Pantry Revisited

Tonya of What's On My Plate was the host this week for Barefoot Bloggers.  She chose Ina Garten's individual meat loaves.  I love meatloaf so I was anxious to try Ina's.  Since there are only two of us, I did cut the recipe down and made only two loaves.  They were delicious!  Usually I use bought breadcrumbs, but I was out so I made my own breadcrumbs in the food processor with frozen wheat bread.  And I used dried thyme instead of fresh just for convenience sake.  I also used tomato paste from a handy tube rather than ketchup on top.  I will definitely be making these on a regular basis.  Be sure to check out Tonya's blog to get the recipe!   Guess I could have made my tomato pattern a bit prettier on top, but it's the taste that counts, right?  Have a great week everyone!

I was inspired after seeing the movie Julia and Julie to make Beef Bourguignon but for some reason it scared me!  So I made my own version this weekend and it was fabulous so I wanted to share.  I used the crockpot which made it doubly easy.   Here's my recipe: First, spray your skillet with non-stick spray and fry 1/2 lb. of bacon.  Put that in the crockpot when it is done. Then, take a roast (I used sirloin tip) and cut into large cubes.  Roll in flour and brown in olive oil.  Place in crock pot. Add one cup of red wine (preferably burgundy). One onion chopped in large wedges. One bay leaf. Top with potato chunks, carrot chunks, celery pieces, mushrooms (if you like) and salt and pepper.  Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. I served with some crusty french bread.  It was a great meal, easy to make, and will impress your dinner guests!  Bon appetit!

Rachel Hearts Food chose our Craving Ellie choice this week of Peppercorn Pork with Wine Sauce.  I love pork and pork tenderloin is an excellent choice.  However, I have never cooked pork tenderloin in a skillet!  New experience.  First you slice the tenderloin lengthwise and spread dijon mustard on it.  Then cut it into four piece and panfry it in a bit of olive oil.  It was very easy to make and very tasty.  I served, as you can see, with a Waldorf salad, green beans, and carrots glazed with a little butter and brown sugar. As I drove out of my parking deck tonight, I couldn't help but think how blessed I am.  Blessed that my job is NOT a parking lot attendant.  My hat is off to those people (if I wore a hat which I don't) because they sit in the tiniest cubicle possible all day long, with a space heater, and a bottle of water, staring at cars going by.  I think I would be pulling my eyelashes out in about an hour of that....