Monday is usually the day I try out a new recipe. For one reason, it's the day I plan the week's menu and go shopping. However, I was a bit relunctant to try a new recipe today or even this week. We're trying to lower our grocery bill and experimenting can sometimes be expensive. Last week Lil was in a cooking mood, and she likes recipes that are - to say the least - out of the ordinary. Usually her recipes have some kind of meat and fruit combination which I don't usually find too appealing, but can usually eat. However, last Tuesday she made something called Chicken Loaf from one of my cookbooks. I wish I knew which cookbook as it should probably be in the trash.
She used some chicken breasts I had purchased to stretch into three meals, and she spent a lot of time cubing and braising the meat before combining it with all the ingredients that made it a "loaf". Hubby and I were on a conference call so Lil brought some out to us. It didn't look very appetizing, or very loaf-like, in fact it looked like it had been already been eaten and returned to the plate, but we both tasted it.
Hubby's "yuck" and quick dive for a glass of water warned me not to take a big bite, and after I choked down a small piece, I looked at him and asked "Here Kitty, Kitty?" and he nodded. We dumped our chicken in the cat bowl on our way into the house.
When we got back in the house, Lil asked how we liked it, and not wanting to hurt her feelings, we avoided a direct answer. Both she and Brownie ate it, but when we didn't really answer, Lil said it wasn't very good and asked what we wanted to do with the leftovers. Brownie said "Meow". I was swallowing a drink of water when she said that and nearly choked. Hubby burst out laughing and they had no idea what was so funny.
So after that in addition to not wanting to waste money, I was a bit afraid to try out a recipe tonight, but I did. It was a meatloaf with mashed potatoes in the center. It was actually pretty good, and could be any meatloaf recipe, except it had two eggs in it instead of the one I usually put in meatloaf, to make it firm. Spread the meatloaf out into a 10"x10" square on a piece of waxed paper. The mashed potatoes had parsley, thyme and marjoram in it and was spread down the middle of the meatloaf, then lifting the wax paper, the meatloaf was rolled into a loaf shape around the mashed potatoes, ends crimped, and placed in a loaf pan, then cooked as usual.
I thought it would be a good recipe to use up leftover mashed potatoes, so if you are looking for something new or a way to use up mashed potatoes, give it a try.
Until next time, may you have blessings and a stray cat who will eat your mistakes,
Marti
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.