man pleasin' food

I live in a house full of testosterone, so I suppose some of my food should fit the stereotype. This is the meal that makes husbands, boyfriends, fathers, brothers, and little boys... happy. It's simple, sweet, meaty, and if you want, spicy. There are no visible vegetables. It's man food. So, in honor of the all the boys in my life, and because it's almost time for the big game, here is a recipe that should go over well. It can be football food, or it can be a very, very easy weeknight meal.

It takes about five minutes to throw all this stuff in the crock pot. Doesn't get much better than that!

Barbecue Beef and Beans

1.5 pounds boneless beef round, cut into 1-inch cubes.

2 15 ounce cans butter beans, drained

2 15 ounce cans cannelini beans, drained

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 large carrots, finely grated

1.5 cups hickory smoke barbecue sauce**

1/3 cup water

several dashes hot sauce (optional)

Put everything in the crock pot, except about 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. About half an hour before serving, stir in the rest of the barbecue sauce and some freshly ground pepper.

Fill up a baked potato with it or serve it with some hot cornbread and a big side salad (just to satisfy your girly side, of course).  My husband loved it, and my two year old gobbled it right up. You don't have to tell them how easy it was.

** Almost every bottle of barbecue sauce on the shelves contains high fructose corn syrup. Despite the ads on tv, it's really, really not good for you. Read the labels and look for one without.

a meatloaf makeover

My newest obsession is library cookbooks.  I could spend hours looking through them for ideas.  I don't, because I have a two year old and my time of pouring over books leisurely is limited to nap time.  And because our trips to the library usually consist of me running after him as he explores the ins and outs of every row of books.  But I digress.

Awhile back I checked out a copy of one of the Cooking Light cookbooks and found a lot of recipes I wanted to try.  The only one I actually did was the Barbecue Meatloaf.  I have never been a huge fan of meatloaf (I mean, just the name is enough to scare you off...), but this was really good.

As usual, I changed it up, mostly by adding a few nutritious extras to make it even more worth eating.  This is a really good dish - my husband absolutely loves it (he asked me today if it was okay to eat for breakfast).  So here it is, folks.  Enjoy!

1.5 lbs extra lean ground beef (ground turkey is great, too)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I quickly put one large slice of multigrain bread in the food processor)

2 T wheat germ (optional)

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided (watch labels for high fructose corn syrup)

1 T prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 large egg white + 1 whole egg

cooking spray

Put onion, garlic and carrot in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Or mince by hand if you don't have one.

Combine meat, crumbs, wheat germ, onion mixture, mustard, salt, pepper, eggs and 2-3 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce.

Line an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Shape mixture into a loaf.

Pour remaining sauce on top and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer registers at 160 degrees in the middle.

Let stand about 10-15 minutes.  Slice into 10-12 slices and serve!

(makes great leftover sandwiches... or breakfast)

Enjoy!