PW's Meatloaf

Meatloaf is really hard to photograph well - this was the best I could do! ;)

So, first let me say I do not like meatloaf. I really think it's kind of gross and only ever make it because my husband likes it. I bought Pioneer Woman's cookbook for my mother and mother-in-law for Christmas and they both raved about the meatloaf recipe in there. Well, I was also given the book for Christmas (thanks Daphne!) so I thought I'd give it a try - at least for Jordan. ;) It was really very good! The best meatloaf either one of us has ever had. I mean, it's wrapped in bacon - it's got to be good!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
6 bread slices
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley
4 eggs, beaten
8-12 thick bacon slices
1 1/2 cups ketchup
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
dash or two of hot sauce - more if you like

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the milk over the bread and allow it to soak in for several minutes.



Place the ground beef, milk, soaked bread, Parmesan cheese, salt, seasoned salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the eggs.



With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan. Line the bottom of the broiler pan with aluminum foil to help with easy clean up.



Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.



Pour the ketchup into a small mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and dry mustard and splash in the hot sauce. Stir the mixture until well combined. Pour 1/3 of the tomato gravy over the top of the meatloaf.



Bake for 45 minutes then pour another 1/3 of the remaining tomato gravy over the meatloaf. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve with the remaining tomato gravy on the side as a dipping sauce.



(Notes) I made my loaf pretty thick so it was not done after the 1 hour of baking. Keep that in mind while you are making your loaf - try to make it thinner and longer so it will cook in the 1 hour. I ended up having to cook mine for another 20 minutes. Make sure to serve this with mashed potatoes!!

Enjoy!

The Best Frosting Ever!

This is my moms frosting recipe. A favorite of mine since I was a kid. Seriously. So good. Little kids will love this stuff. Grown ups too. ;)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 Tbsp water
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the top of a double boiler with the water boiling.



Beat for 7 minutes or until semi-stiff peaks form. I had to beat mine for about 9 minutes.



Cool and then use to frost My Favorite Cake Ever! Or any cake of your choice. ;)

My Favorite Cake of All Time!

When I was growing up I would ask my mom to make this cake for me every year for my birthday. It's a very yummy chocolate cake and the icing is marshmellow like - yummy!! I made this for Saryn's 2nd birthday party but instead of making a cake I made it into cupcakes. They turned out great as cupcakes but they were very fluffy and I felt the cake to icing ratio was off. ;) I personally like this better as a cake and will probably not make cupcakes with this recipe next time.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp vinegar
2 cups water

Directions:

(Now my mom puts this into a 9x13 baking pan and mixes all the ingredients together in the pan) Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a wire whisk. Pour into a 9x13 baking pan and bake at for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

For the cupcakes I cooked for about 20-25 minutes.



Allow to cool and then frost with The Best Frosting Ever. Enjoy!!

Chewy Peanut Butter Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Oh my. These are just wonderful. I really think this is the perfect oatmeal cookie. I highly doubt I will ever try another oatmeal cookie recipe again. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and the only changes I made were to omit 1 cup chopped walnuts & I used peanut butter chips instead of chocolate. They were so good I might make another batch this week!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup peanut butter chips (or chips of your choice)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats & chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 11-12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I found these cute snowmen at Michael's and filled them with these cookies for a few of Saryn's little friends. I also used these cookies in gift tins for Christmas this year. These cookies are so good I broke into one of the tins to eat the cookies! I am pregnant so I'll use that as my defense. Don't worry, I'll get something out to my poor friend who didn't receive a gift tin this year!