Making Thanksgiving Meatloaf

We've been busy little bees for quite a while around here.  Rhy went to Germany(!) and while she was gone we were busy with a trip to a family gathering and getting her room ready for her return (more on that in future blogs).  What I wasn't busy doing for the last month+ was cooking/baking.  So I had a hard time figuring out what to write for the last post of July.
BUT, last night I DID make dinner!  Full on freaking dinner, with protein, veggies, and a starch!  Go me!  And now, I bring you

Thanksgiving Meatloaf

• 1 to 1.25 pounds ground turkey (I used 1.25 pounds of lean ground turkey)
• 1 or 2 eggs (your preference, I use more eggs than meatloaf recipes call for)
• 1 box of Stove Top or your preferred stuffing mix (which Google tells me is 6 ounces)
• 1 cup water broth
• chopped onions & celery, probably 1-2 tablespoons of each, depending on your preference

Smoosh everything together, just like any other meatloaf recipe you've ever made.  I must tell you, it will look like too much stuffing mix, but it's not.  And the turkey needs those seasonings.  I was leary of the water, but it needed it because of the dryness of the stuffing mix.  I would suggest using broth instead, for flavor.  Make your liquid work for you!

Plop it in your meatloaf pan* and bake on 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Enjoy!


So, how did we like it?  I think I liked it better than Jeff or Rhy, but I know that Jeff is a meatloaf purist, so even though I told him that it wouldn't taste like "regular" meatloaf, I think he was a bit disappointed, but said we should have it again.

What changes would I make? 

• I would use more rather than less stuffing mix.  I probably only used 4-5 ounces, and it could have used more flavor (but still yummy and I was very happy with the outcome).
• I would use broth instead of water, for more flavor, but I used water last night.
• It doesn't really translate well to leftovers (which I learned at lunch today), so I would probably put a spoonful of gravy in the leftover box, for extra flavor and moisture.
• Maybe add some craisens?  I don't think that would have gone over very well in my house, but I think it would be interesting, and, afterall, it is called "Thanksgiving Meatloaf."

*I don't have a meatloaf pan.  Or a loaf pan.  For a couple three years I've been using a round cake pan and baking the meatloaf in the toaster oven.  The first time Jeff was perplexed that a meatloaf could be in that shape, but it's normal now.  :-)

Pinterest Review: Doritos Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing

Back in 2010 I went with Jeff to his family reunion in Iowa.  It's kinda hard to take food to a potluck that's 4+ hours drive away, but we did it.  Jeff made Doritos Taco Salad.

When we had a potluck to go to in early June, I thought of this salad as a good contribution.  So often people take either chips or desert to a potluck, so I wanted to bring something else, something unique.

Doritos Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing

1 poundGround beef

1 headIceberg lettuce; cleaned & torn into bite-sized pieces

1 packetTaco seasoning

1 mediumTomato; Diced

1 (12 oz) bagDoritos

1 bottleCatalina dressing

1 1/2 cupsCheddar cheese; shredded

Doritos Taco Salad Preparation

1. Brown ground beef; drain fat. Toss with dry taco seasoning, and set aside until cool.

2. In a large bowl, add lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. Right before serving, add the beef, Doritos, and dressing. Mix well.

The best part of this recipe is that you don't necessarily have to measure.  For example, I cut up an onion and cooked it in the meat mixture because it extended the meat and added more veggies.  I used a big ol' bag of lettuce because I knew I would be pressed for time, and I cut cherry tomatoes in half, again, because of time.  It the party, I eyeballed the amount of dressing to use,

The day before the party, I made the meat, let it cool, and put it in the fridge.  The day of the party, I put the salad together when I got home, and crunched the chips up in their bag.  I then heated the meat back up a big (to take the cold edge off), and right before we left, I put it on the top of the salad.  Once we got to the party, I added the dressing and the chips, mixed it up, and set it out. 

When we got to the party, one of the guys asked what it was (he already had a big plate of food), and when we said Doritos Taco Salad, he turned around and followed us back into the kitchen!  Apparently the teens that where there said that they really like it, and there was barely enough at the end of the night for Jeff to get a serving as he cleaned out the container. 

Verdict:  It was a hit!

Pinned on their board....

(Maybe he's right.  Maybe there is something wrong with me.  I just don't see how a website with such wonderful things could be bad.)

Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?  

Would you think that my board is complete?  

Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who's pinned everything?

Look at this board, crafts all not done.  

How many afghans we have not begun.  

Looking around here you'd think, sure, she can make anything!

I have cookies & cupcakes aplenty.

I have pizzas & veggies galore.

You want egg casseroles?  I've got twenty.

But who cares, no big deal, I want more!  

I want to be where the pinners are.  

I want to see, want to see them painting!  

Crafting around with those - what do you call em? - oh, quilts.

Up where they cook!  Up where they bake!  

Up where they make a photo canvas that's fake!  

Wandering free, wish I could be, pinned on their board....

Pinterest Review: using Rhodes dinner rolls to make personal pizzas

We like to make homemade pizza, but it rarely happens because making the crust infuriates me to no end.  I always end up getting to the point where I just can't take it anymore, and call Jeff to finish the job while I chill out.

So homemade pizza is a rarity and a special occasion at our house.

But a visit from Kiaj is also a special occasion, and when she mentioned that was what she wanted, I knew we would make it happen.  I had recently seen on Pinterest that you use a Rhodes dinner roll to make individual pizzas.  And guess what...  it worked!!!

Check out the original blog about it here.

Just let your dough balls thaw, and go to town.

We had 5 people, and boy are those balls of dough small, so I pulled out 2 for each person.  It ended up being like an assembly line.  Parchment paper, lightly oiled dough, rolled super thin, baked for 4-5 minutes, then call the people in to dress their pizza, put in the oven for 10 minutes or so, with it on broil at the end (for the nice dark cheese look that I love so much).  Not everyone ate at once, but that was okay.

Next time, I think I'll cook the pizza dough ahead of time, maybe a bit of garlic salt or other seasoning on the dough.  That way more pizzas can fit on each parchment paper (which then goes on a cookie sheet, of course), and it's less labor intensive for the cook.

This is definitely a trick that I'm putting up my sleeve for the next time we make pizza.

What toppings do you like on your pizza?  I had a whole lot of different toppings ready for people to use on their own individual pizzas.  Sautéed vegetables, cooked sausage, pepperoni, shrimp, goat cheese, sauerkraut.  All good things.  I also like grilled pineapple on pizza.  That night I made my pizza with sautéed vegetables, pepperoni, and goat cheese.  Mmmmmm......

Deja Vue and Dreaming the Future

Yesterday was a 7PM retirement party at work.  I am the chick who plans and executes parties.  So I was there.

There were some people from work (the breakroom was full), plus the retiree's family (her children plus her son-in-law have all worked there, so kind of a reunion of sorts).   Her grandchildren are her life so it was great to have them there with her.  It was nice.

At one point I decided that the ice cream cake was making too much of a mess, so I moved it onto a disposable table cloth and got out the Clorox Wipes to clean that table.  Then it happened.

I was cleaning at work and a baby cried.  I dreamed that about 3 weeks ago.

And it freaked me out.

I stopped dead in my tracks, and an employee asked what's wrong.  I told him and he said "That's what you get for being born on the cusp."  He and I share a birthday, so he knows that our birthday is where Cancer and Leo collide.

Does this ever happen to you?  I mean, is it normal to say, "wow, that was a weird dream because if there's a baby at work, I'm either holding it or talking to the parent, not cleaning" and then 3 weeks later, BAM!, the dream is now real life.

The other thing that happens way too often is Deja Vue.  I have no idea how to spell that or how to add an accent onto the correct letter, but what I'm talking about is feeling like you've experienced something before.  It happens way too often to me.  And when it happens, I try to do something to make it stop, but it just continues!  Seriously!  Come on!  Just quit it already!

So, tell me, does this happen to you?  Do you have a birthday "on the cusp" between two signs?  Is this something that's just going to keep happening throughout my life that I'm going to have to get used to?