Asian Style Meat and Potatoes

I got this recipe from Sydney at one of my favorite food blogs, Crepes of Wrath. Everyone in my house loves it. I've shared it with multiple friends and they've all loved it. It's always one of my first go-to meals at the last minute when I realize I have no clue what to make for dinner. I almost always have everything on hand, and as far as the veggies go, I just use whatever we have at the time. I've made it before with broccoli, snow peas, carrots, edamame, eggplant, mushrooms, etc. I leave some stuff from the original recipe out (like red pepper flakes because I'm a wuss) and I tend to put a ton more veggies, but you can play with anyway you want and suit it to your taste. This was also my first time making it with ground pork as I usually just use ground turkey. I'll step-by-step the way I make it and then write out the original recipe at the bottom. You can also find it (and her step-by-step pictures) at the link I posted above.


First, wash, dry, and cube 5 medium potatoes. Toss it in 1 teaspoon peanut oil, 3 teaspoons sesame oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 - 50 minutes, until potatoes are golden.


While the potatoes are cooking I usually get my veggies ready. This time I used an 8 oz container of mushrooms, sliced...


The last of a bag of baby carrots, sliced...


And some already shelled edamame.


You're also going to need 1 small onion, diced, and 3 cloves of garlic, minced.


And one pound of ground pork (or ground turkey).


When the potatoes are almost done, heat 1 teaspoon of peanut oil and brown the pork.


When the meat is cooked, dump in all your veggies and stir.


You'll need 2 teaspoons white pepper, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil for the sauce.


Dump that in with the veggies and stir. Let that cook for about 5 minutes while the sauce reduces a little.


By this time your potatoes should be done and out of the oven. Try not to eat them all while you're cooking the meat. It's very hard.


Dump that in and stir to coat. I like to let it sit for at about 5 minutes before serving so all the flavors soak together.



Asian Style Meat and Potatoes
From Crepes of Wrath

For the Potatoes
5 medium potatoes, cubed
3 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For the Meat
1 pound ground pork
1 bell pepper, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, chopped
2 teapoons white ground pepper
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and cube your potatoes and toss them in the sesame oil, peanut oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until they are crispy and golden.

2. When the potatoes are almost done, begin to cook the pork over medium-high heat. Heat a drizzle of peanut oil in a large skillet and add the ground pork. Break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, and when it is no longer pink, add in your bell pepper, onion, carrot, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add in the white pepper, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Cook for another 5 minutes to allow the sauces to reduce a bit.

3. When the meat is ready, take the potatoes and add them to the skillet. Toss to coat everything well and serve.

Meatloaf Cupcakes

Meatloaf cupcakes are so wrong, but so right. I've seen these around on several food blogs and knew I had to try them. I used the Souperior Meat Loaf recipe on the back of the Lipton Beefy Onion Soup box for this, but you can use any recipe you want.


Mix 2 lbs of ground beef, 1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Beefy Onion Soup Mix, 3/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup water, and 1/3 cup ketchup. I made one and a half this recipe which is why it looks like so much.


Scoop a heaping 1/3 cup of the meat mixture and roll into a ball. Put the ball in cupcake pan and gently smash it down with your hand so the meat fills the whole cup. There should be some meat over the top and you just kind of form that into a mound. Make sure you put the cupcake pans on a rimmed cookie sheet so the oils don't spill over in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


When the meatloaf is cooked, remove from pan onto paper towels and let it soak up the extra oil.


Put your mashed potatoes into a piping bag with a tip of your choice.


And pipe like frosting!


You can either sprinkle with paprika...


...or put it under the broiler for a bit until the mashed potatoes get some color.


You could also do a ketchup drizzle, which I had planned to do before I realized that I had used all my ketchup to make the actual meatloaf.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp and Mushrooms

My cousin's wife made this dish for him for Valentine's Day. I love anything that involves pasta, shrimp, and heavy cream, so when she posted a picture of it on Facebook I immediately asked for the recipe. I made it sometime last week and it was a hit. I've always been scared of cream sauces, but this one was no fail. It tasted great and the bf actually said it tasted like it came from a restaurant. I used shrimp and mushrooms because I had some left over that I need to use, but you can use anything you want in replace of that. Chicken and asparagus would probably be good, too.


I used 7 cloves of garlic, about 25 shrimps cut in half, and I had some mushrooms left over that I needed to use up.


Cook the mushrooms, shrimp, and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter (salt and pepper at this point, too) until the shrimp is pink and the mushrooms are cooked. If you're using any other type of vegetable that takes a little longer to cook, do that first and then add in the shrimp.


When everything is cooked, add in 1 cup of heavy cream (or half and half) and stir.


Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese in 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. Taste to see if you need salt and add accordingly.


When the sauce has thickened, dump in 1 pound (16 ounces) fettuccine pasta and stir. Be sure to reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining. You might need it to thin out the sauce a bit. I thought I didn't need it so I threw it out, but then my pasta sat for a little bit and everything thickened and I sure could have used it.


Top with a little bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I served it with garlic bread that I made by softening some butter and adding 2 cloves of grated garlic. I slathered it on half a French bread loaf and then cooked the bread for 15 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. I ended up setting it under the broiler for a couple minutes to get some color on it.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp and Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 pound(16 oz.) fettuccini pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound shrimp-peeled and deveined
8 oz. container of mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic (or 7), minced
1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan for topping

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package; drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

2. In a large skillet, sauté shrimp, mushrooms, and garlic in the butter for a few minutes until the shrimp turn pink and the mushrooms are cooked. Pour in half and half; stir. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese in one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. After all Parmesan is added, taste and salt accordingly.

3. When sauce has thickened, combine with cooked pasta noodles; serve hot.