MEATLOAF AND COLLARD GREENS

I've made meatloaf a lot but I've never tried to make collard greens. Today was a first and they didn't come out bad - not bad at all! Have you made meatloaf before? What do you put in yours? I put in:

Diced onion, red and green bell peppers, one egg, ketchup and/or barbeque sauce, salt, garlic power, pepper and seasoning salt. Oh, and I grate one slice of bread into it, usually the heel or end slice.



In a medium sized bowl, drop in your ground beef. I only use a pound because its just me so it makes a small meat loaf, enough for dinner and a couple of sandwiches as left-overs. Chop your onion and bell peppers. I usually use just a few slices of onion (from a large onion), and about one third each of the red and green bell peppers. Break and drop in your egg. Grate one slide of bread or you can use bread crumbs. Sprinkle in some ground pepper, garlic powder and salt. Add some ketchup or barbeque sauce or a combination of both - maybe about 1/4 cup BUT don't add all because I'm not sure if that's too much. I add my sight. You just want to add enough to get it some of the taste in the meat but you don't want to saturate it with ketchup. Oh, a little soy sauce, worcestershire sauce or A-1 Steak Sauce can be added - about 4-5 shakes of the bottle. If you use these decrease your salt.



Now here's the fun part. Mix this with your hands. You can use a fork or spoon to blend it all together but you're going to have to get your hands into it anyway when you mush it all together and form your meatloaf in the baking pan. Bake at 350 for maybe an hour. I check mine periodically. You want it to cook until the juice runs clear. Depending on the fat content of the meat you buy you may have to drain the grease a couple of times while its cooking. You don't want it to swim in the oil while its cooking.



Now, as for the greens. This was a first for me and I already made it my own. I bought the bag of collard greens at the market (only one since its just me) and a small package of sliced salt pork.



After checking out a couple of recipes and talking to my sister I washed the greens and started them to boil in a large pot. In another pot I started to boil some water and put it in about half an onion and half a cube of butter.

When the greens begin to cook, like cabbage, they shrink and end up cooking in all this water. I drain some water as it cooks so that all of my seasoning doesn't go down the drain. When the water level matches the shrunk greens and the amount of water I want with my greens, I added in the butter and onion mix from the other pan. Season with garlic power, pepper, hot sauce if you want. My sister-in-law uses vinegar. I added a little to mine too, just enough to give in an interesting zing but not enough so that I think "Oh, there's vinegar in there." Do this by only adding a little at a time.

Occasionally stir your green, check the flavor and tenderness. One recipe said over 2 hrs. It will depend on how tender you like your greens. I was done with mine after about 1-1/2 hrs.

I hope I didn't leave anything out. Will also welcome any tips or suggestions on new ways to try either portion of this recipe.

BAKED SPAGHETTI

Baked Spaghetti is one of the dishes that was cooked often when I lived at home. I really don't like eating it the traditional way maybe because I tend to find pasta bland. This way the seasoning is cooked into the pasta. So if you're not a big spaghetti fan maybe you'll like it this way. If you're a big pasta fan maybe you'll like it this way too.


My recipe includes:

1 lb. pound of ground beef (I know people who prefer to use Italian Sausage).
Onion, bell pepper (red and green)
One package of Spaghetti seasoning mix
Three small cans of tomato sauce
One can of stewed tomatoes
Cheese
Spaghetti

Start your water to boil for the spaghetti. I usually add a little salt and garlic powder to the water. I've always thought it helped the water boil faster (smile), but even if it doesn't it smells good.

Fry your meat in a large skillet. Chop up your onion and bell peppers and add to the meat while it is cooking. Add in salt, pepper and garlic powder. Season to your taste preferences. Try to cook your meat so that you have nice sized chunks, like tiny meatballs. Add in the package of Spaghetti Sauce Mix.

When the meat is done add in the can of stewed tomatoes and two of the cans of tomato sauce. Don't throw the cans away! Fill each can with water and add it to the meat/sauce mix. Pour the meat/sauce mix into your baking pan.

Now for the spaghetti. When the water starts to boil add it your spaghetti and let it boil. I never use a whole package of spaghetti but it is trial and error knowing how much to use. I use about 3/4 pack of spaghetti. A trick is to stir the spaghetti as it cooks, especially right after you put the spaghetti in so that it doesn't stick together. Boil the spaghetti until when you lift it with a fork it is completely limp. I heard a trick once that if you take one and throw it at the ceiling, if it sticks it is done. I did that once. LOL! It works but I wouldn't recommend it because you have to get it down.

When it is done, drain it in a strainer and rinse. With a fork, lift out the spaghetti and mix it in through the meat/sauce mix. It should look like the photo below. Taste it and season to your preferences. Bake in the oven and 350.



The third can of tomato sauce comes in to personal preferences. Sometimes when you bake the pasta soaks up the sauce. Or, you've put in too much spaghetti and its looking not too saucy. Use the third can of tomato sauce to adjust. Add some tomato sauce and some water. Mix it in and put it back in the over to cook a little longer.

One adjustment would be what I call spaghetti surprise. I take cheese, cut it in chunks and stick it into the spaghetti in different places, covered by the spaghetti so that when you spoon it out to serve you have this nice melted cheese. Or, you can sprinkle cheese over it when it is served (below.)



This can be served with salad and garlic bread. Remember, always season to taste. The best cooking you can do it by learning from experience. Sometimes recipes don't make sense until you do it the first time to understand what someone is trying to tell you to do (smile.)

Happy eating and God bless!