Papa K’s Meatloaf!!

So last year my friend Paul and I went to Pittsburgh to visit his family, we had a great time with his Dad as I call him “Papa Kovac”.

The first night when we got there Papa K made us dinner his famous Meatloaf, Haluski and Asparagus 🙂

The meal was so Delicious!!! Loved it all but I got his Meatloaf recipe and I made it myself 🙂

 

Here are Papa Kovac and Paul during dinner

 

The Delicious meal!!!

 

Me and Paul being silly with some graphics

 

 

As this posts I am back in Pittsburgh with Paul and we are visiting with his Dad, this time we are going to do some cooking and of course go on some adventures around town 🙂
I will blog about my trip in the coming weeks 🙂 In the meantime enjoy Papa K’s Meatloaf!!

Ingredients

 

the chopped onion, red pepper, celery and garlic
saute this up

 

add to a big bowl with the meats, oats, egg & milk

 

Mix it up with your hands 🙂

 

Now I always take a piece and fry up in a Skillet
I like to taste just to make sure I have the
seasonings right…does anyone else do this?

 

Cooked up

 

 

taste good, seasonings are good

 

free form it on a lined baking sheet

 

Bake it up

 

yummy

 

Okay now I love the flavor on its own
BUT!!!! i just can’t eat meatloaf without
Ketchup!!! and not any ketchup…
HEINZ KETCHUP!!!! it is a MUST!!

yes I am a Ketchup snob 😛

 

Yummy!!

• Servings: 8-10
• Time: 1hr 30mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 red pepper, diced
1 large or 2 small onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 egg
3/4 cup quick oats
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup milk

Saute in a large skillet the onions, celery, red pepper and garlic until softened.
In a large bowl add sauteed mixture, meats, oats, egg, salt, pepper and milk mix together with your hands.  If you want to check for seasonings take a little of the mixture and make a patty and fry is up, taste it for seasonings if you like the taste…done…if not add to your taste.

Free form the mixture into a loaf on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes to 90 minutes.

Let set for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Add Ketchup…Heinz Ketchup if you want!!! 🙂 LOL!!

Chicken Fettuccine…On the Lighter side!!

Looking for a healthier lighter Chicken Fettuccine?

I used Almond Breeze unsweetened Coconut Milk. Coconut Milk! I know what some of you’re thinking ~ “What! Really it is good?” and before you ask I’ll answer ~ No it does not taste like coconut! 🙂

When you order this dish in a restaurant or search online a Chicken Fettuccine recipe they usually call for heavy cream, butter and lots of cheese!!Let me just say that 1 cup of Cream is like 800 calories vs. the coconut milk which is only 45 calories and if you noticed I did not use any butter either.

Now don’t get me wrong the stuff made with all the cream, butter and cheese is great, but maybe not so healthy for us, go give this a try I promise you like it 🙂

For the entire month of September, three of our Remke Market locations will have all of these items on sale.  So stop by our Hyde Park, Skytop or Highland area stores in Ohio.  Most of all the other locations may only have some of these one sale. Everyone loves a Great Sale!!

Oh and if you visiting my blog for the first time, please look to right side of this page and see where it says follow me via email, enter your email address in the box and click the “Follow Chef Amy” link to follow me, then every time I post a new recipe or talk about great products or places I might have been, you get an email about the new post.  Once you have added your email address, make sure to go to your email and confirm the link to ensure you will get my posts!!

Ingredients

put pasta on

in skillet add oil and shallots (or onions)

cook until translucent

finely chop your rosemary (my rosemary looks dark because I freeze it, when I buy herbs for recipes if I don’t use them all up, I will just put the container right in the freezer then whenever I need to something for a recipe I am cooking I have some.  I only use the herbs from the freezer when I use them in a cooking recipe not if I need it for fresh recipe like salads or on top of a dish)

I grate my garlic cloves always it is just so easy, so add garlic and rosemary to skillet

using cornstarch will help thicken the sauce (I forgot to add it to my picture above) 🙂

add mixture to skillet and whisk often until it comes to a bubble and thickens

once it bubble and thickens add cheese and whisk

drain pasta (you might want to do this and have ready before you add your cheese to the sauce)

add the sauce to pasta and toss to coat the pasta, pour pasta out onto a big platter or bowl, top with your chicken

you can garnish with fresh chopped Italian parsley and some shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

and done

Lighter Chicken Fettuccine

• Time: 40mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

1 lb. pasta, cooked & drained
1 – 2 large shallots (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup fresh Grated Parmesan
2 1/2 cups Almond Breeze unsweetened Almond Milk or unsweetened Coconut Milk
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. olive oil
2-3 cooked chicken breasts,  or grilled chicken thighs sliced
2 tbsp. Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta as directed, meanwhile in a large skillet over medium heat add oil and shallots, cook until onions are translucent; add garlic and rosemary and continue to cook for 1 minute more.

Whisk milk and cornstarch together then add to skillet, whisk mixture until it starts to bubble, once bubbling and begins to thicken whisk in 1/2 cup cheese.

Drain pasta, add pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce until well coated, plate pasta, add chicken on top and garnish with parsley and extra cheese.

Enjoy!!!  Thank you for coming!!! Chef Amy

 

Dark Chocolate Cake with Orange Mascarpone Frosting!!

This is a little late, but Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the Mothers out there 🙂

This past Mother’s Day I had my parents over to my house along with my bestie Danny 🙂

I made dinner and dessert and everyone went home full and my folks got all the leftovers 🙂

Lets start with the best the dessert, I made a Dark Chocolate Cake with Orange Mascarpone Frosting…YUM!! 😛

• Servings: 8-10
• Print

For the Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup Chocolate Milk (TruMoo)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
For the Frosting
Peel of 1 orange and Zest of 1 Orange
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (more or less, to taste)

DIRECTIONS
For the Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray
2. In Medium bowl whisk together eggs, hot milk, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in eggs, hot chocolate, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until combined. Divide evenly between prepared cake pans.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

For the Frosting:
Infuse orange peel into cream first:
1. Place cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add peels of one orange to the cream and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the cream has taken on some orange flavor.
2. Take cream off the heat. Remove peels with tongs or by straining the cream. Discard peels. Allow cream to cool a bit before placing in the refrigerator until completely chilled, I did this over night.
3. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream just until very soft peaks form.
4. In a second bowl, beat together mascarpone and confectioners’ sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in ¼ of the whipped cream, then fold in the rest of the orange-scented cream and the zest of one orange, (keeping a little to garnish the top of the cake), into the mascarpone mixture until incorporated. Frost cake, keep chilled until ready to serve.

The was great I love the chocolate and orange combo 🙂

Now for Dinner I made Grill Salmon with fresh pasta, pistachio pesto along with sauteed mushrooms and asparagus…it was yummy too!! :

My pasta making

I need to make fresh pasta more often, it really is easy 🙂

Enjoy Everyone!!!

Wine Dinner on September 20th

Attention anyone living in the Northern Kentucky or Greater Cincinnati area 🙂

We will be having a Wine Dinner at the Hyde Park Remke bigg’s, tomorrow Friday September 20^th at 6 pm.

Wines from Washington State and Oregon will be featured

Menu will include the following:

Mini Lump Crab Cakes with Corn Salsa paired with
Sokol Blosser Evolution White

Steamed Mussels in white wine paired with
Acrobat Pinot Gris

Endive and Apple Salad paired with
A to Z Chardonnay

Crab Stuffed Tilapia with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, served with a Lemon, Asparagus Orzo Pasta with Goat Cheese paired with
Erath Pinot Noir

Grand Tiered Mousse paired with
Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling

$25 per person

Come and enjoy a lovely evening with great wine and fantastic food!!

Hope you can join us, to make reservations please call 513-619-5454  🙂

Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Growing up I think everyone at some point in time had tomato soup and grilled cheese, of course unless your Mom made everything from scratch most likely you got good old Campbell’s.  Don’t get me wrong Campbell’s is a great product, but who knew how really simple making homemade tomato soup was, so when I feel like I want something from my childhood this is what I do.  You can also serve cold or at room temp. For a party I served the soup in tiny cups and made grilled cheese sticks for convenient dipping, it was a hit for sure!!!

Tomato Soup

1/4 cup sweet or red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5oz) whole peeled tomatoes, give them a little squish
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

In a medium saucepan over medium heat add oil and onions, cook onion until translucent, stirring often not to burn.  Then add garlic, cooking and stirring for about 30 seconds, now add the tomatoes and their juices, bring to a boil then let simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add mixture to a blender and pulse to blend, make sure the lid is vented, you can take the center cap out of the lid, place a towel over top.  Once blended add cream and blend again, pour back into saucepan, keep warm, season with salt and pepper.

At this point you can serve or you may want to top it with some fresh chopped basil or chives, what about some sour cream, goat cheese, queso fresco or for me I like some crumbled gorgonzola cheese.  But you can top this soup with anything you can think of, plus its great to dip your grilled cheese in it too.

Grilled Cheese

1. Start with some good hearty bread, sliced and butter the outsides.

2. Cheese, there really is no one cheese that would not be good inside, for me I love changing it up, these are some cheeses I’ve used, provolone, smoked provolone & mozzarella, fontina, sharp white cheddar, Muenster, then my favorites are manchego and brie.  Brie with pears and some honey so good too, also crispy bacon…delicious

So what ever you use for your favorite grilled cheese go for it, but do me a flavor think outside the box!!!
There are so many wonderful cheeses out there, the next time you’re in the store take time to look around the deli area for the specialty cheeses, ask your deli server to help you pick something out, let them know you want to explore the wonderful cheeses of the world.

Let me know what you some of your favorite cheeses and combinations are…Enjoy!!