Dinner

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the food co-op we joined? It’s not quite as cool as a CSA farm, but it’s still pretty great.

Tonight for dinner, Ron had a salad and a helping of spinach casserole made from produce we got in our bag from the co-op. Meanwhile, I had meatloaf made from ground beef, chicken, and pork sausage, with a side of broccoli-rice casserole and a banana nut muffin for dessert. The sausage came from Ron’s parents’ freezer, but the beef and chicken were from the co-op, as were the broccoli and bananas.

I don’t have any excitement to report today, so I’ll just share my dinner recipes:

Meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. pork sausage
1 lb. ground chicken
about a cup of chopped onion
one bunch of green onions
two cloves of elephant garlic
one green bell pepper
olive oil
two eggs
about half a cup of picante sauce
about a cup of breadcrumbs

Mix the meat together with a fork. Saute the onions and pepper in olive oil until onions are clear. Add garlic and saute for a minute more. Add sauteed vegetables, eggs, and picante sauce to meat mixture and stir together. Add breadcrumbs as necessary to keep the mixture from being too wet or sloppy.

Spray two loaf pans (or a loaf pan and two big muffin tins) with cooking spray and mash meat mixture into pans. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 45 minutes if you used muffin tins and at least an hour for loaf pans. Serves an army.

Broccoli Casserole

(I can’t remember whether I’ve posted this before, but it’s such a good recipe, I don’t mind posting it twice.)

About a cup and a half of broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
One bag of boil-in-bag Minute Rice
One can of mushroom soup
About a cup and a half of Velveeta or shredded cheddar

Boil Minute Rice according to package instructions. While rice cooks, steam broccoli florets in a little water in the microwave for about two minutes to green them up. Drain broccoli, mix with rice, soup, and cheese, and microwave for about four minutes, until cheese melts and casserole is heated through. Given its simplicity, this recipe is way better than it has any right to be.

Banana Nut Muffins

Three cups of self-rising flour*
12-oz. can of cheap beer
1/2 c. honey
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 c. brown sugar
Cinnamon to taste
Two overripe bananas
1/2 c. black walnuts

Mix everything together (a potato masher works well for this purpose) and spoon into cupcake tins that have been coated with cooking spray or lined with paper muffin cups. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

*If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can substitute three cups all-purpose flour plus three tbsp. baking powder.

Have fun cooking. 🙂

Emily