For the meat lovers

My stepmom keeps asking me for my meatloaf recipe, so this post is for her. I have been told by many people who don't like meatloaf that my meatloaf is the most delicious things they have ever tasted. And I do believe it's true. I could eat an entire loaf myself every day of the week forever! My secret is that I cook it in a crockpot.

Ingredients for Erin's famous MEATLOAF:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef (on the leaner side, 97%)
1 cup of breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 cups of steamed vegetables and finely chopped (I use carrots, broccoli, chard and/or kale)
1 yellow onion diced
3 garlic cloves run through a garlic press
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt & pepper
1 finely chopped tomato
1 can or bottle of tomato sauce (and don't skimp! make it the goodstuff)
1 cup of parmesan cheese

Mix all the ingredients together EXCEPT the tomato sauce. Just add 2 tablespoons of sauce to the mix and reserve the rest for later. Form your loaf after fully mixing. Take the sauce and pour some into the crockpot before you place the loaf into the crockpot. Next move the loaf into the crockpot and pour the rest of the sauce over the loaf. Cook on low heat for about 8 hours. If you are in a time pinch, you can cook it for 1 or 2 hours on high and then switch to low for 2 more hours. But trust me, the low for 8 hours is better! Whip yourself up some mashed potatoes and steam some veggies. Lift the loaf out of the crockpot carefully, trying not to break it, and place on a serving dish to slice up. You can make a gravy out of the liquid left in the crockpot by making a roux first and then adding the liquid over the stove for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

BEEF EMPANADAS CRIOLLAS:

I also get lots of compliments on my empanadas, so here goes.

Ingredients:

1 pound of 93% lean ground beef
1 cup of sliced green olives
1 cup of chopped boiled eggs
1 cup of chopped boiled potatoes
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cube of butter (this recipe is not for the weak-vesseled)
1 yellow onion diced
salt and pepper
1 package of 20 empanada dough for baking, NOT for frying (you can get these at Mexican markets, especially in the Mission in S.F., or you can make your own masa. If you want the recipe for that, just ask me!)

Heat up 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pan over the stove. Add your diced onion and the ground beef. Stir until the onion and beef are cooked. Slice up the rest of the butter and add to the mix in slices. Once melted, add the sugar. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Preheat oven to 375. Take the slices of dough and fill one at a time with about 2 tablespoons of filling and seal the dough.

(With each kind of empanada filling, you are supposed to seal the empanada with a different design so that you can tell them apart when throwing a party and serving several different kinds. So Empanadas Criollas are folded like in my photo. Empanadas Arabes are folded in a triangle. Empanadas Pachamama are folded in yet another way.)

Place the empanadas on oiled cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes or until the dough has lightly browned. Let cool, and enjoy!!