Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf

I didn't go into my kitchen this evening with the intention of making meatloaf. I actually didn't have much of a plan at all. I had the idea of wanting to make some sort of casserole perhaps, and somehow that idea evolved into me creating my first-ever meatloaf. My recipe is a hybrid of my own general knowledge of what meatloaf is from watching endless cooking shows, and from quickly consulting a few of my cookbooks once I got hooked on the thought. Here's how it came together.

Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf 

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ red onion, minced

1/3 green pepper and 1/3 other coloured sweet pepper, chopped

6 cremini mushrooms, sliced

½ package extra lean ground beef (about 1 ½ cups)

1 egg

1 tbsp barbecue sauce

1 tsp mustard

2 tbsp tomato paste or thick marinara sauce

½ cup sour cream

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp black pepper

½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Heat the olive oil in a small fry pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms and sauté until soft. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Put ground beef into a large bowl. Add the sautéed vegetables, egg, BBQ sauce, mustard, sour cream, breadcrumbs, and herbs and spices. Bring together using the hands into a sticky mixture. If it appears too wet, add more breadcrumbs.

Line a loaf pan with foil. Spoon a little more than half of the meatloaf mixture into the pan and spread it across the bottom and into all corners. Top with the cheese, mounding it in the middle. Cover the cheese with the rest of the meatloaf mixture and smooth the top so the cheese is no longer visible. Bake in a 375^oF oven for 35 minutes.

I had some potatoes on hand, so while the meatloaf was in the oven I whipped up a quick mash. Just to tie the whole dish together, I grated some more of the cheese that I stuffed in the centre of the meatloaf and mashed it in with the potatoes.

And there's the finished product! I got three healthy portions out of this meatloaf. (You could easily get four comfortable portions - I just make bigger portions since I'm the only one eating it). The meatloaf was moist and very flavourful with all of the various ingredients I added in. I kept my meatloaf pretty chunky with large vegetable pieces. If you're not as big on the veggies as I am, chop them up quite finely before sautéing them so they won't be as obvious in the finished loaf. I loved how the cheese oozed out of the meatloaf once I cut it into slices, and the bed of cheesy mashed potatoes brought it all together! Not bad for my very first foray into the world of meatloaf.

So yes, as you may have guessed, I'm going the obviously corny route with my tunes tonight. Since my dish is meatloaf, might as well throw up a Meatloaf tune, even though I'm really not that big of a fan. Just for kicks, here's I Would Do Anything for Love.

 

 

Broken Heart Brownies

Don't worry - I'm not the one with a broken heart. I chose the title because I liked the alliteration and because these would be the perfect brownies to heal any love-life woes. This is another one of my almost homemade recipes, like my Butter Pecan Cupcakes. It takes a brownie mix and adds in some magic to make a delicious concoction that looks and tastes like it could be homemade. This recipe is also ideal for the broken-hearted because it's quick and easy. When your heart is hurting, you don't have the time or the energy to bake brownies up from scratch. These come together in no time using just one bowl and then throwing the mix in the oven. For very little work, you're rewarded with a delectable heart-healing treat.

Broken Heart Brownies

1 package brownie mix
ingredients to prepare brownies as stated on package
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup pecans/walnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (if the brownie mix doesn't contain chips/chunks already)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom of an 8 inch square pan. Add in the ingredients specified on the brownie mix package, but don't mix in right away. Add in the additional ingredients (vanilla, cinnamon, coconut, nuts, and chips) and then mix thoroughly until the batter comes together. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes.

All it takes is some stirring and spreading and voilà:

Moist, chewy brownies with lots of little suprises inside! The coconut flakes give the brownies a more chewy texture, and the cinnamon adds an exotic flavour that plays up the chocolate.

I ate my brownie plain, but for those truly in need of some heart mending, you could add a scoop of ice cream, some chocolate or caramel sauce, whipped cream, the list goes on. Bottom line is these brownies will have you back in your happy place in no time.

My beats match the broken heart theme. I was introduced to this band by my friend Courtney from university when we went on a road trip for March Break last year. She provided the tunes for the drive and put in an album by The Airborne Toxic Event. I fell in love with every track and still listen to them now. The song I chose is one of the best break-up songs I have ever heard. It's about running into an ex who you still have feelings for, and it captures the true raw emotion of that moment. Here is Sometime Around Midnight by the Airborne Toxic Event.

Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies

I've been on a kick lately where I'm experimenting with using espresso in baked goods. It helps that I own a Tassimo machine so I can quickly and easily brew as many espresso shots as I like, and I bought a package of espresso T-discs solely for the purpose of baking. This recipe is the one that turned out the best of all of my experiments. The dough itself was almost better than the baked cookies - I probably could have eaten the whole bowl! I can't even truly describe the flavour notes added by the espresso - it highlights the sweetness, but the espresso itself is somewhat bitter. Altogether it almost makes the cookie taste creamy and smooth (that sounds weird I know, describing a solid with the adjective "creamy" but it's all I can come up with right now). However you describe it, these cookies are delicious.
 

Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 shot espresso, cooled

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375^oF. Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the shot of espresso and mix well. In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, soda, powder, salt). Add to the wet ingredients in two additions, mixing well after each. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Makes 2 dozen. 

Cookies fresh out of the oven:

I found the espresso flavour was actually stronger in the raw dough than in the finished cookies. It mellowed out through the baking process but still highlighted the sweetness and smoothness of these cookies.

There's a gorgeous close-up for the texture of the cookies - very buttery and chewy.

Now for the beats. Since I described the espresso as being bitter but also emphasizing the sweet in the cookies, my mind automatically jumped to one song: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve.

Cheesy Zucchini Bake

Zucchini is one of my favourite vegetables to cook with because it's so versatile. I love discovering new ways to use it. I've fried it into zucchini fritters/pancakes, stuffed it with cheese and vegetables, sautéed it into pastas and stir-fries, roasted it for a side or for a sandwich, and now I've baked it. I kept this bake very simple, just letting the zucchini and cheese speak for themselves. You could add other vegetables (mushrooms always play nice with zucchini) or add a condensed soup mix to make into more of a casserole. No matter how you prepare it, this makes a simple and elegant side dish for any meal.



Cheesy Zucchini Bake

1 zucchini, sliced

¼ onion, sliced thinly

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp olive oil

¼ cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350^oF. Spray bottom of a glass oven-proof circular dish with cooking spray. Arrange the zucchini slices in a circular pattern in the pan, overlapping slightly. After the first layer, spread about ¾ of the onion slices on top. Add the rest of the zucchini slices in a second circular layer, and then top with the remaining onion. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and Parmesan, and drizzle the top with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the grated cheddar cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes so the cheese melts.

Here's the zucchini bake just before I put it in the oven for the first time:

It looks quite pretty in the dish laid out in the circular pattern. Yes, this took a bit more time than just throwing the zucchini in there haphazardly, but it makes the presentation that much better!


Here's the finished product after adding the grated cheddar and letting it melt in the oven:

Super cheesy! If you are making this to serve more people and decide to double the recipe and use two zucchini, I would add about 10 minutes to the cooking time to make sure all the layers are fully cooked.


For the beats, I'm bending the title of this song slightly to make it fit my message. I think this dish could make anyone try and enjoy zucchini (mostly because of all the cheese), even if they're quite reluctant. In other words, it could cause you to make an exception to your dislike of this glorious vegetable. In honour of that idea (and because I recently ordered the sheet music to this song and can't stop playing it on my piano), here is The Only Exception by Paramore.