Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Almond Biscotti

My August Foodie Pen Pal emailed me telling me about her preference for sweets and coffee.  (What is a Foodie Pen Pal, you ask?  Stay tuned for tomorrow morning's post for more on that one... ;) )

The local coffee shop here in my town roasts their own coffee beans in house.  So, I picked her up some fresh roasted and ground coffee from there.  I always try to include at least one homemade goodie in each of my Foodie Pen Pal boxes.  What goes better with a cup of coffee than some delicious biscotti to dip in it?? ;)  I remembered that I had pinned a recipe for a chocolate biscotti from David Lebovitz- living the sweet life in Paris blog.  Perfect!  Except I had never made biscotti before, so this was my first venture into this culinary territory...

The biscotti turned out amazing!  I may have cut some pieces just a little too thick because there were a few that turned out a little more cakey.  But most of them were the right texture and consistency.  I ,of course, opted for dipping them in chocolate.  ;) How could I not?

I packaged up some to send to my Foodie Pen Pal, and kept a few for myself.  These made for a fabulous and decadent breakfast a few times that week.  I am looking forward to whipping up my next batch of homemade biscotti soon. :)

To go directly to this pin for repinning, CLICK HERE.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

When you can get fresh blueberries for a bargain price, you buy them, right?  Spurred by a good deal and a blueberry muffin recipe from King Arthur Flour that I pinned earlier this month, I made a batch of sour cream blueberry muffins the other day.  (CLICK HERE for the recipe.)

Blueberries are one of those berries that freezes very easily, so buying in bulk is a win-win.  I have a batch of warm blueberry muffins now, and a whole mess of blueberries frozen to make muffins or pancakes or to throw in a smoothie later when the leaves start to turn and blueberries are no longer quite so affordable (or juicy, or sweet!) at the store.  I am telling you, folks.  Your freezer really is your grocery budget's best friend, and a wonderful way to still have a little taste of summer right up through the New Year. ;)

The addition of sour cream in the batter made for a deliciously moist muffin.  These were a big hit with the husband who is a huge fan of blueberry muffins. 

Before baking them, I sprinkled some colored sugar crystals on top of the muffins.  Aren't they pretty?? :)

This is definitely my new go-to recipe for blueberry muffins.  This recipe would also work well with raspberries. 

To go directly to this pin for repinning, CLICK HERE.

I am planning on hosting another Pinspiration in the Kitchen Party next Friday, and am looking for co-hosts!  This party will be the big kick-off for my Birthday Celebration week. :)  If you are interested in co-hosting, please email me at thefrugalfoodiemama@yahoo.com.

CLICK HERE for a link to my last Pinspiration in the Kitchen Party. 

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- "The One" Chocolate Mug Cake

I don't think it is any big secret now that I possess a mean sweet tooth.  This chocolate mug cake from Budget Bytes has become a staple in my home over the past couple of months... 

CLICK HERE for the recipe.

This recipe is so crazy simple and actually quite versatile.  We favor our chocolate mug cakes with a big spoonful of peanut butter and few chocolate chips plunged into the middle, but jams and jellies are also pretty yummy. ;)  And Nutella would probably be crazy good... Oh, the possibilities with this one!

Prep time through the 1 minute microwave cooking time is less than 5 minutes!  Everyone gets their only little moist chocolate cake in their own mug with whichever filling they prefer.  We often top ours with a little dollop of whip cream.  It is perfect when we are short on sweets in the house, and just need a little something.  Plus, it is ridiculously budget friendly.  ;)  

To go directly to this pin for repinning, CLICK HERE.

What will you put in the middle of your Chocolate Mug Cake? :)

Have a Pinspired recipe or kitchen project post?  Get linked up with the Pinspiration in the Kitchen party! :)

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Sweet Chicky Nuggets

In light of some recent drama with a certain fast food chain, I thought it would be appropriate to finally try out a copycat recipe of theirs that I have had pinned for a while now.  This one has just been hanging out on my Restaurant Knock Off Recipes to Try board for maybe a year or so, waiting for me to dust if off.  (I have known for a while where I do not want my money going to however indirectly that may be.  Don't be fooled, folks. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech rights.)  

Anyways... back to the copycat recipe. ;) 

I found this recipe on the My Name is Snickerdoodle blog.  Click here for the recipe.

Please note, you need to marinate the chicken chunks in an egg/milk mixture for 2-4 hours so plan accordingly for that.  ;)  I may not have, and we may have had a very late dinner this evening because of that...

I did not notice a huge difference between my homemade sweet chicky nuggets and the ones that people claim they can't live without from that chain that will remain unnamed. (Psssstttt... I think it may just a little dramatic to say you can't live without a certain fast food.  In fact, you may shorten your lifespan by eating too much of it.  ;) )

My husband loved them.  He actually stated that they tasted just like them, but more like actual chicken??  Yes, real food you all.  Not fast food.

Oh, and my homemade sweet tea is the bomb.  Just saying. 

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- 1...2...3 Cheesy Baked Ziti

Today I am again sharing a recipe that I pinned from one of Delallo's Pinterest boards.  This time I made their 1...2...3 Cheesy Baked Ziti..  (Click here for the recipe.)

This recipe called for Delallo Pomodoro Fresco Marinara Sauce...

This recipe was so easy to throw together!  The name of this dish is spot on. ;) I just boiled and cooked the ziti (I used whole grain to offset some of the cheesy guilt that was about to ensue.), mixed it with the ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce, and then dumped it all into a greased baking pan.  I topped it off with a little more sauce and some shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese and baked for 25 minutes.  You can see the delicious result below...

 

 If you are looking for a tasty and easy dinner for a busy weeknight, then you have found your go-to dinner recipe.

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

To see all my Pinspiration in the Kitchen posts, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Chicken Cacciatore With Pomodoro Fresco Tomato Basil Sauce

I came across the recipe for Chicken Cacciatore shortly after I started following the Delallo Pinterest boards.  Those of you who have been following my blog for a while know all too well about my love affair with Delallo.  For a year, I lived in Greensburg, Pennsylvania just 15 minutes away from the Delallo Italian Marketplace in Jeannette.  (If you need a refresher, please CLICK HERE for the blog feature I wrote on Delallo on my former blog, Short & Sassy in Suburghia.)  My husband and I loved Delallo's so much that we ordered all of our wedding cakes from their bakery and drove them 2 hours over the state line. ;)

Okay, I got off course there. Back to the Chicken Cacciatore!  I was fortunate enough to receive a sneak peak of their five new Pomodoro Fresco Sauces...

Their Chicken Cacciatore recipes calls for their Pomodoro Fresco Tomato Basil sauce.  I know, I know... I am always advocating to make your own sauces from scratch, but take a looks at this...

Do you see anything above there that you cannot pronounce?? Exactly! :)

I did my own spin on the Delallo recipe (which you can find by clicking here), and decided to throw everything into the Crock Pot.  I still seasoned and floured the chicken thighs and browned them.  But then I threw them in the Crock Pot and covered them with the veggies and the rest of the ingredients including the Pomodoro Fresco Tomato Basil sauce.

The only changes I made ingredient wise is that I used red wine instead of white.  I actually didn't have any white on hand, and you all know how I am about using what you already have on hand. ;)  I cooked everything in the Crock Pot on Low for 6 hours.

It turned out rich in flavor. The chicken thighs just fell off the bone.  I served it over rice, but you could use any pasta you have on hand as well.

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Today is the First Pin & Link Up Friday!

As those of you who follow blog my know, I post a Pinspiration in the Kitchen post on my blog every Friday.  These posts are inspired by a recipe I have pinned on my Pinterest boards, decided to actually make that week, and that turned out successful.  (To see all my Pinspiration in the Kitchen posts, click here.

Now I would like to offer you the opportunity to share your Pinspired recipes with your readers and my readers too today. :)  On the third Friday of every month starting today, I will be hosting Pinspiration in the Kitchen Pin & Link Up Fridays.  What do you need to do to link up?

• Make, bake, grill, or create a recipe or kitchen project that you pinned to one of your Pinterest boards. (Yes, you have to have a Pinterest account to join the link up!)  
• Take photos of your finished product to include in your blog post.
• Include a link to the original recipe as well as a link to your Pinterest pin of the recipe or project somewhere in your blog post.  
• Include a link somewhere on your blog post to my blog so your readers can know where to find the other Pinspiration in the Kitchen posts in the link-up.  (Psssst.... you can now grab my button on the sidebar to the left! :) Just copy & paste the code into HTML in your blog post.)
• Come back to my blog and link up your Pinspired post to mine! :)  

That's it!  

Hopefully this has inspired some of us to start trying out some of the recipes we have been so happily pinning away. ;)  I also hope that we will all find some new pins to repin and some new Pinterest accounts to start following.  

Ready?  Now link up below! :)

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Banana Snacking Cake

My Pinspiration in the Kitchen post this week (and for the very first Pin & Link Up Friday!) is a Banana Snacking Cake recipe I found on myrecipes.com.  Click here for the recipe.

 I am always on the search for a good recipes to use my over ripe bananas in. I always seem to be left with at least 2 bananas that get soft and brown in every bunch that I buy.  A couple of months ago I wrote a Pinspiration in the Kitchen post about some amazing Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting (just in case you are looking for some more pinspiration for those over ripe bananas ;) ).  

This Banana Snacking Cake was delicious and moist.  It is more fluffy, less dense than a banana bread.  I served the cake with a healthy dollop of whipped cream and fresh raspberries I had leftover from my Framboise Raspberry Cup Cake baking adventure.

To see all my Pinspiration in the Kitchen posts, click here.

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Starting Pin & Link Up Fridays This Week!

As those of you who follow blog my know, I post a Pinspiration in the Kitchen post on my blog every Friday.  These posts are inspired by a recipe I have pinned on my Pinterest boards, decided to actually make that week, and that turned out successful.  (To see all my Pinspiration in the Kitchen posts, click here.)  


Now I would like to offer you the opportunity to share your Pinspired recipes with your readers and my readers too. :)  On the third Friday of every month starting with this coming Friday, July 20th, I will be hosting Pinspiration in the Kitchen Pin & Link Up Fridays.  What do you need to do to link up?

• Make, bake, grill, or create a recipe or kitchen project that you pinned to one of your Pinterest boards. (Yes, you have to have a Pinterest account to join the link up!)  
• Take photos of your finished product to include in your blog post.
• Include a link to the original recipe as well as a link to your Pinterest pin of the recipe or project somewhere in your blog post.  
• Include a link somewhere on your blog post to my blog so your readers can know where to find the other Pinspiration in the Kitchen posts in the link-up.  (Psssst.... you can now grab my button on the sidebar to the left! :) Just copy & paste the code into HTML in your blog post.)
• Come back to my blog on Friday, July 20th and link up your Pinspired post to mine! :)  

That's it!  

Hopefully this will inspire some of us to start trying out some of the recipes we have been so happily pinning away. ;)  I also hope that we will all find some new pins to repin and some new Pinterest accounts to start following.  

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or send me an email.  

Hope to see you all back here on Friday!  

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- My Secret Ingredient Brownies

This week's Pinspiration in the Kitchen post has been pinspired by the Cooking Classy blog.  I have already made Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Now I have made Secret Ingredient Brownies (and no the secret ingredient is NOT what some of you may be thinking ;) ).    For Cooking Classy's recipe, click here.

Now this is not my first time making these brownies.  I just may have mentioned them in my My Favorite Foodie Blogs post.   

These brownies are fudgy, chewy, and decadent.  Without add-ins.  Although you could always add chocolate chips or pecans or walnuts to the basic recipe.  

I will forewarn you though- once you make these you may never make brownies from a box again. ;)

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Creme Brulee French Toast

I first saw this recipe when watching The Chew a couple of months ago, and instantly went online to find the recipe on the show's site and get that thing pinned. ;) And then I forgot about it.  Yeah, I know that I am not the only one who has pinned something that looked amazing and then forgot about it in a sea of Pinterest-inspired yumminess.  Luckily for me (and for you!), that very same episode re-aired earlier this week.  I decided that it would have to be our breakfast for the morning after the 4th of July holiday.

For the recipe for the Creme Brulee French Toast, click here.

I love that the whole thing is thrown together the night before, and you could change up the recipe easily.  I didn't have any Brandy or Triple Sec, so I used some whipped cream flavor vodka instead.  (I am thinking next time that I might try Kahlua. ;) )  You could also just leave out all the alcohol and add extra vanilla extract, or even a flavored extract like coconut.

This french toast was moist and decadent.  I topped mine with a little drizzle of maple syrup and fresh whipped cream.  It is so incredibly easy to make homemade whipped cream that you really have no excuse not to whip some up for your french toast.  Just pour heavy whipping cream with a few tablespoons of sugar in a bowl and beat with a whisk attachment for 3-4 minutes.  That's it!

To go directly for this pin for repinning, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

This week's Pinspiration in the Kitchen recipe is absolutely, ridiculously easy.  And tasty to boot!  This recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Tacos was pinned from the blog, Chocolate Therapy.  Click here for the recipe.

You only need 3 ingredients- chicken breasts, salsa, and a packet of taco seasoning.  That is it.  Throw them in the slow cooker and let them go...  Once the chicken was ready, I just shredded the meat right in the Crock Pot using 2 forks.  

I will be honest- I would prefer these shredded chicken tacos over the ground beef variety any day.  Simple, easy to make, and so flavorful!  Just add taco shells or tortillas and your favorite toppings and dinner is served!

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Copycat Cracker Barrel's Hashbrown Casserole

My husband celebrated his first ever Father's Day last Sunday.  As part of his special day, I wanted to make him his absolute favorite breakfast dish from a restaurant who is very well known for their hearty breakfasts.  We love Cracker Barrel.  I must have their buttermilk biscuits and their fried apples every time I am there.  My son is a fan of their pancakes and real maple syrup. But my husband LOVES the hashbrown casserole.  So much so that he always gets a double order of it every time we visit Cracker Barrel.  

At one point early in my obsession with Pinterest, I created a Restaurant Knock Off Recipes to Try board and then, well.... kind of forgot about it.  Until last weekend.  It wasn't in the budget for us to take my husband out for breakfast for Father's Day (we all know how that weekend right before payday week can be).  So, I decided to recreate his favorite breakfast at home instead. ;)

I found a recipe for a copycat version of Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole on Food.com.  Click here for the recipe.  I actually ended up halving this recipe.  You can click Servings under the Ingredients for the recipe to change the number of servings.  I still used the entire can of cream of chicken soup though. (I know!  Cream of chicken soup!  Who would have thought?)  The smaller serving did not change the bake time.  In fact, I baked mine about 10 minutes longer to get that nice cheesy, crisp crust along the edges that you see pictured below.

The hashbrown casserole turned out just about exactly like Cracker Barrel's.  My husband definitely approved, and that says a lot. ;)  This made more than 6 servings though.  We were eating leftovers of this for breakfast and lunch for the following two days.  

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

For all of my Pinspiration in the Kitchen posts, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have stood by for many, many years.  It started over 10 years ago when I bought my first pack of Butter Crisco sticks. I tried the recipe for the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies that came with the pack, and knew I had found my go-to recipe.  These cookies became much requested by my family over the years. Yes, I have tried different recipes here and there, but nothing that came close to my Butter Crisco recipe.
Until this week...

This week I decided to try Once Upon a Chef's recipe for Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Click here for the recipe.
So, what are the secret ingredients?  You will have to click on the recipe link above to find out.  I don't want to give away all of Once Upon a Chef's secrets. ;)
The only ingredient I left out was the pecans.  I didn't actually have any in the house, so I just opted to forgo them.  They were amazing without them, but I am sure they are amazing with them as well.
My family LOVED them.  Heck, I loved them.  I ate 3 within 30 minutes of them being out of the oven!  These are seriously THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever made.  After trying one, my husband said that I would be lucky if any of these cookies made it until the morning!  Well, they made it past morning, but not by much.  By the next evening, the entire batch was gone!

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here.

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Rustic Strawberry Cake

Yes, this is the second strawberry studded recipe in my Pinspiration in the Kitchen series.  Yes, I just may LOVE summer strawberries.  (And I love even more how much cheaper they are once May and June has come along. ;) )

My newest pinspired recipe comes from the amazing kitchen of Martha Stewart.  When I read the ingredients and the directions for her Rustic Strawberry Cake, I seriously asked myself, "Is that it??".  I literally only had to buy the strawberries to make this.  Everything else I already had on hand in my pantry.  Click here for the recipe.

This cake came together incredibly easily.  I think it maybe took me 15 minutes to whip up the cake batter, cut the strawberries, and put it all into the pan.  (I used a cake pan instead of a pie plate.  I still haven't found my pie pans in the unpacking of the house. ;) )  The cake was a HUGE hit with my family.  My son even had 2 pieces after dinner the other evening!  I served it topped with whipped topping.  The great thing about this cake is that it would also be delicious made with raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries (or how about a combination of berries?).  This is going to become a staple in our house all throughout berry season. ;)

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here: http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649720080/

Pinspiration in the Kitchen: Salted Caramel Goodness

My tasty obsession this week started with one little recipe showing up in my inbox- A recipe for a Salted Caramel Sauce from The Brown Eyed Baker- Get the recipe here.  I spent a half hour one evening last week and concocted my own batch of the sauce, and it has been sinful madness after since.  

First, I added it to my morning lattes.  Then, I drizzled it over vanilla yogurt sprinkled with chocolate chips and pecans (a turtle yogurt sundae!).  And then The Brown Eyed Baker had to go and put out a sister recipe for the Salted Caramel Sauce- Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes (Click here for the recipe.)  I decided that I had to make these for the family barbecue my husband and I were hosting for Memorial Day.  

These cupcakes were amazing!  The chocolate cupcake itself was nice and moist.  The salted caramel frosting?  To. Die. For. I actually made cinnamon roll dough in my bread machine this week just so I could spread my leftover frosting all over them.  I definitely could not let it go to waste! ;)  Side note: This was my first attempt at making what I call "pretty" cupcakes.  You know, with a fancy tip and a not so fancy bag (I used a gallon sized plastic storage bag with a corner snipped off).  And I was pretty pleased with the results.  Never again will I be sloppily smearing frosting onto a cupcake with a butter knife!
I will say I added WAY more than the recommended amount of salted caramel sauce to the frosting.  Like maybe twice as much? ;)  I just kept tasting the frosting and adding in more sauce until it had the caramel flavor that I wanted.  


To go directly to the Salted Caramel Sauce for repinning, click here- http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649680205/
For the Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes, click here-
http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649680197/

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

It is that time of the year when daydreams about summer inspired desserts begin to invade my thoughts.  On one of these such occasions, I decided to look up strawberry infused recipes and began happily pinning pink hued confections & sweet treats one after another onto my Pinterest boards.  It also just so happened that strawberries were on sale at my local grocery store that same week. ;)  I stumbled upon a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake cookies from Martha Stewart- http://www.marthastewart.com/315652/strawberry-shortcake-cookies?czone=food/produce-guide-cnt/spring-produce-recipes&center=276955&gallery=275333&slide=282784


Strawberries in cookies?  At first I was little skeptical, but the idea intrigued me.  

These cookies turned out absolutely delicious!  The cookies were soft and sweet and tasted just like strawberry shortcake minus the whipped cream.  I sprinkled them with sparkling sugar before baking, and they turned out looking so pretty that I wrapped up some for my mother and my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.  You do need to eat these quickly- they only stay good for about 2 days tops.  Not that it would be a problem to inhale these all in one day. ;)  Storing them in the fridge would extend their shelf life by a day or two.

And yeah, this may have happened with some of the cookies...

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here- 

http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649620091/

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Southern Fried Healthy?

This week's Pinspiration in the Kitchen is actually a two for the price of one deal. ;)  That's right, folks.  Not one, but two pins inspired this week's blog post.  Occasionally I crave good southern food.  I mean, who doesn't??  But we all know that good 'ole southern food gets a bad rap for being greasy, laden with butter, and just well... bad for you.  Not this week.  This week I made Cat Cora's Crispy Baked "Fried" Chicken- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cat-cora/crispy-baked-fried-chicken-recipe/index.html and from the 100 Days of Real Food blog, Super Easy Whole Wheat Biscuits- http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/04/08/super-easy-recipe-whole-wheat-biscuits/.

The Crispy Baked Fried Chicken recipe calls for a whole chicken cut up.  I don't know about your family, but in mine they ALWAYS fight over the two drumsticks.  I decided to head off this battle by making ALL drumsticks. :)  You can pick up a pack of 6-8 drumsticks for way cheaper than you would buy a whole cut up chicken anyways- budget friendly! The chicken was nice and crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  If you like a little more spice to your "fried" chicken, I would suggest adding a few dashes of hot sauce to the buttermilk mixture before dunking the chicken into it.


The whole wheat biscuits were SUPER easy to make and delicious.  I decided to use half whole wheat flour and half white flour.  You could do all whole wheat or all white flour, whichever you prefer.  I decided to go all southern and make my biscuits with buttermilk.  It made sense anyways since I already had buttermilk leftover from making the chicken.  (And pssssttt... Buttermilk is low fat! Despite it's name, it is actually a healthy alternative to whole milk.)  I bought a 16oz container of buttermilk and that ended up being more than enough for both the chicken and the biscuits recipes.  
All you need is to add a side and your healthy southern "fried" dinner is ready to go!  I added corn on the cob.  You could also do up a side of greens. Or baked beans. 
Tip: To make fresh corn on the cob quick, leave the corn in their husks and microwave 3 minutes for each cob. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove the husks.  The corn comes out perfect! 


To go directly to these pins for repinning, click here:
http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649552953/ - Crispy Baked "Fried" Chicken
http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649552959/ - Whole Wheat Biscuits

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Banana Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

You have a couple of over ripe bananas sitting on the counter.  What do you typically do?  Make banana bread, of course.  But there has to be something else you can do with over ripe bananas, right?  I have asked myself this question again and again.  But usually I end up sticking with a traditional banana bread with walnuts or maybe chocolate chips.  Or I will make Once Upon a Chef's super decadent Chocolate Banana Bread.  


I stumbled across a recipe for Banana Bars with Cinnamon Cream Frosting on Pinterest the other day, and knew I had to give it a try.  Pretty much anything with any kind of cream cheese frosting is a winner in this house. ;)  Click the link for the recipe- http://cookingclassy.blogspot.com/2012/01/banana-bars-with-cinnamon-cream-cheese.html

The recipe called to mix all ingredients (both dry & wet) all together in a large bowl.  I felt like I would be committing some cardinal baking sin doing that, so I did mix the dry and wet ingredients separate & then combined.  I had an extra ripe banana, so I added it in along with about a 1/2 cup extra of flour.  I also threw in a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter.  


I actually brought this to a family barbecue and it was huge hit.  The kids especially seemed to love it- a few of them even went back for seconds.  By the end of the barbecue, only 2 small pieces of the 13x9 inch pan were left.  This is definitely an alternative for banana bread that I will be making again in the very near future.


To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here- 
http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649518591/

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Good Eats Meatloaf

The word "meatloaf" doesn't exude too much excitement.  It is one of those meals that has been a staple on the tables of mothers, housewives, and grandmothers for years.  Most of the time it is just an over sized, glorified hamburger patty.  Like Randy famously said in A Christmas Story- "Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf. I hate meatloaf."


For years I have been on the search for a meatloaf recipe that my family would willingly eat without having to coax them by saying "show me how the piggies eat."  I think that I have finally stumbled upon that very recipe on Pinterest- Alton Brown's Good Eats Meatloaf recipe- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-meat-loaf-recipe/index.html

I actually only made half of this recipe.  I was pretty sure that my husband and I would be unable to eat an entire 2 lb meatloaf in a few days. ;)  And even though the recipe called to just finely chop the veggies in the food processor and NOT puree them, I did puree them.  Great trick for mothers (or wives) of children (or husbands, not naming any names here...) that hate vegetables. Plus, I think the pureed veggies made the meatloaf just that much more moist.


The Good Eats Meatloaf was tasty.  The husband loved it (didn't even notice the hidden vegetables! Shhhhh...) and I actually really enjoyed it.  I didn't even need extra ketchup squirted on top and served on the side for dipping- a first for me when it comes to meatloaf.
The glaze was sweet and just a little spicy.  I think I have finally found my go-to meatloaf recipe. ;)

To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here- http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649479445/