Category: Recipes

Slow Cooker Little Smokies

Slow Cooker Little Smokies Recipe

Published on by TracieLeave a comment
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If you are looking for an effortless recipe that is very simple and easy to make, this is it.  Slow Cooker Little Smokies.  This is a great potluck recipe, a recipe you’ll want to have when anyone gathers at your house, or just to have as an easy supper to serve with rice or anything else that is quick and easy for you.

I remember the first the time I took this to one of our Eatin’ Meetin’s.  My Mamaw Sylvia and my Great Aunt Bay had an argument about who was going to get to take the leftovers home.  They split them, because they loved each other to pieces.  Food always has such tangible memories for me.

This is a great dump and walk away recipe that you don’t need to stand over the stove to babysit.  You could, but why would you?

Here’s how I make this:

You only need three ingredients:  Lit’l Smokies, grape jelly and BBQ sauce.  I use my small 3 1/2 quart Cuisinart for this because I want the sauce to cover the smokies so that they sit in a hot tub of sauce until they are eaten.

Drain your little smokies….

While that’s doing its thing, I put 2 cups of grape jelly in the bottom of my slow cooker.

Then, I pour over about the same amount of BBQ sauce.  I usually use the sweet n’ spicy version from Sweet Baby Rays, but I was out and I had Kraft Sweet Brown Sugar on hand, so I used that.  It tasted great.

I always whisk the grape jelly and bbq sauce together before I dump the little smokies on top and then stir them together.

Put the lid on and cook on low for at least an hour.  Basically you are just melting the grape jelly and bbq sauce together to coat the smokies with yummy deliciousness.  Stir and serve.

Everyone will thank you and fight over the leftovers.  If there are any…….Slow Cooker Little Smokies

Easy peasy.

Slow Cooker Little Smokies

Slow Cooker Little Smokies

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 6 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pkgs Little Smokies
  • 2 cups grape jelly
  • 2 cups bbq sauce

Instructions
 

  • Drain the little smokies.
  • Pour grape jelly and bbq sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  • Whisk the jelly and bbq sauce together.
  • Place the little smokies in the sauce.
  • Cook on low for at least an hour.
  • Enjoy!

Easy Garlic Pasta Supper

Published on by TracieLeave a comment

This recipe is so, so easy.  And it’s absolutely delicious too!

I am going to say right up front that you can simplify this recipe waaaay down from what you will see below.  This can be a one pot meal.  But, I have picky people in my house.  Sometimes Denton restricts his carbs, so he won’t eat pasta.  Liv doesn’t eat meat, so I cook it separately.  Hayden won’t touch a piece of broccoli with a 10 foot pole.  So I do each component in its own pot.  You don’t have too!  You can do the whole thing in one pot. That part of the recipe is at the bottom of this post.  It’s up to you and how picky your people are.

Here’s how I make it:

Boil your favorite pasta.  See how simple.  I also love Campanella pasta, but you can literally use anything.

After you drain your pasta, drop a whole stick of butter into the hot pot….

Put your pasta back in with the butter and add a teaspoon or seven of minced garlic…..

Shake in a half a cup of Parmesan cheese……

Or as much as you have and then use the powdered kind in the green container when you realize that someone ate all of the shredded kind and didn’t write it on the kitchen board….

Gather your broccoli….

Chop it into bite sized pieces….

Add a stick of butter to a pan…..

Add your chopped broccoli to the butter….

Salt and pepper the broccoli…. Then add 42 cloves of garlic that have been minced, or however much you like…..

Add a squeeze of lemon or a capful of the stuff that I keep in my fridge….  This part of the recipe is actually my beloved recipe you can find here.

Next choose your protein.  Most of the time I use leftover chicken.  Whatever I have on hand.  I didn’t have any chicken today so I pulled this yummy Kielbasa out of my lovely giant freezer….

Chopped it into rounds….

Fry it up in a pan and added more minced garlic to it…..

Put it all into a bowl and enjoy!!  Now here’s the kicker.  If I didn’t have picky people in my house, here is how I would make this dish:

Boil your pasta.  While it’s draining add a couple of sticks of butter to the pot.  Put in your chopped broccoli and 49 cloves of minced garlic – or to your taste.  Add a squeeze of lemon and put in your leftover cooked protein of choice.  Dump your hot pasta back into the pot.  Cover with a good Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and serve!

Easy peasy.

Here you’ll find other awesome sites where I’ve been graciously invited to share my recipes:  Weekend Potluck, Southern Bite, Anna Nuttall, Crafts a la Mode, The Answer is Chocolate, The Country Cook, The Cottage Market, Simply Sweet Home, Tatortots and Jello, Chic on a Shoestring, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Pam’s Party and Practical Tips, Finding Silver Pennies, The Lazy Gastronome, My Soulful Home, Life and Linda, Denise Designed,  The Boondocks Blog, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Keeping It Simple, The Organized Dream,  Flour Me With Love, Create With Joy, Mostly Blogging, A Pinch of Joy, Dwellings, Sew Can Do, Lou Lou Girls, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Mrs AOK a Work in Progress, Skip to My Lou, Meet Our Life, Worthing Court, Recipes and Ramblings, Yesterday on Tuesday,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Sway, Our World Tuesday, Our Home Away From Home, Lori’s Culinary Creations and Celebrate and Decorate

Easy Garlic Pasta

The easiest, delicious pasta on the planet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound pasta
  • 3-4 heads broccoli
  • 1 pound cooked chicken or kielbasa
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1/4 cup minced garlic
  • 1 squeeze lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Boil your pasta and drain.
    While the pasta is draining add 2 sticks of butter to the hot pot.
    Add the broccoli, minced garlic and lemon juice.  Saute for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.
    Add the cooked chicken or protein of your choice.
    Add the drained pasta.
    Add the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
    Enjoy!

Baked Cauliflower “Wings”

Published on by Tracie6 Comments

Every time that I make chicken wings for supper, I make these “Cauliflower Wings” for Liv.  And we try not to eat them all before she can make her plate.  They are amazing.  They are NOT chicken wings, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that you are going to replace your regular wings with these, but when you set that assumption aside and make these –  you are going to LOVE them.

Here’s how I make ours:

I use an entire head of cauliflower.   Trust me.  It will be eaten!

Deconstruct it and then chop it into bite sized pieces.

The batter is very simple, flour…..

your favorite wing sauce…..

with milk added to thin out the batter.

Shake on some salt…

Add your chopped cauliflower pieces….

Spray your baking sheet with oil, so that all of this yumminess won’t stick.

  Put the coated cauliflower pieces onto the baking tray and bake…..

Until crispy and delicious.  I like to flip mine halfway through.

You’re going to love them!

Here you’ll find other awesome sites where I’ve been graciously invited to share my recipes:  Weekend Potluck, Southern Bite, Anna Nuttall, Crafts a la Mode, The Answer is Chocolate, The Country Cook, The Cottage Market, Simply Sweet Home, Tatortots and Jello, Chic on a Shoestring, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Pam’s Party and Practical Tips, Finding Silver Pennies, The Lazy Gastronome, My Soulful Home, Life and Linda, Denise Designed,  The Boondocks Blog, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Keeping It Simple, The Organized Dream,  Flour Me With Love, Create With Joy, Mostly Blogging, A Pinch of Joy, Dwellings, Sew Can Do, Lou Lou Girls, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Mrs AOK a Work in Progress, Skip to My Lou, Meet Our Life, Worthing Court, Recipes and Ramblings, Yesterday on Tuesday,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Sway, Our World Tuesday, Our Home Away From Home, Lori’s Culinary Creations and Celebrate and Decorate

Baked Cauliflower "Wings"

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup your favorite wing sauce
  • 1/2 cup milk or water (If you need more liquid, don't be afraid to use it. You want this to be the consistency of pancake batter.)
  • salt

Instructions
 

  • Chop the cauliflower into bite size pieces. 
    Mix the flour, wing sauce, milk and salt into a batter. 
    Mix the cauliflower pieces into the batter. 
    Spray the oil onto your baking tray. 
    Put the coated cauliflower pieces on the tray and bake at 400*, flipping the pieces halfway through baking - about 30 to 40 minutes - depending on your oven. 
    Enjoy!

Taco Pie

Published on by Tracie4 Comments

Taco pie.  Yum.  When you want a taco, but something slightly different, this is the recipe that you want to try.  It’s delicious.

Here’s how I make mine:

You can make this vegetarian if you use a product like Morning Star farms veggie crumbles.  This is how I make Liv’s  all the time.  Just sub in the crumbles for the meat.

Brown your ground beef….

Add in your taco seasoning mix…..

Chop half an onion and saute it with the ground beef.

Beat two eggs until very well combined.

Add one cup of milk to your eggs…..

Now add one can of chopped green chilies and one box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix.

Put the ground beef mixture in a well oiled or buttered 9 x 13 pan….

Pour your egg mixture over the top….

Cover with two cups of cheese….

And bake for 25 minutes in a 400* oven.

Glorious!

Now add your favorite toppings:  We love lettuce, onions, refried beans, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, and sour cream.  You can add anything you like or eat it plain, but either way it is absolutely delicious! 

Denton’s favorite is ranch dressing!  It is SO good!

You have to try this and let me know what you think!!  We love it.

Here you’ll find other awesome sites where I’ve been graciously invited to share my recipes:  Weekend Potluck, Southern Bite, Anna Nuttall, Crafts a la Mode, The Answer is Chocolate, The Country Cook, The Cottage Market, Simply Sweet Home, Tatortots and Jello, Chic on a Shoestring, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Pam’s Party and Practical Tips, Finding Silver Pennies, The Lazy Gastronome, My Soulful Home, Life and Linda, Denise Designed,  The Boondocks Blog, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Keeping It Simple, The Organized Dream,  Flour Me With Love, Create With Joy, Mostly Blogging, A Pinch of Joy, Dwellings, Sew Can Do, Lou Lou Girls, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Mrs AOK a Work in Progress, Skip to My Lou, Meet Our Life, Worthing Court, Recipes and Ramblings, Yesterday on Tuesday,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Sway, Our World Tuesday, Our Home Away From Home, Lori’s Culinary Creations and Celebrate and Decorate

Here’s the handy dandy printable:

Taco Pie

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 onion
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 can chopped green chilies
  • 1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
  • 2 cups shredded cheese

Taco Seasoning Mix - 1 TBSP EACH of Chili powder, Cumin and Garlic powder

    Instructions
     

    • Fry the ground beef with the onion and drain.  Add your taco seasoning mix.
      Put the ground beef mixture in a well oiled or buttered 9 x 13 pan....
      Pour your egg mixture over the top....
      Cover with two cups of cheese....
      And bake for 25 minutes in a 400* oven.
      Now add your favorite toppings:  We love lettuce, onions, refried beans, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, and sour cream.  You can add anything you like or eat it plain, but either way it is absolutely delicious! 

     

    Fajita Spice Mix Recipe

    Published on by TracieLeave a comment

    I like to make my own seasoning mixes to keep on hand.  I always have everything that goes into them, and this way I know exactly what’s in the mix that I’m feeding my family.  It’s very simple.

    Here’s how I do it.

    Mix all of the spices together in your bowl or container and stir or shake vigorously.  I mix a giant batch to keep in my spice drawer and then use 2 or 4 Tablespoons for each recipe.  It just depends on how much spice you want!

    Here you’ll find other awesome sites where I’ve been graciously invited to share my recipes:  Weekend Potluck, Southern Bite, Anna Nuttall, Crafts a la Mode, The Answer is Chocolate, The Country Cook, The Cottage Market, Simply Sweet Home, Tatortots and Jello, Chic on a Shoestring, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Pam’s Party and Practical Tips, Finding Silver Pennies, The Lazy Gastronome, My Soulful Home, Life and Linda, Denise Designed,  The Boondocks Blog, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Keeping It Simple, The Organized Dream,  Flour Me With Love, Create With Joy, Mostly Blogging, A Pinch of Joy, Dwellings, Sew Can Do, Lou Lou Girls, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Mrs AOK a Work in Progress, Skip to My Lou, Meet Our Life, Worthing Court, Recipes and Ramblings, Yesterday on Tuesday,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Sway, Our World Tuesday, Our Home Away From Home, Lori’s Culinary Creations and Celebrate and Decorate

    Here’s the handy dandy printable:

    Fajitas Spice Mix Recipe

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 tsp chili powder
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp paprika
    • 1 tsp sugar you can use white or brown
    • 1/2 tsp onion powder
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Stir together and use for your favorite fajita recipe. Or quadruple the recipe and store in an airtight container with your other spices for later!

     

    Easy & Delicious Banana Nut Bread

    Published on by Tracie17 Comments

    If you are going to take the time to bake a banana bread, you should definitely make this one.  It’s amazing.  Side note:  I HATE banana’s.  Unless they are baked into this banana nut bread, and then they are fabulous.

    Here’s how I do it.

    Spray your bread pan generously.

    Dry ingredients go into one bowl….

    Mix them together.

    Wet ingredients go directly into your mixer bowl….

    Add your banana’s now – these are okay…

    These are better!

    Not for eating, but for banana bread, oh yeah.

    Mix it all together….

    Put your mixer on low speed and start adding the dry ingredients.  Make sure your mixer is on LOW – otherwise, it will be all over your kitchen.

    Mix it all together.

    Now, its time to add in your pecans, yum.

    You can use any kind of nut, I just had a multitude of pecans this day.

    I mix these in by hand because I want the pieces to stay relatively intact.

    Pour into your prepared bread pan, and bake at 350* for about an hour.  It actually takes mine 1 hour and 10 minutes in my new oven, so you’ll need to watch it near the end.

    Once you can insert a toothpick or a piece of spaghetti and it comes out clean, cool it on a rack for at least ten minutes in the pan…. 

    Turn it out onto the rack to cool completely.  If you can wait….

            

    With or without butter, it’s superb!  Here’s the handy dandy printable:

    Easy & Delicious Banana Nut Bread

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings 16

    Ingredients
      

    • Dry Ingredients:
    • 2 cups flour
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • Wet Ingredients:
    • 2 Egg whites
    • 1 whole egg
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar
    • 3 TBSP canola oil
    • 1 cup buttermilk I make mine with 1 cup whole milk and 1 tsp lemon juice!
    • 4 very very ripe banana's (the more ripe they are the sweeter they are!)
    • 1 cup of nuts I used pecans here, you can use any nut you prefer

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a bread pan, generously.
    • Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
    • Mix your wet ingredients and add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
    • I mix the nuts in by hand so that they stay mostly intact. (Personal choice!)
    • Pour into your greased bread pan and bake for about 1 hour. My oven usually takes about 1 hour and ten minutes. Watch the bread! It's done when you insert a toothpick or piece of spaghetti and it comes out clean.
    • Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack until cool. If you can wait that long! Slather with butter and enjoy!

    Easy & Delicious Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

    Published on by Tracie2 Comments

    If you need an effortless and delicious meat for your meal, it does not get any easier than this “recipe”.  It is two ingredients.  It’s going to take you under a minute to get this started and most of that minute is going to be getting your slow cooker out and plugging it in.  This makes the most moist, and amazing turkey breast that you will ever eat!  Here’s how I do it.

    One stick of butter.

    One turkey breast.  That’s it.

    Put your turkey breast into your slow cooker with the stick of butter on top.  Place the lid on it and set it on high for five hours or eight to ten on low.  This recipe is very, very forgiving.

    As long as you don’t remove the lid, it’s just going to baste itself in the steam of the butter until you are ready to devour it.

    Deliciousness on a plate!  This is so simple, but it’s also very scrupmtious!  Enjoy!!

    Here you’ll find other awesome sites where I’ve been graciously invited to share my recipes:  Weekend Potluck, Southern Bite, Anna Nuttall, Crafts a la Mode, The Answer is Chocolate, The Country Cook, The Cottage Market, Simply Sweet Home, Tatortots and Jello, Chic on a Shoestring, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Pam’s Party and Practical Tips, Finding Silver Pennies, The Lazy Gastronome, My Soulful Home, Life and Linda, Denise Designed,  The Boondocks Blog, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Keeping It Simple, The Organized Dream,  Flour Me With Love, Create With Joy, Mostly Blogging, A Pinch of Joy, Dwellings, Sew Can Do, Lou Lou Girls, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Mrs AOK a Work in Progress, Skip to My Lou, Meet Our Life, Worthing Court, Recipes and Ramblings, Yesterday on Tuesday,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Sway, Our World Tuesday, Our Home Away From Home, Lori’s Culinary Creations and Celebrate and Decorate

    Here’s the handy dandy printable.

    Easy & Delicious Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

    Tracie
    Print Recipe
    Prep Time 2 minutes
    Cook Time 5 hours
    Total Time 5 hours 2 minutes
    Servings 12

    Ingredients
      

    • One Turkey Breast
    • One stick of butter

    Instructions
     

    • Place your turkey breast into the slow cooker.
    • Put the stick of butter on top.
    • Cook on high for five hours or low for eight to ten hours. It's very forgiving.

     

    Note:  This post may contain affiliate links.  Check out what that means to you here.

    Update and What Did You Miss?

    Published on by TracieLeave a comment

    Hello!  Did you miss me?  Did you even notice that I was away?

    For the past two weeks + we have been traveling.  We went to California to spend Thanksgiving with Denton’s family and then we spent some time exploring a new to us state.  California is a vast and alien place to this Virginia girl.  Have you been to California?  It is a stunningly beautiful place, but it’s so, so different from anything I’ve ever seen before.

    I have a lot of things I want to share with you over the next little bit, so don’t be alarmed at how many post titles with start with the word California.

    We are all utterly exhausted, but it’s back to the normal grind tomorrow.  I DO NOT recommend taking a red eye from the west coast to the east coast and then driving for two and a half hours.  It was one of the most draining experiences I’ve had, but all four of us handled it very well in my opinion.  It still absolutely astounds me that you can be on one side of the United States, get on a plane and be almost 2,700 miles away in under six hours.  Crazy town, people.

    I’ll fill you in on all of the beautiful, disturbing, and awesomeness starting tomorrow when my brain is hopefully working again.  In the meantime, here are some of the things I actually got posted while we were away.

    Here you’ll find all of my Instagram post’s:

    View this post on Instagram

    Bucket list….. Check…….. In-N-Out Burger 🍔 Yum

    A post shared by Tracie (@somewhatawry) on

    View this post on Instagram

    Ventura Pier

    A post shared by Tracie (@somewhatawry) on

    View this post on Instagram

    It’s still so bizarre to see mountains at the ocean.

    A post shared by Tracie (@somewhatawry) on

    Here are some of the quotes you may have missed:

    Here are all of the lovely houses I found for us!

    335 S Main St, Chatham, VA 24531

    327 Bradenton Knl, Fletcher, NC 28732

    705 A Ave, Vinton, IA 52349

    7 Cantitoe Ln, Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113

    222 Simmons St, Cambridge City, IN 47327

    Here are some of my recipes:

    And here is everything else:

    FREE Forto Coffee Shot

    I hope you had a great week!

    Easy Salted Brownie Bites

    Published on by Tracie10 Comments

    Please don’t run away when you see that this recipe is based on a box mix.  It’s really good, I promise!

    I always keep brownie mix in my cabinets for an easy, quick dessert.  Everyone at my house loves them, so I know I won’t eat the entire pan myself, which is a plus.  And these will be ready in under 25 minutes – start to finish!

    My favorite – hands down – brownie mix is the Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate brownie mix.  But you can use anything for this recipe, because the secret addition is what knocks them out of the park.  The secret ingredient is salt, in case you missed it in the title.  😀   But we’ll get to that.  Now, let’s make brownies!

    Today I used Betty Crockers’s brownie mix, since that was what I had on hand.

    And my pink Himalayan Coarse salt.  I love this stuff.

    Preheat your oven to the appropriate temperature.  Make your brownies with the directions on the box.  See!  How easy is this?

    Beat your eggs, oil and water together….

    Add your dry mix…..

    Mix until just combined.

    Spray your pan VERY well.  We do NOT want these yummy bites to stick.

    I always use my scoop to put the brownie mixture into the pans.   Ready to bake!

    Just pulled from the oven and piping hot.  Now is the time to sprinkle a tiny amount of the pink Himalayan coarse salt on them.

    A tiny, tiny amount is so good and makes the chocolate so much more intense.

    This is so simple, but it’s also very, very delicious!  Enjoy!!

    Here you’ll find other awesome sites where I’ve been graciously invited to share my recipes:  Weekend Potluck, Southern Bite, Anna Nuttall, Crafts a la Mode, The Answer is Chocolate, The Country Cook, The Cottage Market, Simply Sweet Home, Tatortots and Jello, Chic on a Shoestring, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Pam’s Party and Practical Tips, Finding Silver Pennies, The Lazy Gastronome, My Soulful Home, Life and Linda, Denise Designed,  The Boondocks Blog, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Keeping It Simple, The Organized Dream,  Flour Me With Love, Create With Joy, Mostly Blogging, A Pinch of Joy, Dwellings, Sew Can Do, Lou Lou Girls, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Mrs AOK a Work in Progress, Skip to My Lou, Meet Our Life, Worthing Court, Recipes and Ramblings, Yesterday on Tuesday,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Sway, Our World Tuesday, Our Home Away From Home, Lori’s Culinary Creations and Celebrate and Decorate

    Here’s the handy dandy printable.

    Easy Salted Brownie Bites

    Print Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 10 minutes
    Total Time 15 minutes
    Servings 48 Brownie Bites

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 box of brownie mix your choice!
    • Ingredients to make brownies eggs, water, oil, etc.
    • Pink Himilayan coarse salt

    Instructions
     

    • Mix and bake the brownie mix.
    • While they are still piping hot, sprinkle a tiny amount of the coarse salt onto the brownie bites,
    • Enjoy!!

    Note:  This post may contain affiliate links.  Check out what that means to you here.

    Delicious and Simple Meatloaf

    Published on by Tracie1 Comment

    This is my basic meatloaf recipe.  You can alter it to add whatever you love best, but I like simple and easy, and this is it!  Here’s how I make mine.

    I always start by taking the ground beef out of the fridge, so that it can sit out for at least 30 minutes before I need to add it to the rest of my mixture.  It makes it so much easier to handle.

    Then I start with the rest of my ingredients:

    One egg, 1/2 an onion diced with 1/2 cup of ketchup and salt and pepper to taste…..

    I grate a carrot in to my mixture.  Hayden wouldn’t touch a carrot with a ten foot pole, but as long as its grated he doesn’t mind it.  It also gives the meatloaf more moisture.  I also like to chop mushrooms and add them at this point but Denton doesn’t like them in his meatloaf.  He loves mushrooms, just not in meatloaf.  Sigh.

    Beat everything together until its well combined.  The reason I do this step first, is so I don’t have to overwork the ground beef.

    I always add some type of breading in at this stage.  I use whatever floats my boat that day:  oatmeal, the leftover ends of the bread loaf, panko, dinner rolls that never made it into the oven, you name it.  Just some type of breading that will give it more heft and body.  I also add 1/4 cup of milk which I don’t have a photo of.

    Mix together…..

    Now it’s time to add your beef.  Mix together until just combined…..

    And add to your meatloaf pan, or rimmed baking sheet, or muffin tins.  I’ve used them all.

    Slather the top with ketchup…..and bake until cooked through.  I generally bake mine for at least 40 minutes.

    This is so simple, but it’s also very, very delicious!  Enjoy!!

    Here you’ll find other awesome sites where I’ve been graciously invited to share my recipes:  Weekend Potluck, Southern Bite, Anna Nuttall, Crafts a la Mode, The Answer is Chocolate, The Country Cook, The Cottage Market, Simply Sweet Home, Tatortots and Jello, Chic on a Shoestring, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Pam’s Party and Practical Tips, Finding Silver Pennies, The Lazy Gastronome, My Soulful Home, Life and Linda, Denise Designed,  The Boondocks Blog, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Keeping It Simple, The Organized Dream,  Flour Me With Love, Create With Joy, Mostly Blogging, A Pinch of Joy, Dwellings, Sew Can Do, Lou Lou Girls, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Mrs AOK a Work in Progress, Skip to My Lou, Meet Our Life, Worthing Court, Recipes and Ramblings, Yesterday on Tuesday,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Sway, Our World Tuesday, Our Home Away From Home, Lori’s Culinary Creations and Celebrate and Decorate

    Here’s the handy dandy printable.

    Delicious and Simple Meatloaf

    Print Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 50 minutes
    Servings 1 meatloaf

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 pound of ground beef
    • 1 egg
    • 1/2 cup ketchup
    • 1 carrot - grated
    • Bread product for filler - oatmeal panko, lightbread,whatever you have on hand
    • 1/4 cup milk
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • ketchup for the top of the meatloaf

    Instructions
     

    • Remove the ground beef from the fridge 30 minutes before you need to add it to your mixture.
    • Mix together your egg, 1/2 cup of ketchup, the grated carrot, the bread filler and milk. Mix until well combined. Add the salt and pepper.
    • Gently combine the ground beef with this mixture and place into your baking container. (I have used everything from my bread pan, a rimmed baking sheet, and muffin tins.)
    • Cover with ketchup and bake at *400 until cooked through. Mine usually takes around 40 minutes.
    • Serve with mashed potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, rolls, roasted veggies and enjoy!