BBQ cheddar and bacon meatloaves and pioneer woman Mac n cheese.

This was Saturday night's dinner. I'm terribly behind on blogging. I've been so busy preparing for the holidays!  I'm anxiously trying to pass time at work until my brother's flight arrives!  I haven't seen him since August when he left for college. It has been tough, especially when my Brudder is my best friend!  I am very proud of him but I definitely I can't wait to see him!  

The meat loaves are one of my husband's favorite even though he detests meatloaf. Does that explain how amazing these BBQ cheddar meatloaves are?  YES!!!!

You will need:

1 tbsp butter

Salt/pepper to taste

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 egg whisked

2 tbsp worchestire

1/4 cup & 4 tbsp BBQ sauce of your choice

1/4 cup bread crumbs

3 oz package of real bacon bits

4 oz cheddar block cut into cubes (I use extra sharp cheddar)

First whisk your egg in a large bowl and add beef, worchestire, 4 tbsp BBQ, bread crumbs, cheese, bacon, salt, and pepper. 

Mix with hands until all ingredients are equally mixed together. Line a baking sheet with a piece of foil. Then spray with nonstick spray. Form meat into mini loaves. 

Top with remaining BBQ sauce and a few more bacon bits. 

Then bake on 425 for 20-25 minutes. There will be a lot of grease in the pan. Just remove your loaves, place on a serving dish or plate and let sit for 5 minutes. 

Yummy!!!!!

For a side dish I made the Pioneer Woman's Mac n cheese. She is amazing if you don't know who she is check out her show on food network. She also has a blog and Pinterest that I follow as well!

You will need:

2 cups dry elbow macaroni 

1 whole beaten egg

8 tbsp butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk

2 heaping tbsp dry mustard

1 lb grated cheddar (again I used extra sharp cheddar)

1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and season salt

(Sorry, horrid picture)

Cook your macaroni until it is very firm. Too firm to eat. This will allow it to be perfect once the dish is finished since we have to bake it later on. 

In a small bowl, beat the egg. 

Allow the egg to sit at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients. This will help with the tempering later. 

In a large pot, melt the butter on med-low heat. Once melted, slowly whisk in your flour. Constantly whisking so it doesn't stick. Heat for 5 minutes. Then pour in milk, mustard. Whisk 5 minutes until very thick. 

Take a few ladles of your sauce mix and temper into your eggs. This prevents the eggs from getting too hot too fast and scrambling. TO TEMPER: slowly add each spoonful (you will need about 3) while constantly and quickly whisking. The trick is to make aide it's added very very slowly. 

Once you've gotten that, pour the tempered egg back into your sauce and add almost all of your grated cheese (you will need some for topping). Stir cheese until melted. 

Add your firm elbow Mac and stir until coated with cheesy goodness. (:

Pour into a baking dish and top with shredded cheese and season salt. Bake 325 for 20 minutes. My husband and father in law dug in so fast I couldn't get a picture straight out of the oven, but here it is. 

Everyone have an amazing thanksgiving!!!  Don't forget to be thankful ALL YEAR!!!  

Kentucky Hot Brown Bake.

I made this Thursday of last week I just haven't gotten around to posting it until today. Sorry guys!  This is my version of the KY Hot Brown sandwich. You can add ham to this also, I just stuck with turkey. 

You will need:

8 oz package of crescent rolls

1lb package of smoked turkey lunch meat

8 slices of cooked bacon (I may have used a whole package, oops)

8 slices of Swiss cheese

3 Roma tomatoes, sliced 

4 eggs beaten

Instructions:

Unroll the crescent rolls and place half in the bottom of a greased baking dish. 

Top with half of the turkey. 

Then half the Swiss cheese. 

Then half the bacon. I added more after this picture was taken. 8 just didn't seem enough for my hubby and I. 

Then top with a few tomato slices and HALF the beaten eggs. 

Repeat another layer of turkey, cheese, bacon, and tomatoes. Then top with rest of crescent rolls and rest of beaten eggs. 

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Then *IMPORTANT* let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. This will allow the dish to set properly so you don't have runny eggs. 

I didn't allow mine to sit before cutting it but this was to show what the layers look like. (:  

Cheesy Chicken & Tater Tot Casserole.

I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of tater tots, but for some reason this casserole is heaven to me. I'm thinking it's the entire bag of real bacon bits that it uses!  I love bacon!  My husband, however is a tater tot junkie so when I texted a picture of dinner to him his response was "I can't wait to eat that". 

You will need:

32 oz bag frozen tater tots 

3 oz bag of real bacon pieces

1 lb diced chicken breasts

2 cups shredded cheddar

3/4 cups milk

Salt & pepper to taste

Spray your crockpot and place half the frozen tots in the crockpot. 

Top with shredded cheese and bacon bits (not all of them though, since there will be more layers). 

Top with the raw, diced chicken. 

Top with shredded a cheese and bacon (again not all of it since there is yet another layer). 

Top with remaining tots, then remaining  cheese and bacon.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add milk. 

Cook low 4-6 hours. Serve in bowl. 

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches.

Lazy Sunday crockpot cooking is the best!  Stormy weather makes me want to stay in all day and watch tv (Even though I shouldn't). These pulled pork sandwiches were delicious!  The entire dinner conversation was my husband raving about how delicious they were. 

You will need 

4 lbs boneless riblets

1 jar of BBQ sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dry mustard (you can also substitute yellow mustard)

First put half the BBQ sauce into the bottom of your crockpot. 

Place riblets in crock pot. I did 1 layer then drizzled BBQ sauce. Then another layer of riblets. Like this....

Top with remaining BBQ sauce and seasonings. 

Stir, so the riblets are covered. 

Cook on high for 4 hours. I shredded the riblets in a casserole dish then topped with more BBQ sauce. Then I broiled for about 2 minutes just to give the pork a caramelized look and taste. That is completely optional. 

I topped my sandwich with shredded mozzarella and hamburger dills.  Served with shells and cheese and diced/seasoned red potatoes. How delicious does that look?!

BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. 

4 lbs boneless riblets

1 jar of BBQ sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dry mustard (you can also substitute yellow mustard)

Pour half bottle of BBQ sauce into crockpot

Add riblets

Pour remaining BBQ sauce and add seasonings

Mix to cover pork

Cook on high 4 hours

When done cooking use fork to pull and shreds riblets

Cheesy Potato & Sausage Casserole.

I'm not a fan of sausage, but a smoked sausage (the kind shaped like a horse shoe) is a total weakness. It's not as gristly as breakfast sausage and it has a terrific flavor.  Pair that with cheese and potatoes and I HAD to try this recipe!

Ingredients:

3 cups potatoes (peeled, boiled, diced)

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp paprika

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp of salt & pepper

1/2 lb velveeta

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1 lb skinless smoked sausage

I peeled and diced my potatoes (after washing them of course) then placed them in a pot with water to cover and a pinch of salt. I boiled them until they were just a tad hard (because they will get baked, you don't want them all the way cooked)

After that, I prepared my sausage. I just cut it in half. Then halved the half & diced.  Place them in a frying pan on medium heat and fry for 15 minutes. They will be nice and caramelized. 

Drain the potatoes and mix them in a baking dish with the cooked sausage. 

In a sauce pan, mix all other ingredients (except shredded cheddar) and heat on medium heat, whisking until smooth. 

Once it's heated and smooth, pour over the meat and potatoes. 

Top with cheddar cheese and a light dusting of paprika. 

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. The top will be nice and browned. 

(You may want to place a larger baking sheet under your dish, as you can see I had cheese over flow)

YUMM!!!! Doesn't that look tasty?

Honey Apple Pork Tenderloin.

It's getting very close to Thanksgiving/Christmas & I've been chosen to host Christmas for my Husband's family this year. I've been paroozing the Internet trying to find different things to make when I can across the recipe I made today. I LOVE apples and my Husband is a sucker for honey and cinnamon so it's a win win (not to mention turned out very delicious). I prepared this last night after I got off work since it takes 7 hours to cook in the crockpot so my pictures are lacking, sorry y'all!  

You will need:

2.5 to 3 lb pork tenderloin

3 sliced red delicious apples

4 tbsp honey

2 tbsp cinnamon

* I have to admit I used a bit more....well, a lot more than the recipe calls for on the cinnamon and the honey. But it's completely up to your taste buds. 

You will slice two of the apples and lay them in the bottom of your crockpot. I sliced the apple, then sliced the slices in half so the bottom was completely covered. 

Then you sprinkle cinnamon on top of your apples. Next, cut slits in your tenderloin and drizzle honey in them. Then shove apple slices from the 3rd apple into the slits. Place pork in crockpot. Then lay the remaining apple slices on top. 

And of course, sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle honey on top of it all. 

Don't judge my love for cinnamon. (:

When you take the meat out it will fall apart in shreds because it's so tender!  I managed to salvage all of the juice from the apples and I dipped my meat into the juice for added flavor. 

Served with green beans & my second love (after my Husband, of course) homemade mac 'n cheese!!

Loaded Baked Potato & Chicken Casserole.

My husband is a picky eater so it's sometimes hard to find new recipes for us to try. This recipe, however, was a total success!  He is definitely a meat and potatoes kinda guy, and I love chicken. I could eat chicken for every meal!  My mom even asked for this recipe after I made it. 

Ingredients:

First you dice a potato and a half and place in the bottom of a greased 9x9 casserole dish.  Then dice all of your chicken and place on top of potatoes. Then add salt and pepper. 

Next you'll add half of your cheese, bacon, and green onions. 

Next, top with remaining potatoes. 

Add the rest of your cheese, bacon, and green onions. Again, season with salt and pepper. 

Next, add your heavy cream and dot with butter. 

Cover with foil an bake on 350 for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes. Top with more shredded cheddar cheese and broil for 45 seconds to melt cheese. 

A very filling meal for a cold fall night. We will be having this again for sure!

Ingredients: 
4 diced raw potatoes (4 1/2 cups)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 slices bacon cooked or can substitute real bacon bits (i used the bits)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp butter cut into small pieces
4 green onions diced

Directions:
Heat oven to 350, grease pan (I used 8x8)
Spread 1/2 diced potatoes
Spread all of diced chicken on top
Season with salt and pepper
Sprinkle with half bacon, half cheese and half green onions
Spread remaining potatoes
Then repeat bacon cheese and onions
Season with salt and pepper
Pour heavy cream on top
Then dot with butter 
Cover with foil and bake 1 hr
Remove foil bake 35 minutes
Top with more shredded cheese and broil for 45 seconds to melt cheese