow filling.   For Marshmallow Meringue: Heat egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a double boiler until warm to the touch. Transfer to bowl of a standing mixer and beat with a whisk until stiff peaks form.
 Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe frosting onto cupcakes.  Lightly toast marshmallow with a butane torch.
 I would be remiss if I didn't stop to thank my wonderful husband for all of his help and patience during this website building process. Believe me - it wasn't exactly a smooth transition. I couldn't have done it without his tech support and domestic assistance. He stepped in and took over housework and meal preparation on more than one occasion, not to mention the number of hours that he spent solving website issues. You are one of a kind Ben - thanks for loving me - even through website development. Ciao! |
