Recipe: Mimi’s Meat Loaf with Tomato Sauce

Here is a very economical, traditional meat loaf recipe. I personally LOVE meat loaf. I really LOVE sandwiches made with leftover meat loaf.   Is that goofy? Don’t knock it ’til you try it!  (And, it is EASY to make).

Mimi’s Meat Loaf with Tomato Sauce

2 lbs. ground chuck
½ large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 eggs
1 cup oatmeal, uncooked
salt, pepper, celery salt, garlic salt and season salt to taste

Mix all ingredients well and form into a loaf. Bake in a large baking dish at 350 degrees for about one hour. Pour sauce over loaf and continue to bake for about 10 minutes.

Sauce

½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
¾ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. dry mustard

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and mix well. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and pour over meat loaf.

Y’all Enjoy!

Recipe: Ice Cream Bar Dessert

During my weekend run to the new WalMart Neighborhood Market (Oh Joy! Rapture! It is less than 1/2 mile from my house), I picked up some ice cream sandwiches. I love ice cream sandwiches! But – they don’t love me. I always think of my life-long friend, Debbie, when I buy ice cream sandwiches. Seems like that woman always has some in her freezer every single time I’ve been to her house. Open the freezer – ice cream sandwiches.

Deb and Me (1980)

And, when I say ‘life-long’ friend – I do mean ‘life-long’ because Deb and I have known each other since we were babies. In fact, our parents went to high school together and our grandparents were friends their entire lives. We grew up in the same church and Debbie lived within walking distance from my grandmother’s house which was really convenient when I would visit my grandparents (in Louisiana) for the summer. This photo was taken in 1980. We were 19. 19!!! Good Golly – to be that young and know what I know now. (Scandalous!) I love Deb! She is suppose to visit next month. I can’t wait!

So – in honor of Deb’s up coming visit I wanted to post the Ice Cream Bar Dessert Recipe. Guaranteed to satisfy your need for something easy, cold, quick, and sinfully delicious!

Aunt Sally’s Ice Cream Bar Dessert

1 or two packages ice cream sandwiches
18 oz. can Hershey’s chocolate syrup
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
12 oz. cool whip
chopped pecans
maraschino cherries (optional)

Line a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with ice cream sandwiches. Mix peanut butter and chocolate syrup and pour a layer of mixture over ice cream sandwiches. Repeat layers. Top with Cool Whip. Drizzle with peanut butter/chocolate mixture and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Freeze until ready to serve. Cut in squares and top each with a cherry.

Y’all Enjoy!

Recipe: Dad’s Shrimp Scampi

Dad - 1990

My father-in-law’s name was C.E.   Those are not his initials – that is his name.  Simple.  Just C.E.   A tall west Texas farm boy who grew up in the dusty panhandle.   He went on to work in a local bank as a teller and eventually worked his way to the position of bank president in a small town in Arkansas.  He was quiet, soft-spoken when he spoke and fiercely protective of his family.  But to us – he was just Dad.  Everyone called him Dad.  I loved his laugh.  Not really a laugh – just a chuckle.   He made up nicknames for his grandchildren like hoch-in-bocker, toad frog, or spider-toe and they still remember that he called them that.    A special man and we miss him all the time.  We lost him in 1994 after a 3 year battle with prostate cancer. 

This week’s loss of Farrah Fawcett and every time we hear of someone taken by cancer, it brings back all those memories of losing Dad.  I wanted to remember him today by sharing one of his recipes.  Dad was a great cook.  A GREAT cook!  Whether he was in the kitchen or at the grill – a great cook.  I treasure my little recipe cards of his recipes written in his handwriting.  So – here we go. 

Dad’s Shrimp Scampi

1 lb. Shrimp – raw/peeled/de-veined
6 tablespoons butter (salted)
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Tabasco red pepper sauce to taste

In a wide frying pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in onion, oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt.  Cook until boiling.  Pat shrimp dry with paper towel and add to mixture in frying pan.  Cook stirring occasionally until shrimp turns pink (about 5 minutes).  Blend in parsley, lemon peel, and Tabasco sauce.  turn into serving dish.  Garnish with lemon wedges.  Serve with hot rice or linguine.  Serves 4 to 6. 

Love you Dad!

Y’all Enjoy!