cooking class

With Nathan in Kansas most of the time for work, he's basically living out of his truck and having to eat fast food meals all the time.  When he comes home we like to have good home-cooked meals so he can enjoy being at home and having food that he misses.  The last time that he came in town he had a request... MEATLOAF, MASHED POTATOES, and ASPARAGUS!  What a manly meal!  I love that my lumberjack likes my cooking! :)


Nathan has called my mom Mrs. Hen since he was in middle school, and my mom has always made a mean meatloaf.  With some help from my friend Sarah, I spruced it up a little.  And it was great!  I put them in muffin tins so the leftovers would be easier to put into the fridge.  Here's the recipe!

Mrs. Hen's Meatloaf

1 lb. hamburger meat

1/2 sleeve of Saltine crackers

1 egg

dash of seasoning salt

1/4 onion (chopped)

1/4 bell pepper (chopped)

**Instead of using the crackers, I bought a box of Stove Top stuffing and made it according to the directions on the box.  Instead of the egg, I added a cup of water to the mix so it wouldn't dry out and to help it all stick together. Thanks Sarah for the Stove Top idea!  It adds TONS of great flavor!

Mix all of the ingredients together.  Put into muffin tins and bake at 350 until golden brown!  Top them with ketchup then serve!

I love mashed potatoes, but I really love LOADED MASHED POTATOES!  Here's the recipe...

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

4 medium potatoes

chives/green onions (chopped)

bacon

3 Tbsp. butter

garlic to taste

salt to tast

4 oz. cream cheese

Wash and cube the potatoes.  Cook them in boiling water until tender.  Drain then Mash!  While the potatoes are boiling, cook the bacon and chop into small pieces.  Bacon makes everything better!  Mix the mashed potatoes with the green onions, bacon, butter, garlic, salt, and cream cheese.  The cream cheese is the secret ingredient.  It makes it taste AMAZING!

 

 

Nathan is a vegetable loving man!  He loves squash, zucchini, asparagus...anything!  When he said that he wanted Asparagus, I was thrilled because that's one of my favorite things!  I just saute the asparagus with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder.  I added a few onions in the mix to give us a little more!

I love cooking and Nathan was a happy camper!  I love when he's home so I can make him some good home-cooked meals. Gotta keep my Lumberjack fed well.  :)