Stuffed Meatloaf

OMG, I am so psyched about this meatloaf. I've been drooling over it since the first time I saw it. Seriously... everything about this shouts that it MUST be amazing. I have to admit, it more than lived up to my expectations. This was amazing (and used up a huge portion of my overgrown window herb garden)! Mr. L didn't not only didn't complain about having leftovers of this meal, he was excited enough about it to offer to come home for lunch so he could have some then!

Roasted Garlic and Ricotta Stuffed Meatloaf (from What We're Eating)

Ingredients:

For the Loaf:

1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice (I used green instead, since they were on sale)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs ground beef
3/4 lb hot italian sausage, not in casings
1/8 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tbsp sambal oelek
2 1/2 tbsp worcestershire saucekosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the filling:
2 bulbs garlic
drizzle olive oil
8 oz ricotta
3 oz goat cheese, softened
1/8 cup flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp fresh sage, minced
1/8 cup fresh basil ribbons (chiffonade)
1 eggkosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the garlic bulbs to be roasted: cut the ends off of each bulb and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Wrap in alluminum foil and roast at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until just starting to caramelize and completely softened.
Set aside until cool enough to handle.

While the garlic is roasting, saute the veggies for the meatloaf.
Add canola oil to a saute pan over medium heat.
Once the pan and oil are hot, add the diced onions, carrots, and red bell pepper.
Sweat the veggies over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
Add the minced garlic to the pan.
Stir and continue to cook for 1 more minute.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once the

garlic has been removed from the oven, begin preparing the rest of the meatloaf.
To a large mixing bowl add the sauteed veggies, ground beef, italian sausage, parsley, bread crumbs, 1 egg, sambal oelek, worcestershire sauce, and a liberal pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Using your hands, mix the ingredients together working the meat as little as possible, the more it gets rough around the tougher it will be.
Stop mixing once all the ingredients are just barely combined.

Make the filling-
In a mixing bowl cream together the softened goat cheese and ricotta.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the bulbs and into the bowl with the cheese.
Also add the parsley, sage, and mint.
Mix until the garlic has broken up and the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
After adjusting seasoning, add one egg into the bowl, mix until the egg has been completely incorporated.

Form the meat loaf.
Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet pan.
Using about 2/3 of the ground meat mixture form a rectangular "boat" on the parchment paper.
There should be about 1 1/2 inches of meat on all sides and on the bottom with a large valley that will be filled with the cheese.
Next, spoon the ricotta mixture into the bowl of the meatloaf "boat" ;-) .
Not all of the cheese mixture may be necessary.
Carefully take the other 1/3 of the ground meat mixture and press it out into a similar rectangle that will fit over top of the filled meatloaf "boat".
Work the edges of the top piece of meatloaf into the sides of the bottom piece to for a sealed meatloaf.
No filling should be visable.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt.

Place the stuffed meatloaf into a preheated 350 degree oven.
Bake the meatloaf at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Some of the cheese may ooze out during the cooking process but that's okay.
Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
PS: The leftovers go great cut up and tossed with pasta!

I also roasted a couple carrots and a parsnips with olive oil and honey so there'd be a little something on the side.

I swear I've been in the kitchen!

Here's what I've been up to:

There was pesto, made with basil that I actually kept alive all by myself! I tossed it in with veggie spiral pasta, grilled chicken, and peas. Yumm!

Then there was meatloaf. I can't remember where I found this recipe, but google seems to think that it's modified from Bobby Flay's recipe. This is definitely making it into the recipe rotation. So much flavor! And I still felt like it had the texture of a full-meat meatloaf. The true test will be what Mr. L thinks of it, but I think he'll go for it. Delish. Here it is, cut into portions (the recipe said it was 10 servings, so I cut it into 10 servings - less temptation, and easier to reheat) and ready to freeze. Aren't all the diced peppers nice and festive?!

Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large zucchini, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
5 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground beef
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat.
Add the zucchini, peppers, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until almost soft, 5 minutes.
Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl.
Add the meat, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, and the cooled vegetables and mix until just combined.
Mold the meatloaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Whisk together the remaining ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the entire loaf.
Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
*I split it into 2 loaves, in loaf pans, and it took about 50 min to cook.

And that same night, I made spinach and sun dried tomato frittatas from FitAfterThirty, one of my new favorite sites. (seriously, check it out!) It is wonderful. I made mine in giant cupcake tins, lined with parchment, since I'd be taking them to punch for work - I just pulled them right out and stuck them in ziplocks. They were easy to reheat, and I didn't have to remember to bring dishes home. And the parchment liner worked perfectly as a built-in plate. I also cut the amount of sun dried tomatoes in half, worried that they would overpower it (it looked like so much before I added them); this was a mistake. Next time, I'll put the full amount in the recipe.

Finally, it was cookies for coworkers - Robert E. Lee Gingersnaps, to be precise. This is a recipe given to me by one of my law professors, and I think it may be the best thing I learned in law school. They are perfect - they are soft gingersnaps!!! I totally used Martha's idea of cookie envelopes, and made each cookie an envelope from wax paper, sealed with a sticker from etsy's LadyBugLabels. I stacked them by the dozen and tied them up with ribbon.

Robert E. Lee Gingersnaps

3 sticks butter, melted
1/2 c. dark molasses
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350º.
In a large bowl, add molasses, sugar and eggs to melted margarine.
Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Add to margarine mixture.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Make into small balls, roll in sugar.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Makes 12 dozen. (Dough will keep for weeks in the refrigerator.)

Oh! And there were pound cakes - 4 of them, for groups of people at work... but I totally forgot to take pictures of them. Just imagine a plain pound cake. Times 4. That's it. I went with Martha's recipe, which I haven't actually tried. But they smelled good and looked OK, and people said nice things. So I assume that it's good.