The Dietian's Referral-Italian Meatloaf

My sister the dietitian/nutritionist/diabetes educator is a much more experimental cook than I. She is constantly making something new or more complicated for her family while we tend to have the same few things. This week she suggested Italian Meatloaf which she found on foodnetwork.com. Her family loved it Tuesday night, my family loved it Wednesday night. I made a batch and half and substituted ground turkey and ground pork for the beef. With all of the filler that is added I probably could have gotten away with just the basic batch as I foresee myself having Italian meatloaf for lunch the next several days.

Maggie has also been having luck with the recipes in the We Energies (the Wisconsin Electric of my Milwaukee youth) 2007 Cookie Book which our mother gave both of us last Christmas. She is wildly addicted to the Buried Cherry Cookies that I have yet to try but. With that in mind I tried the Cranberry Hootycreek Cookies to use down the Costco sized bag of Craisins I bought before the hike in Scotland. They were very good and I think I will be adding Craisins to my Costco shopping list as I will be baking Hootycreek's (bad name) with them often.

Italian Meatloaf


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red pepper, seeded, small diced
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
1 pound ground beef
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the peppers, onions and garlic. Saute until just soft, remove to a plate and cool.

When the peppers and onions are cool, combine all of the remaining ingredients together except for the marinara. Pack the meat mixture into an oiled loaf pan, if you do not have a loaf pan, form the meat mixture into a loaf shape on an oiled oven tray or baking dish. Top with the marinara making sure to spread evenly over the top.

Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in the middle of the meatloaf. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Recipes from Michael Chiarello of Food Network

Cranberry Hootycreek Cookies

I think the white chocolate chips actually make the cookie too sweet, what can I say, I am 41 now and I suddenly have a rich trigger. The next time I make them I think I will just drizzle the white chocolate on top. I also think that the order in which they have you mix in the ingredients together if off but perhaps that is just the way things are done in the Fossil Operations department at We Energies. One last thing we don't drop anything in teaspoonfuls around here except for the F's Zyrtec so I made mine in tablespoonfuls and that made about 1 1/2 dozen.

October 29th Update: I made these cookies again and I did it in my preferred order. Cream the butter and sugars, add the egg and vanilla, mix in dry ingredients etc and you know what? It did make a difference in the finished product and not in a good a way. The cookies were taller and more dense. When I followed the recipe as written the first time the cookie was flatter and crispier and tasted more buttery. So my advice do it the Fossil Operations way.

½ butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup uncooked oats (old-fashioned or quick)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter; beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt and sugars; gradually blend into butter mixture. Stir in cranberries, chips and pecans. Drop into heaping teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 ½ dozen cookies.

Drizzle (optional):
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
Microwave white chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave for 30 to 40 seconds more; stir until smooth. Pour into zip-top bag; snip off small corner of bag. Drizzle on cookies; let harden before storing.

Contributed by John K, Fossil Operations
We Energies 2007 Cookie Book