PW's Meatloaf

This is a real man-pleaser. I mean, just look at it...and anything wrapped in bacon makes my guys look forward to dinner! My dad, who is 70, says it's the best meatloaf he has ever eaten. And he isn't biased one bit by his only daughter's cooking. :)
It's another Pioneer Woman recipe. Yes, I check out her site almost daily, and if I didn't have to worry about gaining weight, I would cook even more of her recipe. And please, go look at her photos...so much more appetizing than mine.

Here's what you need to make this delish dish:

1 cup milk
6 slices white bread
2 lbs ground chuck
1 heaping cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
4 eggs, beaten
10 slices bacon, thin or regular sliced
Sauce:
1 1/2  cups ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard

Heat oven to 350*

Pour milk over bread in large bowl and allow to soak for several minutes.

To the bread mixture, add ground chuck, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, parsley and  beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix all ingredients together.

Shape mixture into a large loaf and place on a large broiler pan, this will allow the fat to drain while cooking. I like to line the pan with foil to avoid a big clean up.

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking ends under the bottom of the meatloaf.

Make the sauce by combining all ingredients and mixing well. Using 1/3 of the sauce cover the top of the meatloaf with  your spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, remove from oven, add another 1/3 of the sauce and return to oven for 15 minutes.

Slice meatloaf and serve with remaining sauce.

This recipe makes a ton of meatloaf, so I usually cut it in half and have plenty for 4-5 people. 

I made a couple small changes from PW's original recipe, be sure to check her's out to see the differences.


Source: Pioneer Woman

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

This is an easy, quick way to have a healthy breakfast or late afternoon snack with minimal effort.

Here's what you need:

1 vanilla yogurt, individual serving size
1-2 tablespoons granola, I like Special K
2 tablespoons frozen strawberries w/ sugar, thawed
blueberries

Layer thawed strawberries, yogurt, granola and top with blueberries.

You can change up the fruit and/or yogurt flavors to make your people happy...

Easy, Peasy! 

Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar, Ranch Breakfast Tacos

This recipe came about out of desperation! Caleb was home for the weekend and I wanted to send some breakfast items back to school with him. Unfortunately, or fortunately in this case, I didn't have any breakfast type meat. But I did have some leftover Chicken Bacon Ranch from the night before. So, I did what I usually do...I made something up! And it was darn good!

6 eggs, beaten
1 cup, or whatever you have leftover, chicken bacon ranch meat mixture
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
4 flour tortillas, soft taco size

Spray a skillet with non-stick spray, or melt a tablespoon of butter.

Add eggs and let cook a minute or two until they begin to set up a little.

Scramble them around to continue cooking and when close to being done or when they aren't runny anymore, throw in the chiken, bacon ranch mixture and stir it around to heat.

When the eggs are cooked, the meat mixture should be heated through. Remove from the heat and toss in the cheddar cheese, stirring to incorporate it throughout the eggs and meat. It'll melt as you stir.

Warm flour tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds or until they are easy to handle/fold.

Fill each tortilla with a generous helping of the eggs and meat mixture.

Fold over and enjoy!