Mini Meatloaves

 I have a recipe for instant pot meatloaf on here but this is a little bit different recipe and done in individual portions. Makes it easier for serving and it doesn't have to cook as long. 

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe I saw on cookingmamas.com You can find the original recipe HERE I added in my twist to it and kept some of my original likes I have when doing meatloaf. My son who does not eat meatloaf actually ate this...all of his portion...wow.. That seriously is a win!

We paired it with some fried potatoes and corn. My dad said it was his favorite meal. Another win! 

Hope you enjoy it!

photo from Mommy Hates Cooking

INGREDIENTS

Meatloaf: 

1 pound lean or extra-lean ground beef

1 pound ground turkey (you can use both ground beef if you want, but you can't tell it's in there!)

1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing, chicken flavor

1/2 pkg of onion soup mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup ketchup

Sauce:

Approx 1 cup ketchup - I just squirt until it looks like enough.

2 Tbsps brown sugar

1 tsp mustard

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (you could also use a muffin tin)

2. Put Stove Top Stuffing in a bowl and add milk to it. Mix to coat and set aside. 

3. Add ground beef and ground turkey to a large mixing bowl. Add onion soup mix, eggs, ketchup and mix well. 

4. Once the stuffing has sat a bit to soak up the milk add to the meat mixture and mix well. 

5. If you have an ice cream scoop that works well to divide out the meat otherwise I just divided the meat mixture into 8 oval mini meatloaves. 

6. Cook for 35 mins. 

7. Mix sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Take meatloaves out when done for 35 mins. Add sauce on top and put back in the oven for another 10 mins. 

*internal temperature should be at 160 degrees

Banana Bread

 This recipe comes from a family cookbook and my cousins the Solis family submitted it. I'm not sure where it originally came from but I've added a bit of my tweak to it as well. There are a lot of banana bread recipes out there but I love the added sour cream or greek yogurt to help the texture.

This is not my picture but comes from Cooking Classy.

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe bananas mashed

1 cup sugar (can do 1/2 brown 1/2 white)

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 sour cream or plain greek yogurt

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. and grease a loaf pan. 

2. Mash bananas and add sugar, oil, sour cream, and eggs. Mix well. 

3. In a separate bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

4. Add to bananas.

5. Bake approx 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon glaze

 I love everything lemon and when it is teamed with blueberries that is a win win in my books. I had some blueberries that were starting to go bad so I looked at Pinterest and this recipe came up. It is from Juliasalbum.com and you can find the original recipe HERE

It is so full of lemon and blueberry flavor and is so moist (yes I said the word) but seriously, it is! 

This one you really need to try. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest grated (heaping - love lemon)
• 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen (heaping)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Lemon Glaze

• Lemon juice from one lemon (I get about 2 or more tbsps using my lemon juicer)
• I also had lemon zest left over so I added that to the glaze. 
• one tbsp of soft butter 
• Enough powdered sugar to make a nice consistency. Around 1/2 cup. I like it thicker. 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 
2. Butter a loaf pan, line the bottom and two sides of the pan with the parchment paper.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk.
5. In the same bowl where you combined flour, add blueberries and toss them in 2 tablespoons of flour. This will help prevent blueberries from sinking.

6. Fold in lemon zest, and blueberries into the batter. Do it carefully and fast. Pour the lemon bread batter into prepared pan.

7. Bake in preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for a few minutes then take out to cool longer on a wire rack. 

Lemon glaze:

1. Combine freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest and some of the powdered sugar in a small bowl using a whisk to combine. Add softened butter and whisk to get lumps out. Add more powdered sugar if needed for the desired consistency. 

2. When the Loaf is cool add the glaze on top to cover. 

Streusel Top Peach Pie

I've had the Pillsbury cookbook for a really long time and have used many recipes in it. This one I have used again and again and love the Summer taste of this yummy pie with a scoop of ice cream on top. I found the recipe online which you can find HERE. I've used canned peaches well-drained and fresh peaches as well and they both work great. 

Hope you enjoy this one!

INGREDIENTS

Use pastry for one filled pie. 

Filling: 

4 cups sliced fresh peaches (or well-drained canned, or thawed and well-drained frozen)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 softened butter or margarine. 

DIRECTIONS

Prepare pastry for one filled pie or use a thawed Pillsbury deep dish pie crust. 

Heat oven to 375F. In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients; blend well. Spoon into pastry-lined pan. In a medium bowl, blend topping ingredients with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the filling. Bake at 375F for 40 to 45 mins or until peaches are tender and topping is golden brown. 

Cool to set a bit and serve with ice cream. 

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

I use a lot of recipes from the Six Sisters Stuff website and this is one that I just found that is so good and a change-up from the regular weekend breakfast morning. I love blueberries and this is loaded with them. That and the cream cheese with the blueberry syrup. Soooo yummy. 

You can find the original recipe HERE

Blueberries are on sale right now at Costco...go grab some and try this yummy breakfast!

Ingredients

French Toast:

12 slices Texas toast bread (cut into cubes)

1 (8oz) package cream cheese (cut into little cubes)

1 cup fresh blueberries

12 large eggs

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 cups whole milk

Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

2. Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in the bottom of the pan. 

3. Drop little cubes of cream cheese and the fresh blueberries all over the bread cubes. (I didn't use all of the brick but most of it)

4. Top with remaining bread cubes. 

5. Mix together eggs, syrup, and milk. Pour over bread cubes and cover the pan with foil. Let chill in refrigerator overnight. 

6. Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30 mins. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 mins or until fluffy and golden. (I used a glass dish and it took a bit longer to cook the middle)

7. For the syrup, mix together sugar, water and cornstarch in a saucepan over medium heat until slightly thickened. 

8. Stir in blueberries and simmer for a couple of mins. I mashed some of the blueberries with my whisk for more of the blueberry flavour. 

9. Serve over french toast. 

Instant Pot Potato Salad

Summer staple the potato salad is. Costco has some great potato salad but I have found it pretty easy to make it when using my instant pot. There are so many ways to make potatoes salad but I just love the classic. When they are in season we do love to add radishes which give an extra crunch and zing of taste. We love radishes and they are so good for you :) 

So here is my take on the potato salad. The picture is not mine but is from healthfitnessmeals.com

Ingredients

Approx 2lbs Baby potatoes (half a bag of Costco baby potatoes)

3 Eggs

3 stalks celery 

1/3 cup sliced radishes (more or less to your taste)

1/4 cup red onion, finely diced. (more or less to your taste)

Dressing

2 cups mayo (light or reg-your choice)

1 tbsp reg mustard

1/2 tbsp dijon mustard (you can omit this if you don't have it.) 

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dill

1/4 cup pickle relish (or chopped up dill pickles - or just use the juice)

I also add pickle juice to mine - whatever you have - I used bread and butter pickle juice about 1/4 cup. 

salt & pepper - a few dashes.

Directions

1. In the instant pot put in your trivet on the bottom then put a steamer basket on that. Add 1/2 - 1 cup of water on the bottom. 

2. Wash your baby potatoes and cut them in half - add to the steamer basket. put 3 whole eggs on top of potatoes. 

3. Close the Instant Pot lid and turn to sealing. On manual or pressure cook setting turn the time to 7 mins then let it do its thing. Let it sit when done for about 5 mins then release the pressure. 

4. Carefully take out the basket remove the eggs and add them to cold water. Set the potatoes aside to cool while you chop the vegetables and make the dressing. 

5. Chop celery, radishes, and onions, and add to large bowl. Once potatoes are cool enough add to chopped vegetables. You can cut the potatoes a little smaller if you would like as some pieces might be quite big.  Peel the eggs and chop adding to the bowl. 

6. Combined all the dressing ingredients together and mix well. Add on top of everything and toss to coat evenly. 

You can add some fresh dill and slices of radishes to garnish if you would like.

Cover and chill in the fridge.  

**This is best when made early to let it sit in the fridge for a while so the flavored can really meld together. Really good the next day. 

Puffed Wheat Squares

I'm not sure why I haven't put these on here already. They are a must-have in our family. We love us some yummy puffed wheat squares! AND they need to be soft and gooey not hard..eew. 

This is an easy recipe for your traditional yummy puffed wheat squares. If you like the harder square..add more puffed wheat. This recipe comes from justsotasty.com you can find the original recipe HERE. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 9 cups plain puffed wheat cereal

Instructions

• Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• Add the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, and cocoa powder to a large saucepan over low-medium heat.
• Melt everything together while stirring gently.
• Bring the mixture to a gently boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. 
• Stir in the puffed wheat cereal.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and press down. (buttered hands works well for this) 
• Allow to cool and firm up, then cut into bars.

**Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Sheet Pan Ranch Italian Pork Chops

   I have been watching a lady on youtube that does a lot of sheet pan dinners and she gets a lot of her recipes from Six Sisters Stuff...who I also love..they have a ton of great recipes! You can find the original recipe HERE. In the original, you use a package of Italian dressing mix but for some reason, I can never find it where I live so I used a packet of ranch dressing and added Italian seasoning. This turned out really juicy and flavourful and so easy to put together. The original has it with baby potatoes and carrots but you can do whatever veggie floats yer boat! If you are leary about doing pork chop recipes because they are always so dry....you'll like this one. 

Ingredients

5 Tbsp of oil

1 packet of Ranch dressing mix

approx 2 tsp of Italian seasoning (I just poured it in)

1 tsp smoked paprika (again..I didn't measure..this stuff is good)

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

6 pork chops

Veggies of your liking - baby potatoes, carrots, asparagus, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes

just a few ideas. 

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

I also used vegetable seasoning - a few shakes. 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large sheet pan with non-stick spray. 

In a medium bowl or I used a pie plate. Mix together dressing mix packet, paprika, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, and oil. Dip each pork chop in the oil mixture, making sure to coat both sides and place them on the prepared baking sheet. (I forgot the oil part and just drizzled it on each side and spread it around after I coated them.) 

Cut up vegetables and add them to the sheet pan. Drizzle some olive oil on top and sprinkle salt and pepper and seasoning. Toss lightly to coat. 

Bake for 35-40 mins or until pork chops are fully cooked. 

You could totally do this with chicken breasts or thighs as well. 

Dinner is served! 

Instant Pot French Dip

I've made french dip before and cooked the roast in my slow cooker but couldn't find the recipe I used so I tried this one for my instant pot. It turned out really juicy and had a lot of flavour in the au jus. The recipe I used a couple of different recipes and did my own thing. The picture and one of the recipes I used comes from marginmakingmom.com the link is HERE.

We really enjoyed this one so I hope you will too!

2-3 pound roast (chuck is commonly used - I used top sirloin)
2 cups of beef broth
1Tbsp olive oil
1 packet au jus mix
1 packet onion soup mix
1/2 large sweet onion cut into strips
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt/pepper/garlic powder
12-16 slices of provolone cheese
approx 8 sub rolls (depending on size)
Butter to spread on rolls

Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to all sides of the roast. Turn the Instant Pot on saute to heat up. Add the olive oil to the bottom and when it is hot add the roast and cook on all sides for approx 3 mins on each side until nice and brown. As the roast is searing cut up the onion. Once the roast is browned on all sides take it out onto a plate. Keep the Instant Pot on saute and add more oil if needed. Add the sliced onions and saute until clear, add garlic and stir for a min more. Add beef broth making sure to scrape the yummy brown bits off the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the onion soup mix, au jus mix, and Worcestershire Sauce then add the roast back in.

 Close the lid and put on sealing.  Cook on Manual or Pressure Cook setting for 60 mins with a natural release of about 15 mins then release any pressure that is left.

Take the roast out and shred then cover with foil. Take the rolls and cut them in half. Spread some butter on each half and sprinkle with garlic powder. Put under the broiler to toast for a couple of mins. Take them out and add beef to one side and top with provolone cheese. Put back in the oven to melt the cheese for 30 secs or so. Take them out and serve with small pots of the au jus. YUM!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb pie is one of my favorites. We recently went over to our neighbors and dug up a rhubarb plant to plant in our backyard. There were some red stalks that were ready so I used them to make a pie. I have made this type of pie before with a different recipe but this is a new one I found and is very yummy. It is juicy so just make sure you make it ahead to let it rest to thicken up. I used a big pie pan and it filled it pretty full so you won't want to use anything too small or it will definitely spill over during cooking.  I got this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction you can find the original recipe HERE. With some vanilla ice cream on top this pie is so good! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• homemade pie crust (my recipe makes 2 crusts; 1 for bottom 1 for top)
• 3 cups sliced rhubarb (1/2 inch pieces)
• 2 and 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
• optional: coarse sugar for garnish

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Instructions

1. Make pie dough if doing from scratch and wrap in discs and put in the fridge. (I have a recipe on here or you can go to Sally's Baking Addiction site as well. 
2. Make the filling: Stir the rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, orange juice, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Set filling aside as the oven preheats.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
4. Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9×2 inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Spoon the filling into the crust, leaving all of the excess liquid in the bowl (you don’t want that in the filling– discard it). Dot the pieces of butter on top of the filling.
5. Arrange the lattice: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 inches diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut strips 1/2 – 1 inch wide. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use a small knife to trim off excess dough. Crimp the edges with a fork, if desired. (Alternatively, you can simply cover the filling with the 12-inch pie dough circle. Cut slits in the top to form steam vents. Trim and crimp the edges. Or a crumble or streusel topping would be great.)
6. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg/milk mixture. Sprinkle the top with a little coarse sugar, if desired.
7. Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350°F (177°C) and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes. (I turned mine up to 375 for the last 20 more mins - had had a big pie) You may want to put a crust shield on top of the pie to prevent the edges from browning too quickly. Just take a piece of tinfoil and put a hole in the middle and cover the pie with it. 
8. Allow the pie to cool for 3 full hours at room temperature before serving. This time allows the filling to thicken up. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Notes

1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: This a great pie to make 1 day in advance since it is so juicy – the filling will have time to set overnight. The pie crust dough can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Baked pie freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Prepared filling can be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Instant Pot Ribs

I have done ribs in my crockpot for years and they are pretty yummy - I have a recipe on here for those. I just tried this new recipe in my instant pot and it was way faster and the added rub just add so much flavor. They were so fall-apart tender that I had a hard time lifting them out of the instant pot. So good! We really loved these. You can find the recipe HERE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 (2-pound) racks baby back pork ribs, trimmed of excess fat, rinsed, and patted dry
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups barbecue sauce (My favorite is Sweet Baby Rays) 

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, onion powder, chili powder, mustard, paprika, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper.
2. Remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs, pulling it down the entire length. Season ribs with brown sugar mixture, rubbing in thoroughly on both sides.
3. Add chicken stock and apple cider vinegar to a 6 or 8-qt Instant Pot®. Place metal trivet into the pot. Place ribs upright on top of the trivet, wrapping in a circle.
4. Select manual setting (or pressure cook) and set time for 20-25 minutes. When finished cooking, do a natural release for about 10 mins. Then carefully open valve to let any remaining pressure out. 
5. Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with foil.
6. Place ribs, meat side up, in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet; brush with barbecue sauce. 
7. Place into oven and broil until barbecue sauce is caramelized and browned, about 4-6 minutes.
8. Serve immediately with remaining barbecue sauce.

Pistachio Salad

My family has been making this jello salad for years but it wasn't until recently I learned this is also called Watergate Salad. Whatever you wanna call it, I call it really good. I love the added crunch of the pecans and the sweetness from the pineapple. It is a great side for your Sunday meal or to take to a potluck. There are a few recipes out there but this picture comes from dinnerthendessert.com. You can find the recipe HERE. This is an adaptation from that recipe. 

Ingredients

• 3.4 ounces package instant pistachio jello pudding. 
• 20 ounces crushed pineapple undrained
• 1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup pecans chopped
• 1 tub of cool whip

1. In a large bowl add the cool whip and mix in the pudding mix, pineapple, marshmallows and pecans.
2. Refrigerate for at least one hour and garnish with chopped nuts and maraschino cherry if desired.