Grammie's Blog

Monday, March 13, 2006

The Chronicles of Chopped Meat

Its been a while since my last blog. The reason is because I've been reading up a storm. I received "The Chronicles of Nardia" library for my birthday and once I got started, I liked it so much that I read my way through all seven volumns. Then I saw the movie "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and loved the fictional story centered around the great Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer so much, that I read the novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier. It was, as they say, a great read, and I just couldn't put it down.

To make up for my absence, I decided to share 4 of my favorite chopped meat recipes.

SHEPHERD'S PIE
(This recipe comes from The River's Edge Restaurant at the South Street Seaport in NYC.)
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (or chopped lamb or turkey)
1 cup grated carrots, cooked for 5 minutes
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. minced onion (dry or regular)
2 Tbsp. water
6 cups prepared mashed potatoes (may use instant)
salt and pepper as desired
Brown the meat in large skillet and drain.
Add carrots, mixed vegetables, minced onion, ketchup, water and salt and pepper to meat mixture in skillet.
Stir ingredients together and pour into a casserole or large pie plate.
Spread mashed potatoes over mixture (make a nice design if desired).
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
Serves 6-8

MEAT AND POTATO PIE
1 lb. Ground beef
2 slices soft bread, torn into pieces
2/3 cup milk
1 egg slghtly beaten (may use Eggbeaters)
1/3 cup chopped or minced onions
1 Tbsp. Worchestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4-6 servings mashed potatoes (use instant if in a hurry)
1/2 cup sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Heat oven to 350.
Soak bread in milk and add chopped meat, egg, onion, Worchestershire Sauce and salt.
Mix together well and pat into 9" pie plate, smoothing top.
Bake 35-40 minutes.
Drain off excess liquid and "ice" with mashed potatoes.
Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over top and return to oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.
Serves 4-6

STOVETOP MEATLOAF
1 lb. lean chop meat
1/2 pkg. Stovetop Onion and Mushroom Dressing Mix
1/4 cup egg beaters or 1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup plus more to glaze top of meatloaf.
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients together, well.
Gently Pack meatloaf in pan and glaze lightly with more ketchup.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
Recipe may be doubled.

APPLESAUCY MEATLOAF

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. applesauce (cinnamon applesauce tastes great)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I use stale bread ground up in food processor)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. chopped onions
1/2 cup milk
Glaze:
3 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 c ketchup
1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
Combine first 6 ingredients and mix well.
Form meatloaf in a baking dish or meatloaf pan.
In center of meatloaf, draw a spoon gently from end to end to form a slight rut.
Spread glaze in rut and over rest of top.
Bake 1 hr. at 350 degrees.
Serves 4-6

Grammie :: 2:18 PM ::

3 Comments:

Shaggy and Scout wrote...: Grammie, since winter is back our mom says a couple of those sound like real tasty homestyle recipies for cold days. She's going to try them. The family is always suspicious when mom "cooks" since it's not 'her thing'.
Mom has the 1 volume big book of the Narnia stories and is slowly getting thru it. She reads that when nothing else is satisfying for her. Right now she is reading The Davinci Code. She figures she's the last person in America to do so, and she's been meaning to get to it for a long time. Now she can't put it down & wonders why it took so long to pick it up! Crazy mom's!; 5:58 PM
Timmy wrote...: Oh Momma readed that DaVinci book not too long ago. Don't worry, there are others in CatUSA that haven't read it! Momma liked it for the codes and mysteries but she says she doesn't like the other part...

The Narnia books am all way good! Grammie readed them so fast! If she was running as fast as she read, she'd beat me!; 11:11 PM
Anonymous wrote...: OOO, shepherd's pie... Funny that your recipe is from the Seaport. I haven't had shepherd's pie since I worked in lower Manhattan.

SS&S - your mom is the 2nd to last! I'm trying, but am having trouble getting into the Davinci Code.; 9:29 AM