Dad's Meatloaf made-mini !

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. sausage (I tried turkey sausage for a lower fat option)
2 eggs
1/2- 3/4 cups milk
1 medium onion chopped
3 TB worchestershire sauce
1 big squish of BBQ sauce
about 8 oz of salsa
2+ cups of corn flake crumbs
liberal sprinkling of:
garlic powder
salt
pepper

Really this is one of those recipes that you kind of play around with just to find the right consistancy and depending on what taste you like!
Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mash with your hands (yuck- most times I am able to talk Nick into doing this part.) Add cornflake crumbs last, and continue to add until the mash is a moldable consistancy and can be shaped.

At this point you have a choice to make. 1- take the whole bowl and pat it into a loaf pan thus making a meat "loaf." This is the choice that my Dad has always gone with. 2- Take handfuls of the meat stuff and shape into individual portion sized loafs and place on a cookie sheet. I personally make them potatoe shaped, and the last time I made them I divided the recipe into nine balls. Really no rules on this, however I did kind of depress a hole into each portion in hopes of having the inside cook better. This depression however did collect some of the grease that I was hoping to collect by placing each loaf on a piece of bread (see picture below) so I don't know for sure if I will do it again.

This recipe was a huge hit with both Drew (very picky eater) and Will. They loved dipping theirs in ketchup.

Tiffany-Ann's Bow-tie Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:
6-16 oz (depending what you like) bow-tie pasta
1 medium zucchini
2 large garlic cloves
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1-3 (depending what you like) boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 small onion
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 medium tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta al dente- drain and keep warm. Chop tomato and onion. Slice zucchini and pepper into little pieces. Heat oil in skillet until hot, then press garlic into oil. Add chicken and then stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas and seasonings and stir-fry 3-5 additional minutes (or until veggies are slightly tender.) Add tomatoes and heat through (1-2 minutes.) Remove from heat and stir in warm pasta and cheese.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

For the crust- I am a simpleton and just use the roll out dough in the pop cans from the refrigerator section at the grocer.

Roll out dough to the size you want and then pre-cook you dough for 7-10 minutes depending on thickness.

Now the recipe:

Ingredients
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
2 slices bacon-cooked and chopped
1/2 cup BBQ sauce, divided
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the chicken breast into small slices or chunks- whichever you prefer. Stir fry the chicken in the sesame oil and then mix in 2 Tablespoons of the BBQ sauce. Set aside when chicken is fully cooked.

Mix remaining BBQ sauce and marinara sauce. Spread evenly over the top of the pre-cooked pizza crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Arrange chicken and onion slices over the top. Sprinkle on the chopped bacon.


Bake pizza 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and crust is starting to turn golden. Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle on the chopped cilantro. Let cool until touchable and then serve and enjoy !