What's 4 Dinner, by Marie: May 2012

Spicy Meatloaf

A simple change to meatloaf and a little livelier flavor!

1 16oz. log of Hot Breakfast Sausage (I like Bob Evans best, if you can find it)
about 1 pound or so of ground beef, my package was 1.2 lb.
2 eggs
2 good handful of breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

A1 Sauce
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Mix sausage, beef, eggs, breadcrumbs and Worcestershire. Form into a loaf and top with A1. Bake at 375* oven for about 90 minutes, or until it tests at 180* with an instant read thermometer.

Simple, simple! Especially if you mix it up the night before and just keep it in fridge till you get home from work, pop it in the oven and go do something else for 90 minutes.

Serve with additional A1.

Gather your ingredients

Mix everything.

Pour in Worcestershire.

All mixed and ready for the loaf pan.

Push in down to fill corners and nicely round the top.

I like A1 on top instead of ketchup.

Into the oven it goes!

Check temperature. It has pork in it, make sure it hits 160 degrees.

Serve.

Vietnamese Barbecue Pork Skewers

Pretty simple yet unique. Fun to make and eat. Serves 3-4

Skewers:
1 lb. ground pork
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup minced lemon grass (only bulb portion)

a dozen or so 6-8 inch bamboo skewers

1 package of cellphane noodles

Sauce:
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 cup sliced green onion
roughly chunked lemon grass remnants
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Mix spices into meat, allow to stand for 30 minutes. In a small pan, heat cooking oil and green onions and extra lemon grass pieces.

I scoop out the meat with the scoop the same size as my meatballs. Form the meat into finger shapes, then run a skewer up through it. Lay the skewers into a shallow baking dish. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

When skewers are done baking, spoon the cooked onions over them. Serve.

I served over glass noodles. These are easily found at the grocery, in the Asian section. Boil them for 5 minutes and drain.

Preparing the lemongrass... Cut off the bulb end, discard the grassy tops.

Slice and chop.

Chop finer.

Keep going, even finer...

OK, mix everything into the ground pork.

Kind of like meatloaf.

I measure out balls with my large scoop.

Spread it over a skewer so it looks like a popsicle.

Lay them out on a baking dish.

Make more. I found that it was easier to make the shape and stab the skewer through rather than forming it on the skewer.

Stick the skewer through. When you get them all done. Bake for 20 minutes at 375.

Marinade thin cucumber while meat is cooking.

While meat is cooking, make the sauce. Mid-sections of lemongrass stalks.

Lemongrass goes in with the green onions and oil.

Cellophane noodles.

One bundle for each person at dinner.

Cook according to package directions. If your package is written in Chinese, boil till soft..

Remove from oven when done.

Pour onion sauce over them.

They are done. Strain noodles.

No More water.

Noodles on the plate.

Skewers over noodles, with sauce on top. Marinated cucumbers n the side. YUM!

Ramen Noodles with a Twist

These are Jonathan's Special Noodles.

Ramen noodles and Mizkan or Mitsukan Noodle soup base. I've gotten a close up picture. I buy this in an Asian Market. Look around... You'll find it.
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Boil the noodles for the recommended 3 minutes and drain. Save the packet of soup powder that comes with the noodles. We won't be using it today. After noodles are drained, add a couple Tablespoons of the soup base for each packet of noodles. Mix well. Serve immediately.

This is the noodle soup base mix. It's a liquid. I find it at Super H Mart. I have bought it at other stores over the years, as well. There are different brands. It's Bonito Flavored soup base that you need, regardless of brand.

Basic Ramen Noodle packets.

Cook according to package directions. Then drain.

After draining, I pour in some soup base mix. I'm using about 1/4 cup, I have 3 packages of noodles.

Noodles on the side. :)

Thai Basil Chicken

*Another restaurant meal without the high price, wait, or tip.*

This is probably hard to believe, but this is not spicy. Even with two jalapeno peppers in it!

1-2 pound chicken, cut up
oil (if you are using breasts, thighs don't need oil)
2 large or 4 small garlic cloves
2 jalapeno pepper
3 Tablespoons fish sauce (available at Asian market aisle)
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups Thai basil leaves, lightly chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper, sliced thin
Optional: Chicken broth

Hot rice for serving
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Start your rice first. This won't take long to cook.

Chop your veggies. Have them ready to go.

Saute chicken on medium high heat till fully cooked. Add bell pepper, chopped jalapeno, sugar and garlic. Stir-fry for a few minutes, until the peppers are wilted and tender-crisp. Then add the soy sauce and fish sauce. Allow to cook just as long as it takes you to stir it around. Then add your basil leaves. Toss just until they are nicely wilted and evenly dispersed around your dish. If the sauce seems a bit salty, add a dash or two of chicken broth. I always do.

Serve over your hot rice.

I use scissors to cut up the basil leaves. That way I can avoid the stems. P.S. Thai Basil is NOT the same as Italian Basil, like you'd use in spaghetti sauce.

Here's a seed packet. I grow my own, since it's not always a given that I'll find it when I want it. I can find it at the Asian Market, but not ALL the time. It's sweeter than regular basil, it has a beautiful smell.