All American Meatloaf Night

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Mustard Asparagus, and Apple Pie
When my friend, Christina, moved back to the area, this was one of the first meals that we had together. Most meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and apple pies contain dairy and egg products. These recipes are dairy, egg, and soy free.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup safe bread or omit (bread recipe will be submitted soon)
Ketchup (ketchup recipe will be submitted soon)
1 finely diced green bell pepper
1 finely diced small onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
Black pepper
Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the ground beef, onion, bell pepper, black pepper, salt in a large bowl. Grade the bread on a fine grater, such as one used for hard cheeses, until you have about ½ cup fresh bread crumbs. Add 4 tablespoons ketchup and olive oil and mix with hands. Shape into a donut. Create a raised ridge around the edges and top with additional ketchup. Bake for about an hour.


Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
½ pound russet or Yukon gold potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Black pepper

Directions:
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain most of water, reserving ½ cup cooking liquid. Mash potatoes with cooking liquid, salt and pepper, and 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Gravy

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock (chicken stock recipe will be submitted soon)

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan and whisk in flour. Continue whisking until flour is slightly brown. Add chicken stock and stir until thickened. Add more stock for thinner gravy.

Mustard Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus
Olive oil
1 tablespoon mustard
1 cup chicken stock

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet. Remove woody ends of the asparagus and then chop asparagus into one inch pieces. Add asparagus to skillet. Stir until almost tender. Add mustard and chicken stock and scrap the bottom of pan. Serve.

Apple Pie

Ingredients:
For Crust: Makes 2 Crusts about 9” - 10”
2-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon of salt
¾ cup corn or olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
4 ½ to 5 tablespoons of ice water

For Filling:
3 granny smith apples, thinly sliced (about four cups)
2 Macintosh apples, thinly sliced (about two cups)
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together salt, sugar, and flour. Gradually stir in the oil with a fork. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time until you can form a ball. Separate the dough into two balls. Roll out each into a 10 inch circle between pieces of wax or parchment paper. Peal the paper off one side of and push one crust gently into a 9 or 10 inch pie pan and remove other side of paper. Fill with filling. Peel off one side of paper from the other crust and lay on top of filling. Trim edges and crimp with a fork. Cut vents in the top. Wrap foil around the edge of the pie to keep from burning the edge. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Variation: Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
2 cups meatloaf mixture (see previous recipe)
2 cups prepared rice
4 sweet bell peppers
1 cup carrot or tomato juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix meat loaf mixture with rice. Cut the tops off the peppers and scrape out seeds and white parts. If needed, cut a little off the bottoms of the peppers so that they will stand upright. Spoon 1 cup meat mixture into each pepper. Replace tops. Stand each pepper in a baking dish. Add juice to baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until done.

Variation: Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients:
1 pound meat loaf mixture (see previous recipe)
1 head of cabbage
1 can of diced tomatoes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cut 10 to 12 leaves off head of cabbage. Discard outer leaves. Briefly dip leaves into boiling water to soften. Wrap one leaf around ¼ to ½ cup meat mixture and place in one layer of a baking dish. Repeat until meat is all used. Coarsely shred remaining cabbage and place on and around cabbage wraps. Pour diced tomatoes over dish. Bake at for 45 minutes to 1 hour.