weeknight dinners Archives - The Midnight Baker

Pinwheel Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 00:00:20 +0000

Pinwheel Meatloaf

One of my mother’s treasured recipes. Comfort food at it’s best.

This is a recipe my mother transformed. Originally, she said, the filling was mashed potatoes. She thought it would taste better with a soft-bread stuffing. What do they say? Mother is always right? YEP!!

Mine never looks as good as my mom’s. Her stuffing stayed relatively white. Mine doesn’t…however, it tastes the same, and that’s what counts!!!

This is made like a jellyroll. The ground beef is rolled into a rectangle, the stuffing is spread on top of the meat, then rolled up. She cooked this in a “V” roasting rack so it never sat in the fat. The use of the roasting rack is optional, of course, but I suggest using it, especially if you are watching your fat intake.

The Recipe

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Pinwheel Meatloaf

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy meatloaf recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 558kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs very lean ground beef

STUFFING

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbsp parsley
4 tbsp butter
2 cups soft breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rack in a roasting pan
Mix all stuffing ingredients in a bowl; set aside
Roll out ground beef between 2 sheets of waxed paper to make a 12 x 8-inch rectangle.
Spread stuffing on top of meat and roll up, jellyroll style, from shorter end. Seal seam.
Place meatloaf on rack in prepared pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until center of meatloaf is 160 degrees F

Nutrition

Pinwheel Meatloaf

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Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Slow Cooker Chicken Teryaki

A slow cooker gourmet meal that’s fit for company.

Another adventure in crock pot cooking!

This is one of the best ones I’ve made yet. Yes, I know it has 2 more steps than “throw it in, set it, forget it,” but these steps are well worth the effort.

Browning the chicken gives it that glorious “caramel-y” taste that can’t be achieved in a slow cooker. Deglazing the pan for the juice is another step that adds extra flavor.

Marvelous infused flavor

OK the broiler part is probably cosmetic, but it makes it look fantastic.

Basically here the slow cooker is used to infuse the flavor throughout the meat. This could probably be achieved with marinating, but this process is much quicker than the 12 hour marinating time! And that wonderful teryaki flavor is infused right down to the bone.

This is also a beautiful looking meal. One that’s good enough to serve to company! I suggest jasmine rice as an accompaniment but any rice will do. Steamed baby bok choi on the side would be an added yum.

If you can’t find dark sesame oil in your local store, try this link:

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Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

This recipe for chicken teriyaki makes a slow cooker gourmet meal that’s fit for company.

Prep Time15

Cook Time5

Total Time5 15

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

Keyword: Asian chicken recipe, chicken teriyaki

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 582kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken thighs may use skinless
1 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground dry ginger
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup sherry apple juice may be substituted
4 green onions sliced
1/2 tsp dark sesame oil

To Thicken:

2 tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Instructions

Spray or line (with a slow cooker bag) a 5-6 quart slow cooker.
In a heavy large skillet, heat the oil and brown chicken very well on both sides. Place browned chicken in slow cooker.
Saute garlic and ginger in the same pan you browned the chicken for about 1 minute. Add the 1/4 cup water, scraping up all the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add the soy sauce, honey, sherry, molasses and vinegar. Stir well and pour over chicken in slow cooker.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HI for 4-5 hours (or until chicken is done).
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Add the sesame oil to the remaining slow cooker juices. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. With slow cooker set to HI, slowly add the cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce is thickened. Let bubble about 1 minute to swell and cook the cornstarch.
NOTE: You may want to remove the juice to another pan if you used skin-on chicken as there will be fat. It will be easier to skim the fat if you remove to another pan.
Preheat broiler to high. Place chicken on a broiler pan. Broil about 3 minutes each side or until chicken surface is slightly caramelized and bubbly.
Place chicken on serving tray and pour sauce over chicken. Garnish with sliced green onions.

Nutrition

Slow Cooker Chicken Teryaki

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Sweet-n-Sticky Boneless BBQ Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Sweet-n-Sticky Boneless BBQ Ribs

Oooey and gooey sweet sauce with a hint of tangy. There’s several surprises here. How they’re made and a secret ingredient. It’s also easy: made in one-pot and you set it and forget it until it’s done.

Last week my grocery store had boneless country-style ribs on sale buy one get one. Couldn’t pass that up since I love pork? Did I ever mention that? Well, I do.

You can, of course, do this with bone-in baby back ribs too. I wouldn’t advise regular spare ribs mainly due to the method of cooking–a rice cooker. Unless you have a super-size rice cooker, regular belly ribs just will not fit.

The beauty of a rice cooker is it cooks by reduction. That’s how you get this marvelous sauce and the other benefit is, it’s a one-pot meal. Since most rice cookers come with a steaming basket that fits in the pot, you can cook your veggies in the last minutes of the cook time for the ribs.

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Sweet-n-Sticky Boneless BBQ Ribs

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 40

Course: Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: BBQ Ribs, pork ribs

Servings: 4

Calories: 658kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless country-style or baby back pork ribs
12 oz can of beer OR 12 oz chicken stock
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup pancake syrup

Instructions

Brown ribs either in a large skillet or by placing under the broiler for a few minutes.
Add ribs and remaining ingredients to a 7- or 10-cup rice cooker. Stir.
Set rice cooker to "COOK" and check ribs every 30 minutes. Theoretically, when the cooker switches to "WARM" the ribs are done and the sauce is reduced to a sticky syrupy conistency. Your rice cooker may cook differently than mine, hence, it's a good idea to check the progress periodically.

Nutrition

Sweet-n-Sticky Boneless BBQ Ribs

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Twisted Tater Tot Casserole

Judith Hannemann — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:21:00 +0000

Twisted Tater Tot Casserole

Not your ordinary Tater Tot Casserole!

Raw ground beef
is pressed into the pan like a crust, then casserole is broken up and
stirred mid-way in the cook time so you get nice, solid pieces of beef
unlike the usual “brown-then-mix” version of this dish. Don’t worry, the meat will be completely cooked at the end.

Also
added is everyone’s favorite–BACON–as a tasty condiment, green and
red bell peppers for super flavor and some french-fried onion for some
more added YUM factor. And it’s all topped off with sharp cheddar
cheese. Nothing could be better on a cold, wintry night.

I
used the mini potato patties (crowns) in this since the shape is more
appealing to my eye and since they’re flatter than the standard
cylindrical-shaped tater tots, they’ll brown and crisp faster.**Don’t forget to read all the great ideas for substitutions that readers have given in the comments! Some wonderful ideas and taste change-ups!!!**

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Twisted Tater Tot Casserole

Not your ordinary Tater Tot Casserole!

Prep Time20

Cook Time50

Total Time1 10

Course: beef, Comfort Foods

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef, casserole recipe, tater tots

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 602kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb very lean ground beef at least 85% lean
1 can cream of mushroom soup low-fat preferred, but not necessary
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
6 strips cooked bacon crumbled
1/2 cup french fried onions such as French's
2 cups potato "crowns" or regular tater tots

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Press
ground beef into a 11 x 7-inch deep baking dish. Spread the potato
crowns evenly on top of the ground beef. Pour the soup over the potato
crowns. Sprinkle the diced bell peppers, bacon and french fried onions
on top of the soup. Distribute one cup of the cheese on top.
Bake
at 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the
casserole, breaking meat into chunks. Add the rest of the cheese and
cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.

Nutrition

Twisted Tater Tot Casserole

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