Greek Meatloaf

I have been on a total Greek food kick for the past three or four months. I love how its the healthy cousin to Italian food. I get a lot of the same flavors I love in Italian food, without all the guilt.

Turkey Feta Burgers are hands down a favorite now in our house. I make a bunch of patties ahead of time and then freeze them individually so when we need a quick lunch, we just defrost and grill them up. Super simple.

There is a little Gyro stand (which by the way, is apparently pronouned like the currency, euro) at my work. I literally go there 2-3 times a week to get a greek salad. Once a week I splurge on calories and get the beef & lamb plate. It comes with some rotisseried beef and lamb with pita and the greek salad. TO. DIE. FOR.

I decided to combine the beef and lamb in this meatloaf. I had to tell Jon it was all beef because he claims to not like lamb. I love how I still need to trick him into eating certain foods. I found it incredibly tasty, I hope you all agree.

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until well combined. Form into loaf on baking sheet. Cook for 40-50 minutes, until internal temperature is 160 degrees.

Day 21- A Recipe

I have been such a major fail with posting on my blog. I cannot even begin to tell you how crazy busy this past week/month has been. I am so thankful I am not one of those people who struggle to make friends. However, I'm also the type of person who can never say no to anyone. I wear myself thin sometimes, and this past month, I've truly pushed myself to the limit with my social life, work and the few times I've been able to actually make it to the gym.

I was soooo excited for this post out of the whole blog challenge because its the reason I started blogging. This blog has made my life so much easier because anytime I need to reference or share one of my recipes, I can just hop on the computer and grab it. Amazing.

One of the main reasons I had started cooking a few years ago was because of Jon, my fiance. I felt like a failure as a girlfriend for not being able to produce something above and beyond hamburger helper. I started recording the Food Network, particularly 30 Minute Meals, on my DVR and watching them at night to get a feel for techniques and flavor combinations. I am still years away from where I'd like to be as a cook, but I've improved a whole bunch from where I started.

Since Jon was my original inspiration to cook, I decided to make one of his favorites. As I've mentioned before, Jon is a very picky eater. He enjoys meat and potatoes and nothing else. Its been a struggle to get him to try any food outside of the main meals he has had his whole life. I've finally been able to incorporate vegetables and herbs in the dishes, but he still loves a meat and potato dish. So, today I've made a Barbecue Chili with Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Fries. I've made it with a few Portuguese touches in there because I do have some Portuguese blood in me. Instead of an Italian Sausage, I used Portuguese Sausage. I also used garbanzo beans as opposed to the usual kidney or pinto beans. I always use garbanzo beans in my Portuguese Kale Soup and I just love the flavor.


Barbecue Chili

2 lbs ground beef
1 10 oz Portuguese sausage, without casing
8 slices bacon, diced into small pieces
16 ounces chicken broth
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup beer
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 tomatoes, diced
1 15oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
2 15 oz cans beans (I used garbanzo)
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp hot sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat large pot over medium-high heat. Place sausage in pot and break up using a wooden spoon or potato masher. Add ground beef. Cook until browned. Drain and set aside. Add bacon to same pot and cook until brown and crisp. Add beef and sausage back into pot. Add chicken broth to beef mixture. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, sautee onions and peppers for two to three minutes. Add onions and peppers to beef mixture. Add in remaining ingredients.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 1/2- 3 hours. Taste and add additional seasoning to taste. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream with my next recipe.

Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Fries

4-5 potatoes, peeled and sliced into wedges
5 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated
2 tbsp olive oil, plus coating for fries
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare baking sheet with a light coat of cooking spray. In a small sauce pan, sautee garlic in oil and butter for 3-4 minutes. Set aside in large mixing bowl. Spread potato wedges evenly on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and lightly coat with olive oil. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Immediately upon removing from the oven, toss fries in garlic mixture. Toss in parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve along side the chili or with a cheesy dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

'Ello! (Insert British Accent)

I have to say, I'm not making breaking any ground with this recipe. I think Shepherd's Pie is one of those classic comfort dishes that are perfect the way they are. I made my mashed potatoes with 3 different cheeses that made them so tasty and yummy. I serve it up with some barbecue sauce or ketchup and its something you can eat right on the sofa watching your favorite show or movie.

This is a dish that's one of those "special" dishes for Jon. I don't usually like to cook with ground beef, but I felt a little better when I got the 93% lean kind. (haha) Also these mashed potatoes probably have 8 kajillion calories in them. Our 6 year anniversary was on Friday and today marked our first day of vacation so I decided what the heck?! I'll go on the elliptical for 6 hours tomorrow (haha yeah right!) Anyways, since it was our anniversary I figured it was a good excuse to make it for him and get the recipe up here for you guys that have fast metabolisms. I made him a photo collage for our anniversary this year. Check it out if you'd like. :)

Check out the recipe too and send me your pictures, questions or comments at cookingwithcait@gmail.com. Love you all! <3

Shepherd's Pie

3 pounds potatoes

½ cup parmesan

½ cup Romano

½ cream cheese              

½ cup milk

1  stick butter    

3 cloves of garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 pounds of ground beef             

1 cup onion        

3 cloves garlic

2 11 ounce cans corn

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cube potatoes and get them in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and season water with salt. *see tip at bottom* Cook for 20-25 minutes until fork tender.

While potatoes are cooking, brown beef in skillet. Add in onions and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes.

Drain potatoes. Using an electric mixer, beat potatoes with Parmesan, Romano, cream cheese, milk, butter and garlic until smooth or to desired "with lumps" consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly grease a baking dish and spread meat mixture along the bottom. Drain corn and spread over meat mixture. Spread mashed potatoes over meat and corn. Lastly, sprinkle cheddar cheese over top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.


Tip from the cook: Anytime I make potatoes, pasta or rice, I always season my boiling water with salt AND chicken bouillon. I think its much more inexpensive than cooking in Chicken Stock in a box and gets you the same flavor. It also adds a really nice gourmet color to it. That little jar of bouillon lasts quite a while too, even with the amount of cooking I do!