Mother Bird: The Best Pot Roast I've Ever Made

Don't let that title fool you; it really doesn't say much about this recipe. In the time that I've been married, I've made countless attempts at cooking a good roast, most of them in the crock pot. They always look like they're going to be good--moist, flavorful, tender--but I've always felt like all of the juices seem to just seem to run out into the cooking liquid so that when it's not totally immersed, it seems a little dry. So when I came across the Pioneer Woman's pot roast, I thought I'd give her method a try and see if it yielded better results. I followed her directions pretty closely, except that I don't have fresh herbs in the winter, so I used dried. It was delicious! She recommends that you serve it with the pan juices poured over individual servings, which makes it more moist and flavorful, but I felt like even without the pan juices, it was still juicier than other roasts I've made. I served it with Ree's mashed potatoes which are the only mashed potatoes I make now, although I do cut out some of the fat and leave them unpeeled for a more rustic texture. They're still awesome.

So there you have it. If you want a good pot roast method/recipe, this is the one that's going into our regular rotation. Two thumbs up!

Mother Bird: Meatloaf Smeatloaf

I made this meatloaf on Sunday night, we ate most of it, and then Megan called me and told me she was going to launch the blog. So technically I tried this recipe before I had officially started this project, but it was too good not to share here. But anyway, that explains why the only pictures I have are of two slices of leftover meatloaf. And that also explains why the photo was taken in the crappy night lighting of my kitchen.

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond, my new favorite cookbook. In fact, as I have been compiling a list of recipes I'd like to try for this new goal of mine, I've noticed that many of them come from either Ree's book or her website thepioneerwoman.com. Though that is not intentional, it is definitely not without good reason. Her book and blog together comprise the most reliable source I've found for crowd-pleasing, relatively easy to prepare meals that can usually be made with ingredients you would have on-hand (as long as you keep lots and lots of butter in your fridge) or at the very least, ingredients that are all familiar. If you've never checked out her multi-faceted website, do it now! Her flawless taste also extends to clothing, home decor, photography... you name it!

Back to the meatloaf. I've tried a lot of different meatloaves, but I've never eaten one cloaked in bacon. Meat wrapped in different meat? Count me in! The recipe was a snap to put together--only about ten minutes prep time--and it was delicious. George said it was the best meatloaf he's ever had and my two year old (hereafter known as Picky-Picky) literally licked his plate clean. (Of course, he had to lick around the corn and rice.) The meat was seasoned well and the sauce was tangy and sweet with just a hint of spiciness. My only real disappointment was the bacon. You'll notice that the recipe calls for "thin bacon slices," but all I had was Costco bacon, which is about 1/8" thick. I was expecting the bacon to be a little bit crispy, but instead it looked like it had been steamed and was a little more rubbery than I like my bacon. Next time I'll either omit the bacon entirely or use the cheap, paper-thin variety I used to buy when we were poor students and brought home very little bacon. Here's the recipe, my new go-to. And if anyone is still reading, I promise my next post won't be this long.

Meatloaf
1 c. milk
6 bread slices
2 lbs. ground beef
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 c. minced flat-leaf parsley
4 eggs, beaten
8 to 12 thin bacon slices

Tomato Gravy
1-1/2 c. ketchup
6 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
Dash or two of hot sauce--more if you like heat

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread and allow it to soak in for several minutes. Place ground beef, milk-soaked bread, cheese, salt, seasoned salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl. Pour in eggs and with clean hands, mix until well combined. Form mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan. Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf. Combine tomato gravy ingredients in a small bowl, mixing well. Pour one-third of mixture over the top of the meatloaf. Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another one-third of the remaining tomato gravy over the meatloaf. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Serve with the remaining tomato gravy on the side as a dipping sauce.