Week 4 - Italian Style Meatloaf

Well I am quite impressed with myself. I am still going strong at Week 4 of my 52 new recipe challenge. For Week 4, I made an Italian Style Meatloaf. I must admit, it was the best meatloaf I've ever had. (However, it's still meatloaf :-))  Meatloaf is just one of those recipes that requires that you have an acquired taste for it. 

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Italian-style seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

I didn't make any changes to the recipe.  It didn't even require ketchup as a condiment when all was said and done.  My only mistake in making this recipe was not appropriately timing the side dishes with the main meal.  The meatloaf was removed from the oven prior to the side dishes being done.  However, this meatloaf definitely needed to cook longer than the hour that the recipe recommended.  Had I known that, I would have cooked the meatloaf until the side dishes were ready.  It would have solved the problem. 

I would give this a 7 out of 10 stars.  It is definitely worth making again if I ever happen to be craving meatloaf.

Week 3 - Slow Cooker Swiss Steak

On Sunday, I made slow cooker swiss steak that was served over mashed potatoes. This was my second attempt at finding a suitable base recipe. I would say I had marginal success over my last attempt.

Here are the ingredients that I used for this permutation:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour salt and pepper to taste
• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds round steak, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
• couple dashes of Chipotle tabasco sauce
• 1 green pepper, sliced in larger chunks

I seem to have a strong propensity to add Chipotle tabasco sauce to slow cooker meals. I know I had mentioned earlier that I considered such an addition a form of culinary cheating but this strikes me as an exception. I certainly didn't add enough to overpower the flavors of the recipe. It blended nicely with the sweet green pepper that was added.

The original recipe called for 10 hours of cooking even after sauteeing the vegetables and browning the meat. Goodness!! 7 hours of cooking was already far too much. I like tender vegetables that still maintain some of their texture. I was a bit disappointed with the consistency of the meal and at one point wondered if I had inadvertently created baby food. This, though, can easily be fixed. I wouldn't recommend cooking it for more than 5 to 6 hours on low.

I only added about 3/4 pound of the round steak. Since the meat was a bit thicker, I cut it into thin strips. I don't think that was ideal. I would have preferred to have a thinner cut of meat that I could have cut into inch by inch chunks or so. Perhaps it doesn't really matter at the end.

Overall, I liked the recipe as a base recipe. There needs to be some work done with the seasoning. Also, it would likely be feasible to add a bit of tomato juice and/or tomato sauce to the diced tomatoes. As a result, I would like to continue to explore various combinations in the sauce. Wine could also perhaps be added. The leftovers were fine, however, the flavors didn't continue to develop as they usually do in many of my recipes.

I will continue to tweak the recipe. I will give it 6 stars out of 10 as written above given the lack of depth in flavor. I think it has potential to be greater.

As a side note, my star rating system is in a state of constant evolution. This recipe definitely was more pleasurable to eat than the beef mushroom barley concoction despite receiving a similar rating.

Week 2 - Butter Chickpea Curry

For Week 2, I made a Butter Chickpea Curry. This recipe certainly was much more of a success. This again was from allrecipes.com. However, I am quite perplexed on the title of the recipe. What does butter have to do with anything here?

 

• 4 medium potatoes, cubed
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 (12 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

 

I only made one change to the recipe. The original recipe used 1 can of condensed tomato soup but I decided to replace that with diced tomatoes. It just seems that curry recipes need a more acidic sauce than tomato soup.

 

Overall, I liked this recipe. It is even better the second day. I do hae one criticism; it wasn't quite as spicy as I prefer. It seems like it may have needed a bit of tumeric as well. I also should have cooked the spices in the oil a bit longer than what I did. That, I read, is one key to a tasty curry. I had purchased a jalapeno as an extra ingredient. I was a bit dismayed when I had realized that I had forgotten said pepper. It wasn't the end of the world.

 

I am going to rate this 8 stars out of 10 stars.

Week 1 - Beefy Mushroom Barley Soup

For my very first new recipe of 2011, I am trying a Beefy Mushroom Barley Soup.  It's simmering as I type this message; the barley is still a bit firm.  Here are the ingredients:

• 1 pound cubed beef stew meat
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 6 cups water
• 3 cubes beef bouillon cube
• Salt / Pepper to taste
• 3-4 dashes chipotle tabasco sauce
• 2 pinches of thyme
• 1/4 cup pearl barley
• 1/4 cup sour cream

I took the base recipe from Allrecipes.com which is my favorite culinary website of all time.  The reviews are always extremely helpful though at times it seems that recipes become undeservingly popular on this site.  Once a substantial number of people have reviewed the recipe, it seems that newcomers judge the recipe by the number of reviews alone.  Many just aren't that impressive despite having several 5 star ratings.  

I added in a handful of my own ingredients to the base recipe.  As one would probably expect, chipotle tabasco sauce was not called for in the original recipe.  That's always my secret weapon when I begin to fear that I have a dud in the pot.  I tried to resist adding it; however, the temptation/fear was just too strong with this one. 

The first sip has been taken.  I think I was imagining this would be more of a barley soup.  The reviews warned against using too much barley.   Instead, it really has an earthy flavor from all of the mushrooms...too many mushrooms....  The recipe needs more barley than what was added and half as many mushrooms.  The barley is barely noticeable which is somewhat of a disappointment given that I was drawn to this recipe because of the barley. 

To make again or not?  This recipe could go either way.  It certainly is tasty but it is difficult to imagine myself ever craving it again like I do with many of my other soups.  The viability of the leftovers will go a long way in determining the fate of this recipe.    To be determined.  5 stars out of 10 stars

*1 night later*

I can't eat more than one bowl at a time.  It's difficult to even look forward to eating this meal.  Alas, I don't think I will be making this recipe again.