LAST NIGHT:
I hurt my knee so C took over dinner responsibilities last night.
He made a box of rigatoni. While it was cooking he scooped out a few cloves of the sweet garlic from the confit’d jar, and added it along with some of the confit oil to a non-stick skillet. He mashed the cloves to release some garlicky goodness. He took a can of small white beans, drained and rinsed, and spread them out on a tray and tossed them with more oil. He roasted them on 400 for about 20 min, til they got all crunchy. He tossed the pasta, garlic + oil and the beans all together.
The smell was enough to make your heart sing.
Can you smell the garlicky-crunchy joy?
TONIGHT:
Glazed Meatloaf from Allrecipes.com and Accordion Potatoes with Chive Butter from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. Again, I can’t find the recipe online, but it was in this month’s issue (Nov 2012, Page 92). I’ve seen Accordion Potato recipes before but haven’t attempted them. You’re supposed to not cut all the way through the potatoes as you slice them crossways, so as they bake they split open – like an accordion – but alas… I cut through a couple of slices. As I was working away I sorta grumbled to myself, ‘Geez…I suck at…’ – C cut in and said, ‘What? Following recipes?’
Poophead.
Meaty meaty meatloaf!
The meatloaf was a mix of ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, a bouillon cube & an egg. The glaze was a mix of Chili Sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and mustard powder. C really liked it – as did J. He gobbled it up! R had two bites and she was done. I liked the meatloaf itself, but thought the glaze was too sweet. I read the reviews and cut waaaaay down on the brown sugar (I used 2 Tblsp instead of 1/3 cup). I also tried to kick the spice level up just a touch by swapping out the ketchup for the chili sauce. Meh. Of course, that didn’t stop me from eating a 2d piece. After dinner, I had a tummy ache. C said it’s probably because I ate so much – I think it’s because I don’t eat a lot of red meat and I had two slices. Nothing a glass of Amaretto can’t cure.
Meaty Joy
The accordion/hassleback potatoes LOOKED pretty (they actually needed to cook another 15minutes)- but were soooooo not worth the extra effort. C and I agreed that normal baked potatoes woulda sufficed.
Ahh well. Live and learn.
Note the Chives – E picked them from the neighbor’s yard
By the way, C is pretty marvelous. He did most of the dinner prep – AND the dishes too. Of course, I had to change poopy diapers, but still – he’s pretty fantastic. *fluttery eyes*
My beer spoke to me
Garlic Confit Pasta with Crunchy Beans by Me
Dairy-FREE
Ingredients:
1 can White/Cannellini/Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons Garlic Confit, divided **If you don’t have, use Olive Oil
Several cloves of Garlic from the Garlic Confit **If you don’t have, use raw garlic, smashed or sliced or minced
1 box Pasta **Short pasta with curves will grasp the sauce really well, but it doesn’t matter all that much what shape you use.
How To:
1- Oven to 400ºF. Line baking sheet to foil. Put a large pot of water on to boil – salt it very well.
2- Dump beans onto lined sheet, drizzle 1 Tablespoon oil . Shake pan or use spoon to help beans get coated with oil.
3- Whack pan into the oven for about 20 minutes, until the beans get all crunchy.
4- When the water comes to a boil, cook your pasta as directed by the box.
5- In a small pan gently heat the other Tablespoon of oil and your garlic together for a few minutes – I mean low heat. Just enough to warm everything through, not fry the heck out of it. (Just enough to take the bite out of your raw garlic, if using).
6- Drain pasta (reserving 1 cup of pasta water to use in case you want to coat the pasta more/thin the oil), add in the heated through garlic and oil. Toss to coat and top with your crunchy beans.
Glazed Meatloaf by Delia Martinez from Allrecipes.com
Printable Recipe HERE
Dairy-FREE
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/3 cup Brown Sugar **I used 2 Tablespoons instead of 1/3 cup.
1/4 cup Lemon juice, divided
1 teaspoon Mustard POWDER
2 lbs. Ground Beef
3 slices Bread, broken up into small pieces
1/4 cup Onion, chopped
1 Egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Beef bouillon granules **I used a cubed thingie
How To:
1- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2- In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and mustard powder.
3- In a separate large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread, onion, egg, bouillon, remaining lemon juice and 1/3 of the ketchup mixture from the small bowl. Mix this well and place in a 5×9 inch loaf pan.
4- Bake at 350ºF for 1 hour, drain any excess fat, coat with remaining ketchup mixture and bake for 10 more minutes.
Hassleback Potatoes by Martha Stewart Living **NOTE: I can’t find the original recipe NOR an online version. Apologies. This one is pretty close.
Gluten-FREE
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter, melted
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin Olive Oil
4 lbs. Russet Potatoes, peeled
4 Shallots, thickly sliced lengthwise
Salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Red-pepper flakes (optional)
8 sprigs Thyme
How To:
1- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2- In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. With a sharp knife, slice potatoes very thinly crosswise – BUT NOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. A few websites suggested laying chopsticks on either side of the potato so your knife can’t cut all the way through the potatoes. Cut carefully please.
3- Arrange potatoes on a baking sheet. Use your fingers to spread the cuts open just a little bit. Either Melt the butter/oil combo or Chunk it up so you can add the butter inside the potato cuts.
4- Wedge shallots throughout. Sprinkle with salt and red-pepper flakes (if using); brush with remaining butter mixture. Bake 1 1/4 hours. Add thyme and bake until potatoes are cooked through with a crisp top, about 35 minutes more.
Ringing The Dinner Bell 