BBQ Meatloaf Done Right

I love meatloaf! A long time ago, my Mama gave me her recipe for BBQ Meatloaf. She actually took an original Martha Stewart recipe and made it much much better with her Mama powers.

As a testament to my love for the loaf of meat, I've revamped an old post of a classic favorite. I added a little bit of my own twist on the recipe. So, get 'cher tummies rumblin' because here we go!

You will need:

• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 4 slices of white or wheat bread, diced
• 1 tsp. of Grey Poupon Mustard
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp. honey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place your bread bits in a medium sized mixing bowl, as seen above. Next add your ground sirloin, onions, egg, and brown sugar. If you want your meatloaf with a kick, add the red pepper flakes now or sprinkle some on after it's done.



Wash your hands because you're about to be wrist deep in raw meat. The best way to mix all the ingredients together is with your bare hands. I know it's gross, but grow up. Thoroughly mix 1 cup of BBQ sauce and Grey Poupon mustard into the meat with a spoon.

Take all the meat out of the mixing bowl and form it into a loaf shape on a greased baking pan. I don't like putting meatloaf in a loaf pan, you might as well be cooking your loaf in a bucket of grease. Moving on, in a small mixing bowl, combine the extra BBQ sauce and honey to make a tasty glaze. Pour the glaze  over the length of the meatloaf. Pop it in the oven for 50 minutes.

Yum! See? And all the grease leaked out. I suggest a side salad and some scalloped potatoes on the side of this meaty treat. Don't forget! The leftovers make fantastic sandwiches!

Love,

Liz

BBQ Cajun Turkey Melt

I don't want to brag, but I've been asked: How come when I make a sandwich it doesn't look as good as yours? There are two simple ingredients every sandwich needs, love and attention. You can't just slap a pile of ham on a piece of bread, slather on some mayo and except to be wowed. The key to a successful lunch is in you, my child.

You don't need gourmet ingredients to make a good sandwich. Start with the basics; bread, meat, vegetables, cheese, condiments. Spring on some bakery bread next time you're at the grocery store. It costs just as much as a regular loaf, except it's fresh baked every day! Try some new deli meats in the deli section. I guarantee it's better than whatever Oscar Meyers-Frankenstein creation they sell by the hotdogs.

To make this Cajun Creation you'll need to make a trip to the bakery and the deli, so get familiar with these locations! These are just the ingredients I prefer, feel free to substitute your own. But if you want the real deal, follow the list below.

You will need:

• 1 fresh baguette
• Tennessee Whiskey BBQ Sauce (or your favorite kind)
• Cajun Turkey Breast, sliced thin
• Shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese mix (or your favorite kind)

 Cut the baguette into two 4-5 inch halves. Lightly drizzle BBQ sauce on the inside of each half of the baguette and the sprinkle some cheese on top. This cheese will act like a delicious glue to hold the turkey inside.

Add a pile of turkey on one of the bread halves. Stack it low, stack it high - just stack that turkey, guy. Drizzle some more BBQ sauce over the turkey and sprinkle on a good amount of cheese.

Pop the halves in the toaster oven at 250 degrees for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. Carefully assemble the hot sandwich halves and enjoy!

Love,

Liz

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

Put on your britches and get out your slow cooker, bitches. It's time for some BBQ. Dr. Pepper stizzyle.

Ridiculous. Anyways, Dr. Pepper More than Mesquite Marinade is a wonderful, highly recommended, but not necessary ingredient. I happen to find it at a local gift shop that happen to have a HUGE variety of BBQ and hot sauces. Very handy for Father's Day. However, it might not be as easy for someone in say . . . Botswana to find any Dr. Pepper Marinade in just any old store. I found a few online stores that carry it including right here at saucenspice.com.

Moving on, the slow cooker is a very important tool for any amateur chef. It's great for those days when you got a lot of errands to do and need a lot of food later on. It's great for roasts, chicken, rice, potatoes, soups, stews, chili, really anything. You can throw all your ingredients into it and let it cook for at least 3 hours, longer if you want it more delicious. Personally, I like to start a dish at about 4 AM (bed time) so it can simmer at least 12 hours. Plus, they're cheap. So there's really no reason for you not to have one.

For this recipe, you will need:

• 3-5 lb. pork butt roast, size really depends on the size of your crock pot or slow cooker and amount of people you're serving
• 14 oz. bottle Dr. Pepper More than Mesquite Marinade
• 24 oz. bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup spicy mustard
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 large white onion, sliced
• 2 limes
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• salt
• pepper

Wash off the pork roast and place it on a plate with a paper towel underneath to absorb the extra run off. Season the roast with salt and pepper. Transfer the roast into the slow cooker. Cover it with half the bottle of Dr. Pepper More than Mesquite Marinade, half the bottle of BBQ sauce, the green peppers and onions.



Pop the top on the slow cooker, crank it to Low Heat and leave it alone for hours upon hours. Like I said, I'll leave that sucker in there half a day, I don't even care. But if you're in a hurry, wait about 4 hours until checking how tender the roast is. It's incredibly important to leave the top on at all times and not to fuss with the temperature or anything else until the pivotal moment. Once the urge is upon you to definitively surmise that the roast is tender enough, the sauce should be gently bubbling and the vegetables should appear wilted and soggy.

Now, transfer the roast onto a pan or clean plate. At this point I usually throw away the juices and vegetables in the pot. I find that the onions and peppers completely absorb the taste of the sauces and offers no yum factor. But if you think you'd like them, be my guest.

Return the pork roast to the slow cooker. Grab 2 forks and sort of use them to rip apart the roast like a hermit crab digging into the sand. Strange analogy, I know, but it's the only thing I could think of that came close enough. If it doesn't start to rip up so easily, don't worry.

Dump the rest of the Dr. Pepper, BBQ sauce, spicy mustard, brown sugar, and diced garlic. Take the limes and roll them with the palms of your hands on your counter or any flat surface. This loosens up the juices in the limes. Cut them in half and squeeze upside down onto the roast, assuming that you've kept up with washing your hands during this episode.

Keep the slow cooker on low, let it simmer for a few more hours. After about 3 hours, start ripping it up again. Continue to rip apart the pork and let it cook for about an hour. You'll know when it's ready because you'll have eaten most of it just through "tastes", but as a general guide: the more you pull apart the pork, the more the sauces can seep into the meat and penetrate the porky flavors.

Serve it on a nice toasted bun with a slice of Colby Jack cheese and some pasta salad (my new favorite side!).

Next week, shallots and why you'll never bother with red onions again. Ever.

Love,

Liz

40 Formidable College Food Blogs

Hey, when you get a chance, check out my competition for next year's spot in this article by OnlineCollege.org and then punish yourself for not voting for me in the first place. I don't want to hit you, my babies. Mama loves you. Why do you hurt Mama? ::cough cough:: Where am I?

 40 Formidable College Food Blogs

I'm looking forward to this weekend and so should you! My buddy Katharine gave me a bottle of Dr. Pepper Marinade and we's a gonna make some pulled pork, mm hm. I'm getting my Nanna's potato salad recipe, I'm gonna mix up some more pasta salad, and it shall garnish the finest Dr. Pepper BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich the world has ever known (truly a formidable recipe, if I do say so myself)!

Start getting excited, people.

Love,

Liz

BBQ Meatloaf

I don't know why on TV everybody's like: "Meatloaf for dinner?! Ugh!" I LOVE meatloaf, it's so good! IF you make it right. This is a super duper easy recipe, which is appropriate for the title of this blog I suppose, so here we go.

This is my Mamma's BBQ Meatloaf recipe and this is what you'll need:

• 2 lbs of ground beef
• 1 cup of BBQ sauce (any brand)
• 4 slices of white bread, diced
• 1/8 tablespoon of pepper
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of Grey Pupon mustard
• 2 tablespoons of minced onion

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Here's the gross part, I didn't like it very much but it's TOTALLY worth it, with your BARE HANDS mix the beef, salt, pepper, mustard, BBQ sauce, and minced onion together in a medium sized mixing bowl. I'm sorry, but you have to do it. When it's mixed up real good, place the beef on a greased cookie sheet (you can grease it with butter, margarine, Pam Cooking Spray, etc.). Mold the beef into a loaf shape and pop it into the oven for 50 minutes. After it's done, take it out and pour some extra BBQ sauce on the meatloaf and let it cool.

See? Super easy recipe.

MEATLOAF!

Love,

Liz