GLAZED MEATLOAF and LUSCIOUS POTATO CASSEROLE and PEAS WITH SPRING ONIONS AND MINT

A friend recently had surgery, and I offered to bring her and her family dinner. She requested meatloaf, and I baked brownies to finish off the meal.

GLAZED MEATLOAF

750 grams of ground beef
1 1/2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs (I didn't add these the second time I made this dish, and I liked it better without)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
GLAZE
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon barbecue sauce

Heat oven to 375F.
Grease a loaf pan.
Combine all meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl, mix well.
Press herbed ground beef mixture evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until firm.
Drain away any fat, stand meatloaf in pan for 10 minutes, turn onto an oven tray. Combine all glaze ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Brush glaze over meatloaf, bake for about 10 minutes, or until well browned.
Allow meatloaf to stand 5 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Australian Womens Weekly, October 1991
aww.ninemsn.com/recipe-search/‎

LUSCIOUS POTATO CASSEROLE

1/4 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 package of frozen hash browns
2 cups shredded cheese
2 tablespoons butter

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat, stir until melted.
Remove from the heat, stir in the cream cheese, sour cream, green onion, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Add hash browns and shredded cheese, mixing gently. Pour into a buttered 2 quart casserole dish, dot with 2 tablespoons of butter. Bake at 350F for 50 minutes.
Enjoy! Please share recipedoodle with your family and friends!

Recipe adapted from The Morning News, June 2006

PEAS WITH SPRING ONIONS AND MINT

4 cups of frozen peas
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 spring onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the peas until they are just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain.
In the same saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the peas, cover and cook until heated through, 1 minute. Stir in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove from the heat. Stir in the mint, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Enjoy! Please share recipedoodle with your family and friends!

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine, April 2012
www.foodandwine.com/‎

POT ROAST MEATLOAF

My daughter requested meatloaf for dinner, and thankfully I came across this delicious looking recipe in a Jamie Oliver cookbook, I had taken out from the library.
I absolutely loved the simple but surprising sauce - it was incredibly rich and flavorful - and could have been a meal in itself. We have a hot smoked paprika powder that I used and I think that contributed to the wonderful flavor and depth of this dish.
In fact, I had to make this recipe twice to get a picture because the first time it was eaten so quickly.

POT ROAST MEATLOAF

2 onions
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
12 plain crackers
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans, drained
1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

FOR MEATLOAF
Heat oven to 475F.
Peel and finely chop 1 of the onions. Place in a large frying pan on a medium high heat with 2 lugs of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the ground cumin and coriander. Fry, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes or until softened and lightly golden, then put into a large bowl to cool. Place the crackers in a food processor and pulse until they are fine crumbs.
Add to the bowl of cooled onions with the oregano, mustard and ground beef. Crack in the egg and add another good pinch of salt and pepper. With clean hands, scrunch and mix up well.
Pat the mixture into a football shape, rub it with a little oil, and place in a baking dish. Put it into the oven, and turn down the temperature immediately to 400F. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
FOR THE SAUCE
Peel the other onion and chop. Peel and slice the garlic. Place the onion and garlic in a large pan on medium heat with 2 lugs of olive oil, the paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for around 7 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly golden. Add the Worcestershire sauce, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and rosemary leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it slowly simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the meatloaf from the oven, slice and serve with the sauce.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution, 2008
www.jamieoliver.com/us/.../jamies-food-revolution/about_jamie_oliv...