Month: April 2020

An Inspired Loaf of Meat

| FlourandParchment

I am not a fan of meatloaf. What’s appetizing about slab of meat topped with ketchup?! Just does not appeal me. One of my younger sisters will tell anyone, without hesitation, that she hates meatloaf. The moment she heard it was on the menu, she complained and was disappointed with me for choosing such a blah meal. I, however, had no intention of preparing a blah meatloaf.

Inspired by the Barbacoa Melt at Toasted, I decided to try my hand at converting myself and convincing our resident contrarian that meatloaf can be appetizing. And by George (whoever he is!) I think I’ve done it!

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Barbacoa Meatloaf

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  • 1.5 ground beef
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 c parsley, fresh
  • ¼ c cilantro, fresh
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 tbsp chipotles in adobo, chopped
  • ¼ c green chiles, canned, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ c cotija, crumbled
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • Salt
  • Pepper

For vegetarian version

  • 1 Lightlife Plant Based Burger patty
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp parsley, fresh
  • 1 tsp cilantro, fresh
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp chipotles in adobo, chopped
  • 1 tbsp green chiles, canned, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 5 Ritz crackers, crushed 

Topping

For the meatloaf:

  1. Preheat oven to 400ᴼ.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the meat or meat substitute with the eggs, parsley, cilantro, lime juice, chipotles, green chiles, garlic, cotija, oregano, salt and pepper.* Mix until well combined.
  3. Place in a greased loaf pan and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the center is fully cooked.
  4. Remove loaf from oven, allow to rest for about 10 minutes and flip the meatloaf out of the pan onto your serving dish.**
  5. Top with chimichurri and allow to cool to a bearable temperature of consumption.
  6. Adorn your loaf with pickled red onions and serve.

*5 Ritz crackers for the personal vegetarian loaf

** Spare yourself the flip and shape your raw meat in a loaf pan then flip that onto a greased 9×13 pan

     and proceed with instructions.

Give this recipe a try and let me know your thoughts on it, especially if it adds meatloaf to your favorite food list.

Here’s to making the most of a bland dish!

Pear Galette

| FlourandParchment

Pear 1

I’ve discovered that impromptu baking is less risky with almond flour. *SHOCK* Seriously, though. I figured out that the key here is bake time. I don’t need to worry about rise, because I know it won’t. Being aware of proper bake time nearly guarantees you will not fail; kind of like those classes based on attendance and discussion posts.

Give this a try and let me know if it flops. If I were a betting woman, I would put money on it. I won’t, but I probably should, because this really is foolproof. It’s also delicious and reasonably nutritious.

Let me know how it turns out for you.

Pear 2

  • 1 ¼ c almond flour
  • 6 tbsp butter grated, cold
  • ¼ c sweetened almond milk
  • ½ tbsp of coconut sugar
  • 1 lb. of Red Anjou Pears, slices
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 2 tsp Tapioca Flour
  • 2 tsp water
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Kosher Salt
  • 1 Lemon, zested and juiced
  • Egg wash (egg yolk+water)

In a bowl combine almond flour, coconut sugar, almond milk, egg.  Fold the grated butter in last. Roll dough into a ball, place in a freezer bag and refrigerate.

Chill dough for 30 minutes.

While the dough chills wash and slice up your pears. You can peel them, but I decided to keep the peel on.  It adds fiber and depth of color.

In a small bowl mix the honey, water and tapioca flour. Pour the pear slices into the mixture, then add cinnamon, nutmeg and kosher salt to taste. Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon.

Preheat oven to 400 F

Take the dough out the refrigerator and place onto an almond floured surface (be liberal). Roll dough out to about a 10 inch circle and ½ inch thickness.

Place the pear slices in the middle of the crust, leaving about 2 ½ inches around the edge, then fold the crust in towards the center. Folds and slight overlapping are acceptable. It creates a rustic presentation.

Brush the crust with egg wash (yolk and 2 tsp water). Be generous or your crust will be pasty and no one wants that, generally speaking.  Generously sprinkle coconut sugar onto egg washed dough.

Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool, slice and eat.

Pear 3

Disclaimer: I make no claims that this is healthy or going to cure the common cold because of its health properties. Truthfully, I have no idea if you benefit much from this, I’ve just developed a taste for almond flour.

Pear 4