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Deer/Elk meat loaf....or other ground meat.

Wow, has it been this long since I worked on my cooking blog? Jeez, what a terrible blogger I am. Well, here I am trying to play catch up with a few things.

In the past I have NOT been a fan of meatloaf. One because most people put onions in it and I can only eat sauteed onions. If onions stay somewhat uncooked in something then it gives me the gut ache from hell and makes me want to puke when I eat whatever it is. I dont know why. They just have to be cooked down. Second I have always thought of meatloaf as meat and bread for some strange reason. Ick.

So I take a package of my deer or elk ground meat and place it in a large bowl.
I add some Worcestershire
cracked pepper
garlic salt
seasoning salt
garlic and herb seasoning
sea salt
onion powder
ground sage
italian season mix spice
one or two eggs depending on how big your package of ground meat is
italian seasoned bread crumbs in the can...finely chopped kind

My secret ingredient is a hand made/canned chili sauce we got from some friends which you want to use one not sweet and not too warm. When that ran out I used some homemade canned salsa. No KETCHUP here.

I hand mix all that together with my hands. Mix in some of the bread crumbs till it absorbs the wetness. I cant say how much cause each time its different depending on how much chili/salsa sauce you use. I then let the meat sit for a bit in the bowl or on a rack before cooking.

AND as always you can experiment with how much spices and so forth you want to use as you make this each time.

I use a roast rack that is in the "V" formation for roasts to cook on. I place my loaf in that so its not cooking in its own juices. Then I sprinkle more bread crumbs on top and some seasoning and garlic salt so it makes crusties on top of your loaf.

I cook my loaf on about 300' to 325' for about 45minutes. Make sure you cut into it to see if its done cooking or not. It usually doesnt take long with elk or deer. Then serve with gravy or having the salsa chili sauce on the side to dip in is good too. Dont serve the salsa cold though :)

Meatloaf with gravy and chili/salsa.

Meat loaf with crusty top !

Meatloaf with gravy.

Russian Piroshki

I went to a small Russian truck in town that makes these and tried them. They were so good I had to go home and figure out how to make them myself. I used pork for meat and shredded cabbage, and the shredded broccoli mix you can get, and some mushrooms and onions to the mix.

Rolling the dough is a bit of an intermediate skill but not too hard. There is so many possibilities with this recipe and what ingredients you can use.

You may need to watch this several times and watch it as you work too. I sure did on my tablet.

Cold Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad

This is my favorite pasta for one because I LOVE pesto and spinach. Its really easy to make and a great dish to take to a dinner at someone's place when you need to bring something.

Ingredients:

One box of bow tie pasta
One bag of spinach
One jar of pesto
Parmesan cheese fresh in a bag...not the shaker kind
Garlic Salt
Olive oil

Start off with cooking your bow tie pasta. Dont overcook them. When they are cooked dump into strainer and then immediately rinse with cold water. Let pasta sit in strainer until it is cool.

Cut up your spinach into small chunks or strips.

Once pasta is cooled add to a large bowl.

Drizzle some olive oil over the top. Dont get too carried away and drizzle too much oil.

Add your spinach and the whole jar of pesto.

Stir all together and add a dash of garlic salt.

Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and mix in. Probably about a cup of it.

With this salad you can experiment and add more or less depending on your tastes. I find after it sits a bit you may want to add a bit more garlic salt or the cheese for that salty flavor.

Keep in the fridge and eat fresh or later. I like to eat on it all day. 

Quick Asian Marinate

There are some nights I just want to have something Asian-ish. You can use this for any meat. I usually cut up my meat into small bite size chunks. Chicken, pork or steak or any other game like elk or deer.

Marinate:
Now I dont measure my marinate. I just throw some of this stuff together.

Hoisin sauce
Seasoned rice vinegar
Soy sauce
minced garlic
chopped ginger
sesame oil
oyster flavored sauce

mix it all together and let it marinate for awhile

cook up some rice in your rice cooker

cook your meat up with marinate in a saute pan

when meat is cooked and rice is done add meat over rice and sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

This is the greatest Asian style quick meal.

Miso Soup with Tofu.

Whenever I make sushi you always have to have a bowl of miso soup to go with it. This recipe is easy and it how I make it. As always you can do your own thing as you make it each time.

Ingredients:

Miso paste...I prefer white miso.....white miso is made from soybeans
One big bag of Shitake mushrooms....freeze dried sliced...this is the easiest and cheapest way I have found.
Extra firm tofu
green onions
sesame seeds toasted
filtered water

This is a recipe good for about two people.

In a small soup pan add in about 3 to 4 cups filtered water
a large hand full of freeze dried Shitake mushrooms.

Simmer on low/ medium until mushrooms are soft. I simmer about 15 minutes till almost at a boil. Turn down heat to low or warm. This is what they refer to as a Dashi soup base.

Not at this time you can strain out your mushrooms and cut them up into small pieces or you can break them up not small pieces when you first add them since they are crisp. Kind of easier that way.

Cut up your tofu into small square chunks. You will only need about a fourth of the tofu block. Add to your water mushroom base.

Spoon out some miso and then mix into the hot water. This can take a few minutes as the miso is think but it will dissolve into the water.

Now you will have to add several spoon-fulls depending on how you like the flavor of your miso to be. More will make it saltier.

After you dissolve all to taste warm it up a bit and then add your green cut up onions and stir in. Don't let your soup sit and simmer for long periods of time. The miso will end up chalky.

Serve up with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds garnish on top.

Where to purchase Miso paste???

You can go to any of your Asian type food stores to get it. I have also ordered it online from the Asian Food Grocer. Great place with reasonable priced food stuff and great price for shipping too. You can get your mushrooms there too.

http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/

Poor Man's Meat Stroganoff

Just like the Poor Man's Alfredo I have a beef or some kind of meat Stroganoff. Cheaper and I think healthier for you.

For this recipe you can use any meat. Steak cut up into small strips or the other night we used our elk cube steak. Yes, it worked.

Meat.....use anything that is accessible and you want to use. If cube steak is cheaper for you to buy then get it...it will work.

Ingredients:

One family size can of Cambell's Cream of Mushroom soup
one can of stems and pieces canned mushrooms or fresh
meat
some spices
garlic

In a saute pan heat up some olive oil and add in some garlic toasting that up
add your meat...in this case I cooked up our cubed elk steak

I got out our electric pan and added the can of soup and started it out on warm and when the pieces of meat were done I cut them into strips and put in the soup mixture. When the meat was done I warmed up my mushrooms in the pan and then added to the whole mixture.

I seasoned my cube steak with Johnny's seasoning salt, steak seasoning and some new roasted garlic salt we just got. I didnt clean out my pan so when I warmed up the mushrooms in the same pan so they also got seasoned with what was left in the pan.

Simmer all the ingredients till it bubbles and you can serve over rice or any type of noodles. You can add some milk to make the sauce thinner too.

ENJOY !!!

Poor Man's Chicken Alfredo

Do you hate paying the price for those jars of alfredo sauce. I mean sometimes they are on sale and mostly they are not. The ones that are on sale really don't taste all that great anyways either. Well we solved the problem. I actually think its healthier too for you.

So Im going to show you how to get the same thing basically on a cheap budget.

One large family size can of Cambell's Cream of Chicken soup.
Chicken
fresh garlic from a jar or clove
Large pan or skillet of some sort.
Some spices
Can of mushrooms optional

Cut up your chicken into small chunks. You can use breast or thighs. Whatever is on sale. Fresh or frozen.
In your pan heat up some olive oil and simmer up some fresh garlic.
Add your chicken and cook till brown.
Season with Johnny's Season salt of something similar.
Garlic salt
And I like to add a garlic herb seasoning or Montreal Chicken seasoning and any other seasoning you may want. Add your mushrooms at any time.

In a skillet or same big type pan add the can of cream of chicken and some water or chicken broth.

Simmer as you cook some noodles or rice.

Serve it up with a sprinkle of Parmesan on top.

And that's it. Very cheap easy and I think healthier.