Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday, for those who really need their meat fix. Today's offerings include Melt-in-Your-Mouth Meat Loaf and Fried Chicken Biscuits With Hot Honey Butter. Enjoy!

EASY SAUSAGE, PEPPERS AND ONIONS WITH ELBOWS

This is from Kori Lavertue at AllRecipes. Kori wrote, "On days when my schedule is overloaded, this easy throw-together recipe is always a hit with my family."

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 3 hours 10 minutes; Additional Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes; Makes 8 servings

To view this online, to go https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/219058/easy-sausage-peppers-and-onions-with-elbows/.

Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian sausages

1 pound hot Italian sausages

2 green bell peppers, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 large sweet onion (such as Vidalia®), sliced

1 (24 ounce) jar pasta sauce

1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni

Directions

Place the sweet and hot sausages, green and red peppers, onion, and pasta sauce in a slow cooker. Add about 1/2 a jar of water. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or on High for 3 to 4 hours.

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but still firm, about 8 minutes. Drain well.

Slice the cooked sausages, then return to the slow cooker. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving the sausage, peppers, and onion over the macaroni.

MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH MEAT LOAF

This is from Suzanne Codner (from Starbuck, Minnesota), on the Taste of Home website. Suzanne wrote, "When my husband and I were first married, he refused to eat meat loaf because he said it was bland and dry. Then I prepared this version, and it became his favorite meal." Sometimes, all it takes is the right recipe!

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 5 hours 15 minutes + standing time; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/melt-in-your-mouth-meat-loaf/.

Ingredients

2 large eggs

3/4 cup 2% milk

2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 teaspoons dried minced onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Cut two 25x3-in. strips of heavy-duty foil; crisscross so they resemble an X. Place strips on bottom and up sides of a 5-qt. slow cooker. Coat strips with cooking spray.

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into a round loaf; place in center of strips in slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low 5-6 hours or until a thermometer reads at least 160°.

In a small bowl, whisk ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Spoon over meat loaf. Cook until heated through, about 15 minutes longer. Using foil strips as handles, remove meat loaf to a platter. Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.

SUPER-DELICIOUS ZUPPA TOSCANA

This was on AllRecipes, and begins, "This is an oh-so-good recipe. Just the right amount of spice to make you take a cold drink but definitely keep coming back for more! This soup is irresistible!"

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour; Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/143069/super-delicious-zuppa-toscana/.

Ingredients

1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage

1-1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth

6 potatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed

Directions

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Editor's Note:

Please note the differences in serving size and the substitution of lacinato kale for spinach when using the magazine version of this recipe.

FRIED CHICKEN BISCUITS WITH HOT HONEY BUTTER

This is from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Tejal wrote, "This recipe for chicken biscuits could be a weeknight dinner with a side of greens, but it's made to travel, and perfectly suited for a picnic. The biscuit dough, adapted from Sam Sifton's all-purpose biscuit recipe, is lightly kneaded here, so it's not too tender to work in a sandwich. The chicken tenders, inspired by Masaharu Morimoto's katsu in the cookbook "Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking," are pounded and coated in panko for plenty of crunch. Prepare both components the day you want to eat them, giving yourself at least one extra hour for everything to cool before you assemble, so the sandwich stays crisp. You can also cook well in advance, and assemble the sandwiches the next day. Either way, cooling the chicken completely, on a wire rack, is crucial. If you prefer breast meat over thigh, feel free to swap it in."

Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling

This was featured in "Grab Your Picnic Baskets: The Party’s Moving Outside", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018818-fried-chicken-biscuits-with-hot-honey-butter.

Note: The article is well worth reading; I thoroughly enjoyed it! (Thanks for a great read, and great recipes, Tejal!) Also, check out Sam Sifton's guide, "How to Make Fried Chicken". It's a helpful guide, whether you're a long-time cook, or just starting out.

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

1-1/2 cups whole milk

For the chicken:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cayenne

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

3 eggs

3 cups panko bread crumbs

Canola or other neutral oil, for frying

For the butter:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons honey

Hot sauce, a vinegary variety such as Crystal, to taste

Sliced dill pickles, for serving

Preparation

Prepare the biscuits: In a bowl, use a fork to mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add butter and use the fork to mash it into the flour until the mixture resembles large, lumpy crumbs. Stir in milk until a dough comes together.

Flour your hands, then gently gather and knead the dough in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it springs back slightly to the touch. (If the dough is sticky, sprinkle additional flour as needed.) Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and rest dough in fridge for half hour.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough to 1 to 1 1/2 inch thickness. Use a floured knife or round cutter to cut 6 biscuits, about 3 1/2 inches wide. Reroll the scraps and cut again as needed.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have puffed up and the tops are slightly golden. Let cool completely on a wired rack at room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container if not using until the next day.

Prepare the chicken: Trim excess fat and any membranes from the meat, then lightly hammer the thickest parts of the thighs with a mallet or rolling pin. Season each side with salt.

Mix flour, cayenne and salt in one wide bowl. Beat eggs in a second wide bowl, and place panko in a third. Dip each chicken thigh in flour, coating it all over and patting off the excess, then in egg, allowing extra egg to drip off, then in panko, making sure each thigh is entirely coated in bread crumbs, and using your hands to press loose crumbs into any places where they look scarce.

In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, pour in oil to a 2-inch depth and heat to 350 degrees. Fry 2 thighs at a time, flipping them over every two minutes or so, until golden brown and crisp all over, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a wire rack set over a paper towel-lined sheet pan and season lightly with salt. Let cool entirely at room temperature, at least 1 hour. At this point, you can assemble the sandwiches or transfer the rack to the fridge and leave the chicken uncovered overnight.

Assemble the sandwiches: When both the chicken and biscuits have cooled (or the next day), mix together soft butter, honey and hot sauce until smooth. Cut open cooled biscuits, smear each cut side with honey butter, and sandwich with a piece of chicken. If traveling, loosely wrap each sandwich in a piece of parchment paper and pack side by side in a hard container, in a single layer, so the sandwiches aren’t crushed. Serve with additional hot sauce and pickles on the side.

EASY BEEF STROGANOFF IN THE SLOW COOKER

This is from AllRecipes, and begins, "I make my beef stroganoff in the slow cooker with cream of mushroom soup and cream cheese with garlic and herbs. Serve over noodles to your liking."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 4 hours; Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes; Makes 5 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/261152/easy-beef-stroganoff-in-the-slow-cooker/.

Ingredients

1-1/3 pounds cubed beef stew meat

2 cups fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 cup milk

2 onions, chopped

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

6 ounces herb and garlic-flavored cream cheese

1 cup fusilli pasta

1/4 cup sour cream (Optional)

Directions

Combine beef, mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup, milk, onions, and Worcestershire sauce in a slow cooker.

Cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 5 to 7 hours. Stir in cream cheese until well dissolved; cook for 1 hour more.

During the last 20 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fusilli to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.

Serve stroganoff over fusilli and garnish with sour cream.

Cook's Notes:

Use a high-quality cream of mushroom soup, don't buy a cheap brand. It makes a difference.

No need to add extra liquid for the condensed soup, this is what the milk is for.

PIZZA POT PIES

This is from Giada De Laurentiis, on the Food Network. Total Time: 1 hr 10 min; Prep: 30 min; Cook: 40 min; Yield: 6 servings; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh minced rosemary leaves

2 ounces diced pancetta

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pizza Pot Pies:

3 cups Tomato Sauce

2 cups diced roasted chicken

2 cups broccoli cut into small, bite-sized pieces

1 1/2 cups diced mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds pizza dough

1/3 cup olive oil

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Special equipment: 6 (10-ounce) ramekins

Directions

For the Tomato Sauce: Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, rosemary, and pancetta. Saute until the pancetta is crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stir to combine, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl combine the Tomato Sauce, chicken, broccoli, mozzarella, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Divide the chicken mixture evenly between the ramekins. Roll out the pizza dough and cut circles with a pairing knife that are 1-inch wider in diameter than the ramekins. Place the circles of dough over the filled ramekins and press down to seal, making sure to pull the dough over the edge of the ramekin. Brush the top of the pizza dough with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cut a small slit in the top of the pizza dough with a pairing knife. Bake until the pizza crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.