ground beef recipes – My World (and recipes too)

Meatloaf Ala Bah Bah (that’s me!)

I think I’ve been working on this meatloaf recipe since I was in my twenties. This is a tad labor intensive but it’s entirely worth it.

By now, we all know I’m a bit of a weirdo (and a perfectionist) when it comes to cooking. The way I make my meatloaf is a tad different than most in that I do not mix my ingredients in a bowl. (This is born from my experience with catering for large groups. It’s impossible to mix the ingredients for meatloaf for 100 in a bowl, so I always use a huge baking sheet.) The first time I tried this method at home, it worked so beautifully, I’ve not used a bowl since. The reasoning behind it is pretty simple. It’s just easier to get the meats and the seasonings uniformly distributed using this method.

This was last year at the start of the Pandemic. Making meatloaf for the masses!

I used to substitute oatmeal for breadcrumbs in my meatloaf recipes until that one time I forgot to put them in and it ended up being the best meatloaf ever. Now I skip them completely. Instead, I use extra eggs to hold everything together. Yes, the consistency going into the oven is slightly more wet, (and more work) but it works out just fine.

Wait. Did she just say, “…more work”? Relax. It’s just a couple of extra steps to siphon out the liquid as it builds up during baking. (Doesn’t that sound appetizing? Here, your turkey baster will be your friend.)

See how much easier it is to sprinkle all of the ingredients evenly?

Meatloaf Ala Bah Bah

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (80/20 for best flavor)

1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage

1 Pkg Lipton Onion Soup mix

1 medium onion diced however you like it

1/2 c. minced fresh parsley (Take the time and use the FRESH stuff. It DOES make a difference!

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup Ketchup (I like Primal Kitchen’s Sugar free)

3 eggs

1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Rays Hickory & Brown Sugar is yummy)

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
On a large baking sheet, break up the ground beef and spread it, then break up the sausages so they are evenly distributed. If a baking sheet scares you, use a bowl, but trust me on this…a baking sheet allows for easier mixing and even distribution of ingredients.
Sprinkle the soup mix, onion, parsley, Italian seasoning, olive oil, ketchup, eggs and salt and pepper evenly over the meat. (Basically everything but the Barbecue sauce.)
Using your hands, mix all of it together and then spread it back out across the baking sheet once more.
Drizzle thin streams of the barbecue sauce over the meat. Salt and pepper once more. Mix again and then form it into a loaf inside a standard loaf pan.
Put the meatloaf into your freezer for 20 minutes.
Put into preheated oven, uncovered for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn temperature down to 375.
Using a turkey baster, remove the juices that have accumulated. Brush on a thin coating of Barbecue sauce. Return to oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, siphon the juices once more, re-apply the barbecue sauce, cook for 5-10 minutes more. Repeat siphoning juices and applying barbecue, then broil on high for two minutes.
Let the meat rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Kicked Up Beef Noodle Casserole. Comfort Food, How we love Thee!

In case you didn’t get the memo, you are supposed to be eating delicious comfort food during the pandemic. Here is an easy recipe that’s relatively inexpensive, too.

Warning: This recipe isn’t keto friendly; this recipe isn’t low-carb; this recipe isn’t low fat; this recipe isn’t loaded with vegetables and it doesn’t pack a huge nutritional punch. Haven’t you heard? We are in the middle of a pandemic and the best food to eat in a pandemic is COMFORT FOOD!

This dish is so simple to make I put it together from start to finish in less than thirty minutes. If you have children, I am certain they will love this. What’s not to love?

Since I am pretty certain most of you know how to chop veggies, brown ground beef and mix things in a bowl, I am sparing you photos of all of that. Instead, here is what your layers will look like.

Bottom layer:

Middle layer:

Next layer:

Top it with the Cheese:

Here it is out of the oven garnished with basil:

Now IF you really wanted to, you could add some extra veggies to the meat mixture. Spinach and mushrooms would be great in there–even frozen peas. Use your imagination.

We served ours up with a drizzle of Sriracha and some more fresh herbs. I think a healthy dollop of sour cream (and even a little salsa) would be delightful as well.

Kicked up Beef Noodle Casserole (ala: Bahbah)

(Serves 8-10)

Ingredients:
8 oz. package egg noodles
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 ½ Lb. ground beef (can substitute ground chicken, turkey or pork)
1 large green pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
(1) 15 oz. can tomato sauce
(1) 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
3 cloves garlic, minced (more if you are a garlic freak like me)
2-3 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
2-3 Tbsp. Fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
S & P to taste
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 Cups Mozzarella, grated (don’t be lazy, do it yourself)
1-2 Cups sharp cheddar, grated (see above)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Over medium heat, brown the ground beef in skillet with 2 Tbsp. Olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, 1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning and garlic.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to package directions.

In a bowl, mix together soften cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese, 2 Tbsp. fresh chives, salt & pepper and a pinch of Italian seasoning.

When the meat has browned, add in the onions and peppers and cook about five minutes until softened. Then mix in the drained diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add another Tbsp. of Italian seasoning and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Simmer 2-3 minutes.

Remove meat mixture from heat and add in the drained pasta and 2 Tbsp. fresh basil. Stir well to incorporate.

Grease a 9 x 13” baking dish, add half of the meat and noodle mixture to the bottom as the first layer. Spread the cheese evenly over the layer, then add the rest of the meat and noodles over it.

Top with the remaining Mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses.

Bake 20-25 minutes until brown and bubbly. Garnish with the remaining fresh Basil.

Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving. (Tastes GREAT the second day and it freezes well too!)

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Onions.

I first saw these things on Facebook in one of those short instructional videos. I thought they looked delicious and easy. NOT! While they do score high on the deliciousness scale, and I might try to make them again, stuffing these onions was anything but easy!

First, it took almost an entire bag of onions to get what you see here. Trying to separate the onion skins proved an exasperating task. I found out I am not skilled at this at all and ended up breaking pretty much all of my onion skins. Then once I did have enough, I broke a couple more while stuffing them. Of course, I now realize they didn’t have to be perfect and I could have just pieced them together in two parts since they were held together by the bacon, but that’s not my style. (The curse I bear in this lifetime is perfectionism.)

Ingredients:

You can actually stuff these with whatever your favorite meat or meatless mixture happens to be. If you have a favorite meatloaf recipe, use that. If you have a favorite recipe for stuffed mushrooms, use that. You can even sub the meat out and use mushrooms instead if you like. Ground turkey or chicken would be delightful as well. Make it your own!

2 yellow onions
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup onions, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 Tbsps. cottage cheese
1 Tbsp. spicy ketchup
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 pack of bacon
1 bottle of BBQ sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, crumbs, egg, ½ cup BBQ, parsley, diced onions, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix together with your hands until thoroughly combined.
Cut top and bottom off onion, cut in half and peel off skin. Then separate the onion into “layers”. Use the larger outside layers.
Stuff your Meatloaf mix between two Onion Layers (essentially making an onion seal around a large meatball)
Wrap each “bomb” with 3 slices bacon and secure with toothpicks.
Bake on a sheet pan with a wire rack (see above) at 425 for approx 40 minutes or until internal temp 165.
Add BBQ sauce all over and bake an additional 5 minutes!
Enjoy!