Crockpot Meatloaf

Happy Monday Everyone!

Hope y'all all had a fantastic weekend.

This week I have a super easy recipe that is sure to be a family favorite! I have had meatloaf before and to be honest it has not been one of my favorites. It is either dry or too sweet or doesn't have any flavor at all. But for some reason I have been craving meatloaf so I decided to try and put together a recipe that would be moist and flavorful. It came out fantastic! Everyone loved it so much that there were no leftovers at the end of the evening.

Ingredients: 

1.5 lbs. ground beef

1/2 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

Dash or tow of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. mustard

1/2 can tomato sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg

Salt and Pepper

Topping:

1/2 can tomato sauce

2 heaping tbs. ketchup

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400*. You can always prepare it ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to cook it.

2. Mix all the meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl. You can either use a spoon or your hands. I find the spoon to be a lot less messy and just as effective.

3. Place tin foil on a baking sheet. Spray with olive oil spray. Place meatloaf of the pan and shape into a loaf.

3. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until internal temp reaches 165*.

4. Mix the other half of the tomato sauce with the ketchup and spread over top of the meatloaf. Bake for another 10 minutes. 

If you are going to make it a crockpot/freezer meal:

If you want to make this a freezer meal prepare the Meatloaf as if you were going to bake it. Once it is all mixed together shape it into a loaf and vacuum seal or place in a freezer safe bag. When ready to cook thaw completely and cook in the over at 400* for 45 - 60 minutes and then top with tomato sauce/ketchup mixture or you can place in the crockpot with topping and cook on low for at least 8 hours.

For the green beans:

Sautee two slices of bacon in a pan until cooked. Add 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic and cook for another 60 seconds. Next add a bag of frozen whole green beans and stir until green beans are coated with bacon grease. Place a lid on the pan and let cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Best green beans EVER!

oh stormy day

Wednesday as I was sitting in the living room watching some TV before everyone got home for the evening when I noticed that there were some pretty dark storm clouds heading our way. Not too soon after the boys walked through the door. They made it just in time too. Not too long after they came in the sky started getting really dark and the wind started blowing. We decided that since it is very rare that we get good storms these days we would sit outside and watch it and all it's glory.

Sadly our neighborhood got about 5 minutes of rain and 15 minutes of wind while 2 miles away got 2.5" of rain. It was really disappointing. Either way the boys had a fun time riding their bikes outside listening to the thunder and watching the lightning.  

After we were done playing in the drizzle that fell from the sky we headed inside for dinner where I had been cooking these crockpot chicken tacos all day. I originally found the recipe from Chocolate Therapy but made my own taco seasoning instead of using the packaged kind. I just like homemade better than the packaged stuff.

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breast

2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning or 1 pkg taco seasoning

1 jar salsa - I used mild pace picante

Taco Seasoning Recipe:

2 tablespoons chili powder

1.5 tablespoons paprika

1.5 tablespoons cumin

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of cayenne pepper

You can double the recipe if you like to have more on hand for a later date! 

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in the crockpot. Give it a good stir. 

2. Set on HI and cook for 6-8 hours. Chicken should fall apart when you stir with a fork.

3. Serve chicken on warm flour tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

You can even freeze and use your leftover meat to make an easy Chicken Tortilla Soup!

(recipe to come later)

For the rice:

Rice is one of Tyler's favorite things to eat so when he asked me if I bought the rice just for him I took that as the highest of compliments from a 6 year old. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of long grain white rice

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon oil

Spanish rice seasoning

Knorr Caldo de Tomate seasoning

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the rice and cook until slightly browned.

2. Add the entire can of diced tomatoes with juice, the water, spanish rice seasoning and caldo seasoning.

3. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and cook on low until rice in cooked. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. 

:: the start of summer and a menu plan ::

Happy Monday Ya'll!

It is officially summer...

And mohawk  season!!!