Month: January 2023

Meatloaf

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“For this recipe you will need.”

  • Leftover bread you have allowed to dry out, or just toast it. Blitz in a food processor.
  • Green pepper. About 1/2 of a pepper chopped finely.
  • Onion. 1/2 large onion chopped to the same size as the pepper.
  • Mushrooms, 6-8 ounces, as above
  • Salt and pepper.. about a T or so of salt, 1/2 T of pepper.
  • 3 Cloves garlic- minced is good enough
  • 2-3 labs ground beef- about a medium lean grade. Don’t use the leanest, it gets too dry.
  • Other spices I now add…. I use hot sauce in the current recipe. I also toss in whichever savory spices that hit my fancy. Play with it. Mrs Dash blends and other blends are awesome in this.
  • Substitutions: I currently use a mix of ground turkey sausage and ground pork. Much cheaper than beef. There are no eggs in this recipe because Mama needs to pay property taxes in a few months.

How to do this:

Okie dokie. Mix the veggies + blitzed bread with the spices, toss it like a demented salad. Throw the ground meat in with everything, and mush it together like mixing playdough colors together. Don’t over mix, you don’t want it tougher than a defiant 15 year old kid.

Okay, I used to use a smaller roasting pan for this, but now prefer cast iron. I put the meat in the pan, and fry it a little on the bottom on the stove top before I whack it in the oven. I lid the thing, and put it in a 400* oven while it is pre-heating.

It is almost done when the internal temp is 165*. Cook uncovered, in the oven. But shut that heat off for it to settle down a little. Serve within an hour with mashed taters and gravy.

Notes:

I left the eggs out intentionally. I’m not going to mortgage the house for them. I also lefft off the ketchup from the top. It didn’t seem to need it. This is excellent served in sandwhiches the next couple of days with some horseradish sauce.

Mashed potatoes and gravy

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Ingredients: Mashed Taters

  • 5 or 6 microwaved spuds, you can peel them if you want. I certainly don’t.
  • 1 C plain yogurt
  • Ranch powder (the kind used to make ranch dressing at home. Hidden valley is the brand I used for this) 1 handful.
  • 1 T or so salt, pepper, and even other spices that make you happy.
  • Milk

Method:

Zap those spuds until soft and throw them in the work bowl of the mixer. You may have to cut them into quarters. I then add the yogurt, spices, ranch powder and enough milk to make them fluffy. Mix till smooth. May need to add a little more milk. That’s why I don’t put a measurement in there.

Serve with gravy as below. Note: If you don’t skin the spuds, the peels will wrap around the beater. I just stir those back in.

Gravy Ingredients:

  • Minced onion
  • Flour
  • Butter
  • Milk
  • Salt & Pepper

The method to this madness:

I start by mushing the flour and butter in cereal bowl. I keep it wrapped and in the fridge or freezer. It works great as a thickener, it’s some french thingy I learned from Glen and Friends cooking, but I can’t remember the name of it.

I sweat the onion with salt & pepper, and sometimes like them a little brown. This is done over a very low and slow heat in good cast iron. When ready, add the milk and then the butter/flour mixture once the milk and onions are simmering.

How much to add? It depends on how much you are making. The butter/flour premix is so forgiving, and doesn’t lump! Cook and stir in the usual manner until nice, thick and pretty.

Substitutions:

Mashed taters: Cream cheese instead of yogurt. Hint, it’s evil and noms.

Gravy: Broth, or water and a boullion cube thing. Can also use mushrooms instead of onions. It just depends on what you are serving it with.

I like this on its own, or served with the meatloaf. Hugs!

Camping Prep 2023

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Morning all. Hope you are well. Young Master Duke is sleeping so sweetly on the bed, and I’m settled in at the desk. My Beloved has been spoiling me something fierce again.

I’ve been conned into attending a camping event this year in June. Prep for this event has started already. I’ve been going through my camping gear, cleaning and organizing what I will need for 2023.

Things I need to buy:

  • Tent patching kit and sealant. I have some sewing needles and an older tent I might just use as patching materials. For some reason, a treadle sewing machine can sew the weirdest things. The sealant is a must though.
  • Tarps and ground cloth. My husband borrowed my tarps to cover the lawnmower this year. I want those replaced, as I don’t trust a tarp that has spent the winter outside. A couple of tarps need to be altered to fit the footprint of my tent.
  • Burn resistant ground cloths. These will be used under my stove/grill. I don’t want to leave cinders on the ground, let alone have a problem with those.
  • Ash container- metal trash can with a sealed lid should work I want to be absolutely certain I leave no trace behind. Smothering ashes makes more sense than being sorry.
  • A better hatchet and camping knife. Those are a must. Even a bow saw that comes apart would be an improvement.
  • Gear totes. I want a couple of totes that work better than the current system I use.
  • A decent cooler. Insulin keeps me alive. I currently put a fabric cooler inside a cooler inside a larger cooler to keep the insulin cool but not frozen.

Upgrades:

Tents do need to be sealed and repaired as I said. I plan on sealing them, but also sealing the stitches that I make in them. Why replace something that works but only has a couple of small holes?

I am tempted to get a sleeping pad for my cot, but am ambivalent about it. I have some old ones, but I might sew a sleeve for them. I also plan on stitching up a couple of sleeping bag liners.

I’m going to swap out some of the gear I bought in the last year for stuff from the house. I prefer more sturdy tools, and will designate those for camping.

Now, for camping dates/times. I have 3 away from home trips in mind. The one is the event I have been conned into doing. The 2nd is one month later. There’s another event I plan to attend, which is a 1 day situation. If I go camping, I don’t have to drive home in the dark.

The 3rd is my October Camp. That’s the biggun. If I don’t choke and be stupid, it’s my 25th year clean and sober in the fall. I’m thinking of a longer trip, to a warmer place for this camp.

I’m also thinking that going to my home state for this camp just isn’t gonna work this time. So, I’m planning a trip of a week or 2. We will see. I’m saving my nickels and dimes. Let’s see what happens!

Hugs my friends. Take care, -L

Momma, make it summer.

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Evening all, it is below zero out there, and the wind is brutal.

Young Master Duke and I did the nap thing today again. I have a cuppa, and my sweetheart is still in bed.

I am being asked to let Young Master Duke outside. He wants to go. Yet he yeets himself back inside before his pee hits the ground.

Sighs. Have a good evening folks. Distance hugs. -L

P.S. I have done the needful, and this domain is mine for another year!

Mushroom Burgers and Baked Taters

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Ingredients:

  • Butter
  • Medium or Large Potato
  • Horseradish Sauce
  • Salt
  • Mushrooms- Sliced fresh
  • Onions, sliced finely
  • Lean ground beef
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Salt
  • Hot Sauce to taste
  • Swiss Cheese

Method

Steam potato in microwave until soft. While the potato is cooking, sweat the onions in a griddle or cast iron pan. Sprinkle seasonings to taste on the onions while they are cooking.

Make a meat patty with the ground beef, add seasonings to the meat as your form it. Move the onion to the cool side of the griddle, and fry the burger + the mushrooms. Cover with a good lid.

When you flip the burger, cover it with the mushrooms, cheese and onions and replace the lid.

When the spud is ready, slice it down the middle, add butter and hot sauce. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parika.

Slice the bread, heat for 15 seconds in the microwave. Smear a little horseradish sauce on the bread, top with the burger and some extra cheese. If adding mustard, or other condiments go for it.

Enjoy. Can be served along side a very hot bowl of soup or stew on the coldest nights.

The story:

I’d serve these on cold winter nights after a hard day shoveling snow or chopping wood. Dad loved these and was really appreciative.

Thank You for your time. -L