Tasty Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS:
2 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb ground pork sausage
18 saltine crackers, crushed
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup ketchup

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 11 X 7 inch baking dish.
2 - Combine first 8 ingredients and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a large bowl until blended. Place mixture into the baking dish and shape into a 10 X 5 inch loaf.
3 - Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove from oven and drain.
4 - Stir together the ketchup and remaining 1/4 brown sugar. Pour over meatloaf and bake 20 more minutes at 350 or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 160 degrees.
5 - Remove from oven and let stand for 20 minutes. Remove from baking dish before serving.

THOUGHTS:
This was my first meatloaf and I think it turned out very well. It was very easy to make and was the perfect comfort food for a chilly February night.

Shrimp & Cheddar Grits

INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grits
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp & crumbled

DIRECTIONS:
1 - In a large saucepan bring broth & half & half to a boil (the total liquid of broth & half & half should match the amount of water on the directions for the grits). Add salt and gradually stir in grits. Cook grits for amount of time listed on package. Stir in cheese and butter and stir until melted, set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms & garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes until shrimp turn opaque, stirring often. Add black pepper and stir until combined.

3 - Transfer grits to plates and top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with bacon bits.

THOUGHTS:
Best recipe I could find for shrimp and grits that wasn't cajun style or made with tomatoes. Very tasty and easy.

Banana Bread Cobbler

INGREDIENTS:
For cake part:
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 medium-sized ripe bananas, sliced
For streusel topping:
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup uncooked regular oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Make cake: Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together flour and next two ingredients just until blended; whisk in melted butter. Pour batter into a lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish. Top with sliced bananas.
2 - Make streusel: Stir together brown sugar, flour, and butter until crumbly, using a fork. Stir in oats & pecans.
3 - "Sprinkle" the streusel over the bananas and bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown & bubbly.
4 - Serve with vanilla ice cream

THOUGHTS:
Being a fan of chocolate, this isn't going to become my go to dessert, but it's a great one to have in my recipe box for times that a non-chocolate recipe fits the bill.

Stir-Fried Spanish Rice

INGREDIENTS:
1 Tablespoon oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa (restaurant style, not-chunky)
1 onion
1 cup white rice, uncooked
1 10 oz can whole kernel corn (fiesta corn is best)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add eggs and cook until set, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet & set aside.
2 - In a small sauce pan, bring broth & salsa to a boil
3 - While waiting for the broth/salsa mix to boil, saute the onion in olive oil in the large skillet
4 - Add boiling broth/salsa to the large skillet and add the rice
5 - Season with chili powder, salt & pepper
6 - Cover and simmer until rice is cooked (loosely following directions on rice box)
7 - Stir in corn and eggs.
8 - Serve

THOUGHTS:
This was my first attempt and truly creating a recipe on my own. I had scoured the web for a fried rice w/ egg recipe that had a tilt toward mexican/spanish flavors. After finding nothing, I created this recipe. It worked out very well!

Tacoritos

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups water
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 lb ground beef (try to stay under a pound)
1 lb bulk pork sausage
1 cup refried beans
8 flour tortillas (8 inch), warmed
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack/Cheddar mixed cheese
Sour Cream for serving

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 - In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add water and bring to a boil. Cook & stir for 1 minute or until thickened.
3 - Stir in chili powder and garlic salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
4 - Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef and sausage until meat is no longer pink. Drain.
5 - Stir refried beans into meat and heat through
6 - Spread 1/4 sauce in a greased 13X9 baking dish
7 - Assemble 8 tacoritos by spreading 1 Tablespoon of sauce over each tortilla and placing 2/3 cup of meat mixture in center of each. Top each with 1/4 cup monterey jack cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in the prepared dish.
8 - Pour remaining sauce over the top and finish with the monterey jack/cheddar mix of cheese.
9 - Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

THOUGHTS:
Yes Yes Yes Yes.