Miranda Lambert's Meatloaf

This is the only requested birthday dinner for everyone in Miranda’s family. 

They like to serve it with mashed potatoes or with corn and macaroni casserole.

2 lbs. ground beef

1 lb. ground breakfast sausage (mild or regular)

1/2 sleeve of finely crushed saltines or Ritz crackers

2 eggs

1 dash of Worcestershire

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. ketchup

1/2 c. finely chopped bell pepper

1/2 c. finely chopped onion

Mix all the above ingredients together (best option: dig in with both hands!). Put into a baking dish (casserole or loaf style).

Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Prepare topping while baking.

Topping:

Blend together 1 c. ketchup and 1/4 c. brown sugar.

After baking, pour grease off of loaf. Spread topping over meat generously. (If using a large pan you may need extra; use ratio above.) Place pan back in the oven for 15 minutes to bake. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Yeasted Biscuits

Sometimes called Angel Biscuits.

    1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast

    1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)

    2 cups buttermilk

    5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

    1 1/2 teaspoons salt

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda

    1/4 cup sugar

    3/4 cup shortening

1. Combine yeast and 1/2 cup warm water in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, and let mixture stand 5 minutes. Stir in buttermilk.

2. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; cut in shortening with a pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk mixture, stirring with a fork just until dry ingredients are moistened.

3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead 4 to 5 times.

4. Roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour.

5. Bake at 425° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.

Colcannon

For those of you that have had colcannon before, you may notice that I took a little liberty with my version. First of all I decided to add bacon, because well I like bacon. Next, if the scrumptious crispy bacon wasn’t enough, I decided to sauté the onions, garlic and cabbage in the left over pan drippings before stirring them into the creamy mashed potatoes. Serves 4.

    * 6 slices bacon, diced into 1 inch pieces

    * 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

    * 1/4 cup butter, plus 1 tablespoon for serving

    * 1/2 cup milk

    * 1/2 medium onion, diced

    * 1 clove garlic

    * 1 small head cabbage, cored and chopped small

    * 3 green onions, chopped

   1. Brown bacon in a large skillet. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Remove pan from heat and reserve 1 tablespoon of pan drippings.

   2. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a pot with the water just barely covering the top. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain. Return to pan and add 1/4 cup butter and milk. Mash with a potato masher. Turn burner to low and cover to keep warm while you prepare the cabbage.

   3. Return bacon pan to stove and heat over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and cabbage to reserved bacon drippings. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until cabbage is soft.

   4. Stir cabbage mixture into warmed potatoes. Stir in reserved bacon pieces and green onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with remaining tablespoon of butter.  

Caesar Salad Croutons

2 slices of Seedless Rye Bread frozen

          2 slices of Pumpernickel Bread frozen

          2 slices of white bread frozen

          1/2 stick of butter

          1 tsp Onion Powder

          1 tsp Garlic Powder

          1 tsp Kosher Salt

          1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

          1 tsp Italian Spices

Preheat the oven to 250°

Cube all of the bread into postage stamp sizes and place them into individual piles. Add 1/4 of the butter to a pan and melt it over moderate heat. Toss in equal amounts of bread from each pile into the pan. Dust the tops with Onion and Garlic Powder

Take a deep breath and a sip of wine. Using your finger and a fork turn each crouton over (This exercise will increase your tolerance to pain and you will become quicker at the process of making the croutons) Dust the second side and brown. Add a twist of black pepper and a pinch of salt into each batch. The last batch gets a pinch of Italian spices.

Depending on the size of the pan you should be able to do these amounts in four batches. The idea is to toast each batch and dry the croutons in the oven on a cookie sheet. Drying time will take about 40 min.  

Cheddar Biscuits

2-1/2 cups Bisquick
4 Tbs cold butter
3/4 cup whole milk
1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp garlic salt

To Brush on top:
2 Tbs butter, melted
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried parsley

In a large bowl add Bisquick and cold butter. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut butter into the mix. There should be small pieces of butter (pea size) throughout the mixture. Stir in cold milk, cheese and garlic salt. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out 1/4 cup portions onto a large, ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake @400 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. As soon as the biscuits come out of the oven, mix together melted butter, parsley, and garlic salt. Brush this mixture over the tops of hot biscuits. Serve immediately. Makes 12 biscuits.

Butterscotch Praline Pie

Butterscotch pie with a praline layer on the bottom. I used a crust recipe with both butter and Crisco in it, which I love to do with custard pies. Yummy! Served this one at my National Pie Day Party 2013

PRALINE:

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup pecans

PIE SHELL:

1 (9-inch) baked pie shell

BUTTERSCOTCH CREME:

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

2 egg yolks

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

For praline mixture: In small saucepan, combine all praline ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Pour into baked pie shell. Cool until set.

To prepare butterscotch crème: In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. In small bowl, combine milk and egg yolks; beat well. Gradually stir into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until thickened and bubbly. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour over praline mixture in pie shell. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving

Lawry’s Coconut Banana Pie

Heads up coconut lovers, this pie is amazing, totally decadent, and the coconut crust is absolutely awesome.  The crust takes it from ordinary to sublime.

COCONUT PIE SHELL

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, plus more for pie plate

3 cups sweetened flake coconut

Lightly butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside.

Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the coconut flakes, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. They should be golden brown. *Press the coconut evenly into the pan to form a shell. Chill the crust 30 minutes before filling.

PIE FILLING

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar, divided

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup flour

3 cups half-and-half, divided

Yellow food coloring

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 bananas

1 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch, salt and flour in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup of the half-and-half.

Combine the remaining 2 cups half-and-half and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a 3-quart saucepan and bring just to boil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook and stir until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 drops of food coloring and the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool.

Slice the bananas into the pie shell. Pour the filling into the shell.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until stiff. Spoon in dollops or pipe with a pastry bag around the edge of the pie. Chill 2 hours before slicing.

*I've received a few emails from people saying it was hard to cut through the crust, the only thing I can think of is that perhaps you are pressing the coconut into the pie pan, too firmly. (note from poster)