Tim Walz's Turkey Trot Tater-Tot Hotdish

 

By now you're probably familiar with the Minnesotan delicacy: the Hotdish. It's a cream-based casserole topped with tater tots! This is one of Walz's award winning recipes that I am making for the Vice Presidential debate tonight.

Tim Walz's Turkey Trot Tater-Tot Hotdish

Slightly adapted from Tim Walz

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. fresh green beans, diced

1.5 cups (about 4 oz.) chopped baby bella mushrooms

1/2 cup green onion, chopped (most of one bunch)

1/4 cup diced onion

4 slices of bacon

2.5 cups whole milk

1/2 cup half & half

3 cups (12 oz.) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

32 oz. package frozen tater tots

1 clove garlic, minced

1 egg

1/2 tsp. sage

1 Tbs. olive oil

4 Tbs. butter

5 Tbs. flour

2 tsp. salt, divided

1 tsp. pepper, divided

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Set a large pot to boil filled 2/3rds with water.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high heat.

3. In a medium bowl, combine turkey, garlic, sage, green onions, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Cook in skillet until well done. Place in a 9"x13" baking dish.

4. Prepare an ice-water bath in a medium bowl. Blanch the green beans by cooking in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then plug in ice-water bath. Once cooled, drain and add to baking dish.

5. In the large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Leave bacon grease behind in pan.  Chop bacon small, and add to the baking dish.

6. Reheat the large skillet with the bacon fat on medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté gently until well browned. Add to the baking dish.

7. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, whisk flour into the butter. Cook for 2 minutes, then slowly whisk in milk and half & half. Cook for 2 more minutes, then add diced onion and remaining 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Cook for another minute, then stir in 2.5 cups of cheese, reserving 1/2 a cup for later. Whisk until cheese is completely melted and incorporated.

8. Pour cheese sauce over ingredients in the baking dish. Mix ingredients in baking dish together well.

9. Top dish with an even layer of tater tots and remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

10. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Boursin Cream Sauce

 

Delicious easy flavorful cream sauce. Serve with fish, chicken, pork chops, or whatever else you'd like!

Boursin Cream Sauce

adapted from Salt & Lavender

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 - 5.2 oz. (150 g.) Boursin Garlic & Fine Herb cheese

3/4 cup chicken broth

2 Tbs. parsley, finely chopped 

1 tsp. lemon juice

Instructions:

1. To a skillet, add butter and olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat until butter is melted.

2. Add onions, and cook until soft. 

3. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and the Boursin to the skillet. Stir until sauce is smooth.

4. Simmer for about 4-5 minutes, then stir in the chopped parsley. Cook for a few more minutes until desired thickness. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spinach Sausage Queso Dip

 

Spinach Sausage Queso Dip

from Q

Ingredients:

1-32 oz. block Queso Blanco Velveeta 

1-8 oz. block cream cheese

1-10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies (keep the liquid)

1 stick butter

1 lb. mild Italian sausage

1-10 oz. block frozen chopped spinach

1 onion, diced

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tap. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. chili powder 

1/4 tsp. mustard powder (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

- tortilla chips (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a crockpot on high, add Velveeta, cream cheese, diced tomatoes (including liquids), and butter. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet on medium-high heat, cook onion, sausage, and frozen spinach together until cooked through. Season with garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, and mustard power (if using).

3. Add sausage mix to crockpot when fully cooked, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Once fully melted, set on Keep Warm setting and serve!

Green Goddess Butter Bean

Found this delicious healthy, vegan/vegetarian meal on Instagram. Made it a couple times, and highly recommend!

Green Goddess Butter Bean

from #itsvegansis

Ingredients:

drizzle of olive oil

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced

~4 oz. spinach (2-3 cups, packed)

1 cup fresh basil, packed

1 cup cream (coconut or regular)

2-15 oz. cans (2 cups) butter beans, drained and rinsed

salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

drizzle of olive oil

lemon juice

plain yogurt (vegan or regular)

basil, rough chopped or chiffonade

cracked black pepper

toasted multi-grain bread or cooked rice

Instructions:

1. In a large pan on medium-high heat, cook zucchini, onion, and garlic until soft. Add spinach, and cook until wilted.

2. To a blender, add cooked vegetables, basil, and cream. Blend until smooth.

3. Add puree back to pan on low heat. Add beans and cook until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Drizzle with additional olive, lemon juice, dollops of yogurt, and cracked black pepper. Serve with toasted bread or rice and enjoy!

Eggplant (Aubergine) Katsu Curry

Delicious, vegan meal I found this recipe on Instagram. I have been saving vegan recipes since my SO who is considering a vegan diet for diabetes and pre-diabetes prevention.

10/10 will make again. 

This would be very easy to swap out with pork cutlets, chicken, tofu? or probably many other proteins (or vegetables!) of your choice if you don't want eggplant.

Eggplant (Aubergine) Katsu Curry

from #alfiecooks_

serves 2

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants

2 Tbs. soy sauce

3/4 cup (100 g) flour

3/4 cup (100 g) panko bread crumbs

3/4 cup (200 mL) milk (or milk alternative)

1/2 tsp. each salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, paprika; divided between flour and bread crumbs

2 cups (500 mL) oil for frying

For serving:

cooked rice

Japanese curry*

Picked vegetables**

spring onions, green parts sliced (optional)

lime, sliced into wedges (optional)

chili oil (optional)

*Japanese curry:

I got a 3.2 oz (92 g.) box of S&G Golden Curry (Japanese curry mix) from Amazon for $2.48 and mixed the whole thing with 2.25 cups water. Only needed about half of that for the recipe

**Pickled vegetable:

I slightly modified this recipe from Love & Lemons: 

1. In a large lidded container, slice on a mandolin 2 medium or large red onions, 1 cucumber, and 2 to 4 medium to large carrots. Add 2 whole cloves peeled garlic and 1 Tbs. whole peppercorns (optional). 

2. In a small saucepan, boil 2 cups white vinegar, 2 cups water, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 Tbs. salt. Just as soon as sugar and salt are dissolved, take mixture off heat and pour over vegetables. Cover with a lid and let cool to room tempture before storing (for up to 2 weeks). Vegetables will be ready to eat after ~1 hour. Note: this recipe will make way more pickled veg than you need for a single recipe.

Instructions:

1. If making homemade pickles for serving, do that first so they'll be ready by the time you sit down to eat (see suggestion above).

2. If making fresh rice, get that started so it's ready by the time you sit down to eat.

3. Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Wash eggplants, and place in baking dish. Coat with oil, salt, pepper, and bake for 30 minutes or until completely soft.

4. (optional) Place hot eggplants into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This will help steam the eggplants and make removing the skins easier.

5. Start oil heating in a pan for frying on medium-high heat in a medium pan (ideal frying temperature is 350-375F).

6. Peel eggplants and slightly flatten with hands. Toss in soy sauce. 

*I kept the skins and then fried those too for a snack! Keep a bit of meat on the skins if you choose to do that.

7. Get 3 trays: one for flour, one for milk, one for panko bread crumbs. Divide the spices between the flour and breadcrumbs and mix each well.

8. Coat your first eggplant in flour mixture, then dip in milk, then panko bread crumbs. Fry each eggplant one at time so you don't over crowd them. Cook for ~3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Dry on rack or paper towels to take away excess oil after frying.

9. Prepare curry sauce (see suggestion above).

10. Serve and enjoy!

Tartar Sauce

 

Delicious tartar sauce I've been making with my fish frys. I happened to have some chopped chives that I added, although the recipe doesn't call for it.

Tartar Sauce

adapted from Natasha's Kitchen

3-4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup real Mayonnaise

1/3-1/2 cup pickle relish, to taste

1 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1 tsp. dried)

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped (or 1 tsp. dried)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp finely chopped onion (optional)

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients. Enjoy!

Beet Galette

My aunt made this for me when I visited her new digs, and it was fantastic! Simple. elegant, and delicious.

Beet Galette

based on Food Network 

Ingredients:

16 oz cooked beets, sliced thin

1.5 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

2 Tbs olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 pie crust

4 oz soft garlic-and-herb cheese (such as Boursin)

1 small onion, thinly sliced 

pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs chopped walnuts

1 tsp finely chopped chives

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F. 

2. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add onion, pinch of sugar, pinch of salt, and start caramelizing (30-40 minutes). At the end of cooking, add balsamic vinegar and cook for 1 more minute.

3. Pat beets dry. In a medium bowl, combine beets, 1 Tbs olive oil, and thyme.

4. On a pizza pan, unroll pie crust. Spread cheese on pie crust, leaving 1.5 inch boarder.

5. Layer beets on top of cheese. slightly overlapping. Fold crust edges over beets, and brush with olive oil.

6. Bake galette until the edges and bottom of the galette are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

7. Top galette with onions, walnuts, and chives. Cut into quarters and serve.

Gumbo with Bay Rice

 

This traditional southern dish is how babies are born. That plus whiskey.

You really want to take your time on the roux to make sure you don't burn it while you're bringing it into it's full-flavored goodness. 

Gumbo

from Q

1/3 cup bacon fat (or butter)

1/3 cup flour

1/2 lb. shrimp, shell-on

1 lb. chicken thighs, chopped small

14 oz. Andoulli sausage

1 yellow onion, diced

3 stalks celery

1 green bell pepper

6 cloves garlic

2 cups okra, sliced to desired thickness 

6 cups chicken broth 

2 Tbs. tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1-3 Tbs. Cajun seasoning, to taste

2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. sweet paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Bay Rice

3 bay leaves

2 cups rice

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. olive oil

broth for liquid (or water)

1. Make the roux: melt the bacon fat (or butter) in a medium sized sauce pan on medium heat. Add the flour. Cook until mahogany brown, stirring constantly (about 30-45 minutes).

2. Peel the sausage and cook in a dutch oven on medium-high heat. Break sausage into large chunks. Add the chicken thighs and cook until chicken is just cooked through. Set meat aside.

3. Peel the shrimp and save the skins and water (if using bagged) in a measuring cup. Fill to 2 cup mark and microwave until boiling.

4. In a dutch oven on medium-high heat, combine roux and the trinity (onion, celery, and pepper) plus the tomato and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. 

5. Add shrimp broth, chicken broth, tomato paste, okra, and spices. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a  simmer for 1 hour.

6. Cook the bay rice (however you cook your rice).

7. Add shrimp and cook. Serve over bay rice.

Cajun Pasta

 

This is a tasty Alfredo-based Cajun pasta recipe. You can customize it pretty easily too: If you want to increase sauce, you can add 1 Tbs. butter to every additional 1/2 Tbs. of cream cheese. If you want less meat, leave out the chicken thighs. If you don't want cajun pasta, leave out the sausage, shrimp, and cajun seasoning and add fresh tomato and basil to the pasta!

Cajun Pasta

from Q

Ingredients:

1 lb. Fettuccine, or short pasta of choice

4 chicken thighs, sliced or diced

4 Andouille sausages, sliced thin

1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 small onion, chopped small

1 small red pepper, chopped small

2 large cloves garlic

4 Tbs. butter

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. heavy cream

1 cup Parmesan, grated

cajun seasoning

olive oil

Instructions:

1. Start a pot of salted water boiling for the pasta.

2. Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in dutch oven on medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, pepper, and 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning. Saute until peppers are soft and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Place vegetables in a separate bowl and set aside.

3. Fry the sausage slices until golden brown on both sides. Spoon sausage slices into bowl with vegetables, leaving behind juices.

4. Dust and rub Cajun seasoning on chicken thighs. Fry chicken thighs until thoroughly cooked. When close to finishing cooking, add in shrimp. Spoon chicken and shrimp into bowl with vegetables and sausages, leaving behind juices.

5. Start cooking pasta.

6. Melt butter in dutch oven. Add softened cream cheese and whisk until combined. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. Add the Parmesan, and whisk until combined. Add pasta water by the tablespoon until sauce sticks to the back of a spoon but still runs off. Add Cajun seasoning to taste. 

7. Add pasta to dutch oven and stir to combine with sauce. Add in vegetables and meat, and stir to combine. 

8. Serve immediately and top with additional grated Parmesan if desired.

Ham and Bean Soup

Delicious and dead simple meal. Perfect to use up your Easter or holiday ham leftovers.

Ham and Bean Soup
from Genius Kitchen

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. smoked ham or ham hock
- 1 lb. dried beans
- 1 large onion, chopped coarsely (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 Tbs. parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 6 cups. broth

Instructions:
1. Soak beans overnight.
2. Rinse beans, and add to crockpot along with all other ingredients.
3. Cook for 8 hours on low, or until beans are tender.
4. Skim fat, if necessary, before serving.

Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots

This recipe is very flexible and forgiving. If you want to have more of a soup, then dice the carrots, onions, and potatoes small and server with the boiling broth.

There's also a horseradish sauce recipe in the Taste of Home link that uses the boiling broth as a component. I did not have success with it, and thus did not include here.

Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots
blend of Taste of Home and Alton Brown

Ingredients:
2-4 lbs corned beef brisket, with all-spice packet
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. black pepper, coarsely ground
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. kosher salt
1-2 lb carrots, scrubbed and cut into 2-3" lengths
1 lb onion, diced large (1 med. onion)
2-4 lbs. small potatoes, scrubbed
1 head cabbage, chopped as desired

Mustard Sauce (optional):
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. sugar

Instructions:
1. In a 6 qt. stock pot or dutch oven, place your brisket, spice packet, brown sugar, pepper, bay leaves, and salt. Add enough water to cover the brisket by 1 inch.
2. Bring pot to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2-2.5 hours.
3. Add carrots, onions, and potatoes. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are fork-tender.
4. Add cabbage to pot, and cook until cabbage is soft, around 15 minutes. If pot is full, remove carrots and potatoes before adding cabbage.
5. In the meantime, make the mustard sauce if desired.
6. Drain liquid from pot. Let brisket rest 5-10 minutes before slicing across the grain. Enjoy!

EveryPlate Gravy Lover's Meatballs

Review
     This was by far my least favorite meal of the 3 recipes. I'll even go as far to say I didn't really like it. The gravy was good, the meatballs were fine if very plain, but the mashed potatoes were way too much better and cream and unbalanced richness. I was satisfied with the amount of food, particularly the broccoli but it's way too unbalanced and rich because of the mashed potatoes. I would make this dish again but use a different recipe for everything, and cook the broccoli with another technique.
     The direction, like I found with the previous two meals, are very confusing to follow and very particularly inefficient on this recipe. I have completely rewritten them here to have a logical flow. The recipe was the most off on estimated cook time of any of the recipes. It took me about two times the estimated cook time which is unreasonably inaccurate. I'm sure you can get the cook time down if the instructions were in a more logical order but not down to 35. The left overs kept fairly well on this one too but overall this recipe was two thumbs down.

Estimated cook time: 35 minutes
Actual cook time: 61 minutes

EveryPlate Gravy Lover's Meatballs

Ingredients:
- 5 small Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 small yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 head broccoli
- 8 oz. ground beef
- 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 small cube beef stock
- 1 oz. sour cream
- 3 Tbs. butter
- 1 Tbs. flour
- drizzle of olive oil
- salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 450F.
2. Dice potatoes into 1/2" cubes. Place in medium pot, cover with 2 inches of water and add a hearty dash of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Save 1 cup of boiling water before draining. Drain and return potatoes to pot.
3. Finely chop onion. Mince 1 clove of garlic, and wrap the other two in aluminum foil. Cut broccoli into florets.
4. In a medium bowl, combine beef, breadcrumbs, minced garlic, 3 Tbs. onion, 1/2 tsp. salt, and lots of cracked black pepper. Mix until just combined.
5. Roll beef mixture into 1" balls. place on one side of baking pan. Put broccoli florets and garlic foil pouch on other side. Drizzle olive oil on broccoli, and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Bake until meatballs are fully cooked, broccoli is starting to brown, and garlic is soft; about 15-20 minutes.
6. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Mash baked garlic cloves. Add to potatoes along with 2 Tbs. butter and sour cream. Mash together to desired consistency, adding some reserved potato for extra silkiness.

Chipotle Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

This soup is easy and delicious. Reminds me very much of French cooking. Simple ingredients; a hearty winter soup!

Chipotle Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
from kitchn
serves 4

Ingredients:
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup white wine
1-2 tsp. chipotle powder
1 quart vegetable or poultry broth
1.5 lbs sweet potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 lb carrots, cut into 1" segments
1/2 cup whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Heat a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil.
2. Add onion, celery, garlic, and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes until soft, stirring frequently.
3. Add wine and chipotle powder. Cook until wine is reduced and alcohol smell dissipates.
4. Add broth, sweet potatoes, carrots, and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
5. Blend soup until pureed smooth.
6. Combine pureed soup with milk in the pot and heat thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Optional: garnish with plain yogurt and cilantro

Shredded chicken

This recipe I've used several times now for my enchiladas and I keep coming back to it. I'm sure this recipe would be great in other Mexican-style cooking.

Shredded chicken for enchiladas
from genius kitchen

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, halved
1/2 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 Tbs. salt
water
2 Tbs. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. majoram
2 Tbs. cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 cup salsa
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth (reserved)

Instructions:
1. In a pot, place the chicken breasts, sliced onion, smashed garlic cloves, and 1 Tbs. salt. Cover with just enough water to cover chicken
2. Bring pot to a slow boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 20-25 minutes until done.
3. Remove chicken from the pot (reserving 1/2 cup broth), leaving behind onion and garlic. Shred the chicken.
4. In a large pan, melt butter over low heat. Saute garlic until fragrant. Then saute onion, pepper, and tomato with black pepper, majoram, and cumin until veggies are soft, ~5-10 mins.
5. Stir in shredded chicken and briefly saute.
7. Add salsa and 1/2 cup reserved broth and salt to taste.

Meatloaf Formula

This is one of the first things I learned how to cook post-vegetarianism. It's easy, delicious, and highly flexible.

This recipe scales well to a 1/2 recipe using: 2 lbs. meat, 2 eggs, and half of all other ingredients (including the sauce) & a 1 hour cook time. A full recipe is a quite large, so I recommend starting with a half.

Meatloaf Formula

makes 12 meal-sized servings

Ingredients:

Loaf:
3-4 lbs. ground meat*
0-3 cups vegetables, diced small**
6 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups grains***
3 eggs

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbs. herbs and spices****
8-16 oz. cheese***** (optional for cheese-stuffed)

Sauce:
1/2 cup onion puree (~1 onion)
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup mustard
1/4 cup sweetener (honey, agave, maple syrup)
1/4 cup hot sauce (sriracha, valentina's)
4 Tbs. tomato paste

Pan:

vegetables for bottom of roasting pan******

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. Combine ground meat, diced vegetables, garlic, grains, eggs, s&p and herbs/spices. Combine well with hands or sturdy wooden spoon.
3. In a 11" x 9" pan (large roasting pan) spread Pan vegetables to cover bottom of pan.
4. Dump meatloaf mix onto counter.
- If stuffing with cheese: flatten into a rectangle shorter than long side of pan, 1" thick. Place cheese filling in the middle, and gently roll up sides of  loaf and pinch seam together. Carefully transfer to pan, flipping so seam side is down.
- If NOT stuffing with cheese: form loaf that is several inches shorter than long side of pan.

5. Make sure the meatloaf is centered in the pan, not touching any of the sides. This will create better texture on the meatloaf and prevent sticking to the pan. Flatten the top to give maximum surface area for the sauce.

6. Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over loaf, trying to keep sauce from dripping over side of loaf and down onto pan.
7. Cook for 1.5-2 hours, until internal temperature reads 165F. Let rest 10-15 minutes before cutting into after taking out of oven.

* Ground Meat Examples:
- Traditional: 2-3 lbs. ground beef + 1 lb. ground pork
- Premium: 2-3 lbs. ground bison + 1 lb. lardons
- Poultry: 2-3 lbs. ground turkey + 1 lb. bacon

** Loaf Vegetable Examples:

Vegetables need to be diced very fine so they don't compromise the structural integrity of the meatloaf. I recommend using raw veggies but you can use cooked.
- Traditional: 1 onion + 1 green bell pepper
- Summer Garden: 1 cup shredded & squeezed zucchini + 1 cup onion + 1 cup shredded kale

*** Grain Examples:
- Traditional: oats (any) or bread-crumbs
- Alternatives: rice, barley, quinoa

**** Herb & Spice examples:
- Traditional: Italian seasoning
- Indian: garam masala, turmeric, chili powder, toasted cumin and mustard seeds
- French: oregano, rosemary, thyme

***** Cheese examples:

- Cheddar, mozzarella, herbed goat cheese log, brie chopped with cranberries, cream cheese mixed with chopped pecans

****** Pan Vegetables:

You want, at minimum, a thin layer of veg at the bottom to prevent burning and sticking of the meatloaf to the pan. The meatloaf drippings also make the vegetables delicious. You can go heavy here on the veg though if you'd like it to be a built-in side dish. Do not slice or chop your veg too small, as the meatloaf has a long cook time and you may run the risk of burn and over cooked veggies.

- minimum; 2 lbs. onion, cut into big slices/wedges/half moons or large diced

- heavy: 5 lbs. potatoes, large cubed and 2 lbs. onions