Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Nanner Puddin'

I know.

I know.

I should be making something with nutmeg, or pumpkin, or apples. Nope, not me. Last night it was all about the Banana Puddin'. My friend Dana's birthday is tomorrow, and as an office treat, I made her Banana Pudding (her favorite)

Here's the Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 bananas, sliced
1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

DIRECTIONS

- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

- Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

Here's What I Got:

Delicious layers of wafers, bananas, puddin' mixture, and to top it off, strawberries!


Here's What I Learned:

- This recipe is FABULOUS.

- It's ok to eat some of the pudding out of the bowl when you are done.

- In fact, you may want to make a slop bucket of extras in your left over cool whip container and chow down. Like this...



Who loves banana pudding?

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

We all Scream for Sour Cream (coffee cake)

Make This. Everyone at your office/home/church will love you. Seriously.

It's one of those recipes that is made with love, and it makes me smile every time I make it. One of my mom's dearest friends, Janet, died last year of breast cancer. She was a wonderful woman who was up for anything. She didn't want to miss out on a good time. She was kind-hearted and genuinely interested in the well being of those around her. She loved her friends and family, and apparently she loved to cook. This recipe comes from a cookbook her daughters put together of their favorite recipes made by their mom, Janet. My mom also got a copy and we've been hooked on this coffee cake ever sense.

Baking is about so much more than just the taste.




Sour Cream Coffee Cake

- 2 Sticks of butter, softened
- 2 Cups of sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp of vanilla (I usually add a little more)
- 8 oz of sour cream
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 Cups flour
- Dash of salt

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix first four ingredients together, creaming together butter and sugar
- Add in remaining ingredients. (I stir in each cup of four individually)
- Once batter has formed, pour into greased 9x13 pan and smooth out evenly, batter will be thick.
- Generously sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top of batter
- Cook for 35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean

Enjoy!

~Kara

Monday, June 30, 2008

Vacation Eats

Sorry for being all lazy poster, but I just got back from a week long visit to Florida and it was heaven. I loved every second of it. It was also my boyfriend's first visit to the ocean, which was incredibly adorable...till he threw me in fully dressed.
As we all know, vacation is ALL about food. I wanted to take pictures of everything delicious I ate, but alas I was too obsessed with the seafood and key lime goodness to keep to the plan. But I snapped a few!

When you look below, you may think, "Kara, where are all the pictures of seafood?" I'm glad you asked! Seafood is my favorite ever. Trust me. I ate it every single day. From grouper sandwiches to blackened sword fish. This girl was happily satisfied by ocean critters. I was just too lazy to take pictures :)

Here's some eye candy of just a smidgen' of the deliciousness that was my vacation:

King Crab Legs- I think Caleb seriously high off of how delicious these were.
Dreamciscle Pina Colada. Very Girly. Very Delicious:
Rib dinner from a local guy with a smoker at the outdoor market. THAT RICE! Wow. Incredible. It has pieces of smoked chicken in it.

Just Ribs, for the BBQ purist:
My Mom's incredibly excessive Chili Dog:

Gyro from Hella's in Tarpon Springs, FL. Seriously the best Gyro I've ever had. Ever. (don't mind the sunburn)


Thanks for Stopping By!
~Kara

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

One Speedy Potato

I did a quick post about this website on by other blog. However, this very cool idea needed to be shared with the Kara cooks community. I'm SO trying this next time I make some mashed taters, which just happens to be my favorite food in the entire world.

Check it out...



Has anyone tried this before?

Want to know how to repaint a piece of furniture? Check out Inspired Kara, my new blog!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Friday, June 6, 2008

Chicken Enchillada Dip... a Guarenteed HIT!

I love cheese, chicken, and enchiladas so why not make them into a dip?!! I first had this at my aunt and uncle's place in Cleveland. I've been obsessed ever since. This is one of the EASIEST dishes to throw together for a last minute gathering or BBQ. I always try to keep the ingredients on hand so I can grab them in a pinch. This stuff is SERIOUSLY delicious. I've never gotten less then great things to say about this dip. Warning. It's addictive, very addictive.

The key to this recipe is a QUICHE pan. A pie pan would probably work, but for my purposes I use a Kitchen Aid Ceramic Quiche Dish. It is the perfect size. I purchased it from Tuesday Morning. Have you guys heard of this place? I love it!! Nothing glamorous about it, but tons of home stuff on major markdowns!


Here's the Recipe:

- 1 cup mayo (the real stuff)
- 1 package softened cream cheese
- 1 large can of chicken (the kind you get next to the tuna)
- 1 - 1.5 cups of your favorite shredded cheese
- 1 can of diced chilies
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- A handful of shredded cheese for the top

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. You can either use a spoon or dig down in there with your hands. Then, spread the sticky, semi-gross looking mixture into your dish, sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until very bubbly. Serve with some scoops, or your favorite tortilla chips!

Here's What I Got: (Warning, no FINAL picture. I had to run out the door to a party before I could snap a pic.)

The cast of characters. Yes, I'm a generics girl. I hardly ever buy name brands.


The pre-baked dip in all it's gooey glory


Sorry for the missing pictures. There should be one of it all spread out with shredded cheese on top, and one after I pull it out of the oven with it all bubbly and chickeny and cheesy and gooey and yummy.

What I learned:
- ALWAYS, I repeat, ALWAYS ask for a recipe when somebody makes something delicious. It's worth it!!!
- I love this dip for the days I'm feeling non-impressive and non-domestic. It's SOOO easy
- Plan for some time for the dip to cool just a bit, instead of trying to immediately head out the door with a 350 degree dish in your hand, not that I would EVER do that

Thanks for Stopping By!!!
~Kara

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Fresh Herbs for Spring/Summer

I'm trying something very out of the ordinary for me...growing plants. I tried to have a garden as a small child and became traumatized when the rabbits ate all my flowers. I have not been able to keep plant-type things alive very well sense.

But in the spirit of cooking, and spring, I'm giving it another shot with a few fresh herbs. I have the world's best boss, and she has been teaching me about different types of plants and gardening and such. One Monday morning she bought be some little planted herbs from the farmer's market as a gift! Thus, I needed to get a cute pot to plant them in. And, of course the pot I wanted required a few more plants, and so the adventure begins.

For my lil' fancy herb pots I have planted:
- Regular ol' Basil
- Thyme
- Cilantro
- Spicy Globe Basil

Here's What I Got:
All of my plants all lined up


My cute planter. All three pots are connected to the same drain pan type thing. Sorry for the poor quality photo, but you get to see the cute colors of the planter!

I stole some of my mom's miracle grow potting soil.

Here they are all planted!

Spicy Globe Basil. This stuff smells REALLY good.
Cilantro! I feel some fresh salsa coming on....
And finally... Thyme
What I've Learned:
- Learning to have a green thumb may just be fun!
- Check back with me when I actually make something using the herbs. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Monday, May 12, 2008

Ginger Cookies for Mom

I love my Mom and my mom loves ginger snaps and baking. Coincidentally, so do I. So, I thought what better Mother's Day present than some home made treats. So, I made her these oh-so-yummy, deliciously chewy, not-so-springtime, but who cares? chewy ginger cookies.

Here's the Recipe:

INGREDIENTS :
2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (you get it in that funky little box section in the baking aisle where all the flax seed and crap like that is)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water (use orange juice if you want to bring out the ginger flavor, I did!)
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Here's What I Got:

Gritty delicious batter. It's quite the quick mix, and quite simple.


Little ball of dough all rolled up in sparkly sugar


Fresh from the oven


Taking time to cool down.


Wrapped up and ready for my mom


What I learned:
- I miss cooking/baking and blogging
- These cookies are so simple, yet so delicious
- Baked goods make the best gifts
- I wouldn't change a thing about these
- I LOVE MY MOM!!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Dear Costco, Will you Marry Me?

Costco-
You make me so happy. You're produce? DELICIOUS. The Samples? The best part of the trip. The random kitchen items and cute tops? a wonderful combination. Unnecessarily large boxes of cereal and bags of almonds? irresistible. The bargains? RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!

Love,
Kara

This past weekend I hijacked my mom's Costco card and loaded up on TONS of food. Fresh organic fruits and veggies, meats, breads, cereal, the works. In fact, I just ate one of the most yummy plums of my life. While I was there, I picked up a box of individually packaged roasted red pepper and mango glazed mahi mahi. I couldn't wait to try it!

Now, I'm a convenience girl. So I just popped that lil' fishy right into the microwave for 6 minutes and let it cook, you could bake it if you want. In the meantime, I needed some sides. So I busted out the ol' George Foreman, some fresh asparagus, and THESE!!!!

Please tell me these are not the cutest little peppers you ever did see!!



I didn't really "cook" anything in this meal.
Here's what I did:

- Put package of fish in Microwave
- Sprayed George Foreman with olive oil cooking spray, threw on the asparagus, some kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper, then I topped it off with a little dusting of Parmesan
- Cut up those tiny little bits of joy called peppers and grilled them up
- CHOWED DOWN

It was such a satisfying meal, in such a short amount of time, I couldn't help but post it.

Here's what I got:
Roasted red pepper and mango mahi mahi with grilled asparagus and peppers


What I learned:
- I may try baking the fish next time, I may not
- I'll go home and figure out what brand this stuff is and let you know
- I rekindled my relationship with the Foreman
- I still love you Costco

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kara

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Pasta Al"fake"o

Call me fat and happy! I have fallen into that trap of being in a great relationship, and enjoying great food together, and not enjoying my weight gain. So I went on a rampage of produce, protein, and light food shopping. Now my fridge is full and there are no excuses for not cooking, or updating the blog for that matter!
Last night I got home and decided to throw together a fake Alfredo sauce made with The Laughing Cow light cheese wedges. These things aren't really as wonderful as nice, real, yummy cheese, but they do make for a great sauce! I've seen this recipe all over the place, so I'm not quite sure who to attribute it to.

All in all, al"fake"o sauce is NOT as good as the real thing, and even after years of eating it, I'm still trying to get used to whole wheat pasta. But this was a great dish for one, and so filling I thought I was going to EXPLODE! Although it did remind me of a frozen dinner, I think I'll make it again. It's quick, simple, and healthy.

Here's the Recipe:

Sauce:
- 3 light Swiss Laughing Cow cheese wedges
- 1/2 Tablespoon margarine or butter
- 1 Tablespoon Parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup skim milk

Combine all in a sauce pan and stir until smooth, might take up till 20 minutes. Pour over pasta

Pasta:
- Eyeballed amount of whole wheat pasta you think you can eat
- Water
- Salt
Cook according to package directions

Others:
- Steam fresh broccoli in the microwave
- Pre-cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast

Combine into pasta, after heating each in the microwave, or any other method you desire

Here's What I Got:
All the goods for the sauce:


The rest of the dish:


I kind of love the look of steamed broccoli (please notice my Amish Friendship Bread started in the background. This is an upcoming blog post):

Whole Wheat Pasta, cooked and ready to go:
The sauce:
All together now!
What I Learned:
- I don't like garlic powder, and I would've rather just used fresh garlic, I'm not sure why I didn't
- This is a good fast "I live alone meal" and I'll make it again
- I LOVE FRESH PRODUCE! I'm in such a better mood when I'm eating healthy fresh veggies and fruits. In fact I'm snacking on blueberries, blackberries and strawberries as I type! yum.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

That's One Sexy Cake

This past weekend, I got the wild idea to decorate a cake for my dear friend Becky's bachelorette party. Please, keep in mind I've never really decorated a cake before. But, hey! why not? That's what this blog is all about, trial and error. And why not make a cake look like a bustiere, after all a lingerie shower was involved! Nothing in this cake is from scratch, I mean nothing. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. This was a last minute effort!

For this project, I used:
- Box cake mix prepared in a 9x13 pan
- Pink vanilla frosting
- Cream cheese frosting
- Sparkly pink sprinkles
- That white gel decorating stuff.

Here's what I got:
I started by drawing a template out on an 8x11 piece of paper, basically just showing me where to cut her sexy curves...so they weren't lopsided. Don't mind her tan. She REALLY liked it in the oven. So much so, she wanted to stay in longer than she should have! I let her. I'm nice like that. Then I started to frost her...


and frost her..... for what seemed like forever...

Don't forget to eat the cake you cut out dipped in extra frosting...duh!

Then I began to outline the design of the lingerie in white.....


And pumped up this fashionable lil' thing with some pink sparkles.....

Then her tan went away with the help of some cream cheese frosting! She also got a little lace-up action added....and she's done!
What I learned:
- Making frosting look nice is near impossible
- Showing up to a party with a lingerie cake is a total blast!!!
- I'll keep trying with this cake decorating thing, it's kind of fun. However, I think I need a class!
Thanks for stopping by!
-Kara

Monday, March 3, 2008

Just Like Bread and Budda Darlin'....

I know I have been absent for awhile. Life gets busy, and kara doesn't cook. This also has to do with the fact that I need to go grocery shopping...BAD. We're talking, I've been waiting around for over a month to get some motivation to go buy food BAD.

Anyways, my friends Whitney and Josh cook dinner for me every Thursday night when I come over to visit their darling little sons. A few weeks ago Whitney made some DELICIOUS bread from a recipe she found in the Post-Dispatch. This recipe is part of a collection from this book:


I have made the Crusty Bread recipe twice and it has turned out wonderfully each time. I tried to go buy the book, but Border's was just plain all out. I need to go back and try again. The concept allows you to store dough in the fridge and break it off as needed to bake. I have not tried that whole part of it yet, but I will.

Here's the Recipe (As Found on STLtoday.com):
Simple Crusty Bread
Yield: 4 (1-pound) loaves, about 64 slices
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
3 cups lukewarm water
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting dough
Cornmeal, optional

Mix yeast and salt into the water in a large bowl or plastic container. Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches; the dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not airtight. Let the dough rise at room temperature 2 to 5 hours. Bake immediately, if desired, or refrigerate, loosely covered, for up to 2 weeks (the dough is easier to handle when it's cold). When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on the dough; cut off a grapefruit-sized piece. Turn dough in floured hands to lightly stretch the surface until smooth and round on top and lumpy on the bottom. To use a baking stone: Place a baking stone on the middle oven rack. Set oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal. Place the dough on the peel; let rise 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough (or refrigerate).

To use a loaf pan without a baking stone: Stretch rounded dough into an oval and place into a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, 1 hour if refrigerated. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. To bake: Place a broiler pan on the bottom of the oven; let broiler pan reach 450 degrees. Dust loaf with flour; slash top in a cross with a serrated knife. Slide loaf from pizza peel onto baking stone or place loaf pan on middle oven rack. Pour 1 cup water into the broiler pan; close oven door quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes; let cool completely before cutting.
Per slice: 47 calories; no fat; 1g protein; 10g carbohydrate; no fiber; 133mg sodium.

Adapted from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking," by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

Here's What I Got:
I would've taken pictures throughout the process, however I was frantically running around trying to make Pioneer Woman's Meal of Love (make it.) for the boyfriend. He loved the bread though!


BUT IT'S NOT OVER!!!!!
What good is bread without butter? I decided to make my own honey butter with this bread for my community group. They loved it. Honey butter makes it quite easy to impress, with minimal to no effort, or ingredients.

Here's the Recipe:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey

Beat together slowly in a small bowl.

Here's Wat I got:
Don't be intimidated by the extensive amount of ingredients involved in this recipe:
Done and Done. And TASTY!!!!
What I learned:
-Bread can be annoying, and one loaf doesn't always turn out like the rest. next time, I may attempt to make the loaves in an actual loaf pan, as to prevent blobiness.
-I want to add Cinnamon to that honey butter and make it with hot yeast rolls for dinner!
- A Valentines Day dinner of pan seared rib eye, homemade bread, salad with goat cheese and dried cherries, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, topped off with ice cream sundaes...is sure to please ;)
Thanks for stopping by!
~Kara

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Nothing says Valentine's like White Chocolate and Red Velvet

Thank you Bakerella! I found these delicious little chocolate covered cake balls and immediately screamed..."awwww Valentine's Day," in my typical overly screechy, nerdy voice. These were TASTY, plain and simple. These little nuggets of goodness are red velvet cake with cream cheese icing dipped in white chocolate. What's not to love?!

Confession: I tried to make these look adorable like Bakerella can by placing them on lolly pop sticks. This was a catastrophe!! I quickly had to abort the mission. And, immediately the cuteness factor of these lovely little cake balls plummeted. My dipping skills are zero to done and they ended up looking a little ploppy and werid, but tasted delectable. I brought 40 to my weekly small group, and left with 2, which I made sure I grabbed so I could take a picture.

With that said, I WILL make these again in all sorts of varieties, and I think I know what I goofed up on with the lolly pop sticks. We'll get to that in a bit.

Here's the Recipe: (Courtesy of Bakerella, word for word)

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Here's What I got:

Yummy little bits of love:


Confession 2: Being that honesty is the whole gist of my blog, I wanted to show you pictures of the massive cake balls plummeting to their death after sliding down the lolly pop sticks, the chunks of red velvet cake that ended up in the white chocolate, etc. But, I made these at the boyfriend's house and my camera was dead. Luckily I snagged these two so I could at least get one picture!

What I Learned:
- When a recipe says "chill for several hours," chill it for several hours, not 30 minutes because you waited to long to make them for an event or because you are too impatient. Not that I know this from experience ;)
- Next time I will roll the cake balls much smaller
- I will also put the lolly pop sticks in the smaller cake balls and, again, CHILL FOR SEVERAL HOURS, that way they adhere to the stick.
- I will use a dish with more depth for chocolate coating. The bowl I was using was too large, and too shallow.
- People love these, make them. (And sneak a few for yourself)

Thanks for stopping by!
Kara

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

I'm from the Lou and I'm proud...of gooey butter cake!

If you are from St. Louis, you know what I'm talking about. Four simple words:

ooey
gooey
butter
cake

By far, this is one of my favorite desserts in existance, so I made one. And, yes, I cheated and made it with a boxed cake mix. The reality is I had to make it for a dinner and forgot untill WAY late in my Saturday plans, otherwise we would've started from scratch. Also, sorry for the lack of pictures. I was scrambling around like a crazy face!

Note: Aunt Kathy, make this. You'll love it.

With all that being said, Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is a soft, yummy, yellow cake gooey explosion, and here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

Bottom:
1 (18.5 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Top:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix cake mix, melted butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 eggs with a spoon. Pat into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Mix cream cheese, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in confectioner's sugar. Pour over cake layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool.

Here's What I Got:

Two parts goo, One part delicious:


Pouring the yummy cream cheese mixture on top of the cake mixture:


When you are done with that, make sure you get in on that cream cheese deliciousness:


Bake till golden brown around edges, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and ENJOY!


Here's What I Learned:
- I will cook 5-8 less minutes in my oven, that sucker overcooks quick!
- Apparently, according the the group I made this for, the cake is delicious dipped in chocolate fondue!
- I love St. Louis

Hope you enjoy! Thanks to those of you who have sent me recipes...keep 'em coming!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, February 4, 2008

Mini Meatloaves...I Love Muffin Tins

I seem to be on a "this would look cute small" kick, so I made some mini meatloves in muffin tins, and I thought they were wonderful! I found the recipe on allrecipes.com, one of my favorite daily hits. I added a few extras and threw them in muffin tins. Quick & Easy!

Here's the recipe (found here):

INGREDIENTS
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheese, oats and salt. Add the ground beef, mixing well, and form this mixture into eight miniature meatloaves. Place these in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir thoroughly and spread over each meatloaf. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.

What I did Different:
- I used seasoned breadcrumbs instead of the oats. My mom has always made it this way, so I figured go with what you know!
- I used colby jack instead of cheddar. I shredded it off the block, rather than use the bag stuff
- I eliminated the mustard, not my favorite flavor
- I, DUH, put it in muffin tins to bake

Here's what I got:

The mushy gushy ugly meat goodness:

I spooned the meatloaf into tins. The recipe makes 15 mini meatloaves:


For the topping, just mix together some ketchup and brown sugar:


Here they are finished. It only took about 30 mintues to cook:


Sorry I don't have a picture of them on a plate. We had to rush to the hospital that night to visit one of my boyfriend's students. We ended up bringing them the meatloaves, cream cheese mashed potatoes, and cheesy rice. They loved it!

What I Learned:
- Things look cute in muffin tins
- Adding green pepper and onion was a good idea, it gave it more flavor that the recipe called for. I used my new "mini food processor" from aldi to chop up the veggies and it worked great! I stored left overs in a freezer bag. I will use them when I make a BBQ chicken pizza.
- I'd make this again!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful February!

Thanks for stopping by!