CookBook Review

From the City...

So, I was gifted Ellie Krieger's, The Food You Crave, cookbook from work last year and I have finally gotten a chance to cook from it.  I am such a creature of habit and I get stuck in ruts where we eat the same thing week after week, so being on mat leave, I considered this an ideal opportunity to dive into it and try some new recipes.  

I made the sage and garlic rubbed pork chops, turkey meat loaf, fish tacos with chipotle cream and the noodles with lime- peanut sauce.  I can confidently say, I would remake each and everyone of these recipes.  Simon and I were both super impressed.  The good thing about the cookbook, for me anyway, was that the ingredients were things that I had on hand, nothing was too obscure and hard to find.  The recipes were also incredibly easy and straightforward and made with good whole fresh ingredients, which I love.  

 Here is the meatloaf recipe, which you can also find on her website so I don't think its wrong that I'm sharing it with you.  I think the trick to this recipe is that you add oats that have been soaked in milk.  This makes the the final product nice and moist.  It's really really really very good.  Here's a link to more of her recipes that she makes available.


Mom’s Turkey Meatloaf

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 medium onion, peeled
2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/2 cup seeded and chopped red bell pepper (1/2 medium pepper)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
One 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, stir together the oats and milk and allow to soak while you get the rest of the ingredients together, at least 3 minutes. Thinly slice one-quarter of the onion into rings and set aside. Finely chop the rest of the onion. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, oatmeal mixture, chopped onion, bell pepper, eggs, Worcestershire, ketchup, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Mix just until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and shape into a loaf about 5 inches wide and 2 inches high. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with the sliced onions. Bake until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160°F, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Makes 8 servings

***note: I do find her serving sizes are a bit small.  Her noodle dish was supposed to feed six but S and I plowed through in one sitting with a little left for lunch for the next day.  Maybe we just have a problem though.

Anyone out there have any other good cookbook recommendations they want to share?

ab