[DollyCali]

Hope I have included all who participated in the marvelous & mouth-watering food discussion. I was out late last night & just glanced at pix before sleeping. Including a few others as a ping to this thread in case they missed it. Great Pres/VP pix & WONDERFUL food discussion & sharing of cooking ideas & recipes

I think we(me) have become a generation of easy way out. Reading all your ideas made me want to do more scratch cooking and try a few of your ideas. When time is a factor, the tried & proven & “mix-fixes” along the way are my routine. I buy a whole lot of packaged things each time I shop & do my own modifications. Just being lazy.

Cow, thanks for your testimonial. good for you getting healthier & losing weight !!! . We can all do it by changing some things in our diet.

I have minimal refined sugar & flour. NO soft drinks & am basically on a minimal acid diet. (modified Macrobiotic & Mediterranean)

I did NOT know that re: canola oil turning into a bad guy when heated. I will use it just for dressings now. I do use butter & olive oil for most cooking & used canola oil when I didn’t want the olive oil flavor to be there .

I have heard sesame oil is among the best & also almond (the macrobiotic input)

I don’t eat animal flesh.. well for over 20 years this time around… but made a meat loaf that was a hit with almost everyone. Will share it with you. You can use your own fav meat loaf as a basis, but this is one of those “specialty” types. I have not made this for decades but might try it with the crumbles, that we vegetarians use... worth a try once

Dolly’s Italian/Pizza Meat loaf

Use a favorite recipe adding 2 Tablespoon dried Italian Seasoning

Or (my recipe)

1. 2# lean ground beef
2. 2 cups dry Ingredients. [could be bread crumbs, oatmeal, crackers, crushed potato chips(omit salt if you do this one) etc). I just used what I had available]
3. 1/3 c minced fresh onion
4. 4 garlic cloves crushed
5. 2 T dried Italian seasoning
6. 2 eggs
7. ¼ cup pizza or marinara sauce
8. Salt/pepper to taste

Mix 3-8 together thoroughly, add “dry” filler & then gently fold in meat.

Cover & let this mix set for a bit for flavors to blend. I have even done this part a day ahead of time. As you experiment with this you can alter the wet/dry ingredients to have a consistency/moistness that you & your family likes

Pat the mixture onto a piece of heavy waxed paper into a rectangle.

Cover the meat mixture with fav Italian cheeses (slices or grated).. I used to have sliced Mozerella and sliced Provolone. May top this with sliced pepperoni if you desire.

ROLL UP JELLY ROLL STYLE. (now here too, you experiment. If you want thicker layer or thin.. The thicker the finished roll is the longer it needs to cook

Place in pan sprayed with cooking spray & bake covered at 350 for 45 min.

Drain fat & cover the top with 1 cup pizza or fav spaghetti sauce & more cheese of your choice. Bake Uncovered for ½ hour to 45 minutes more according to dry/moist you desire. Some just like to put cheese & sauce on the last 20 min.

I would serve this with Italian salad, mashed potatoes, Italian green beans & garlic toast

I never did this with a crock pot, but if my “crumble” recipe works I would try it perhaps in crock pot. Line the crock pot with foil, so you can lift it out.

To be honest this is a recipe I developed & use the “dump” method.. the ingredient amounts are “approximate”.I might try adding some fresh thinly sliced basil to mix. And another “easier tip” is to mix the amount of shredded cheese of your choice in with the meat mixture & just bake as loaf.

the pinwheel slices are very pretty on a plate with the green/white from the other hot courses

[DollyCali]

Thanks for the wonderful Dose, Eleanor!!!!1

[Anne of DC]

Yipes!

Gotta try that recipe, Dolly! :o)

[maica]

Your meatloaf recipe is making my mouth water! Thanks for the ping. This definitely is a must save thread.

Here is my cornbread story -- when I visited a friend living in California, [on the waterfront at Santa Monica] but who was from Greenville, NC, he suggested that I make some cornbread, and was truly shocked when I didn't have the recipe in my head. Up to that point in his life, I guess he thought every girl and woman just knew how to make it as a matter of daily life. I went way down in his estimation, fer shur! (little California expression)

[defconw]

Sounds great, wonder how the family will feel about meatloaf on Labor Day? LOL