Meat and Potatoes Meal
Italian Meat Loaf, Twice-Baked Potatoes, Spinach and Apple Pie
An old fashioned, home-cooked dinner menu for modern tastes.
Have a taste for home cooking just like mom used to make?
Here’s a traditional home cooked meal of meatloaf, potatoes and spinach, updated slightly for today’s tastes.
What’s for dessert? Apple pie, of course!
Menu
Italian Meat Loaf
Twice Baked Potatoes
Spinach Casserole
Apple Pie Danish
Italian Meat Loaf
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, crumbled
- 3 cups bread crumbs
- 1 cup chopped, fresh parsley
- 1 onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten,
- ½ cup tomato juice
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, softened, drained
- 1 pound smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into strips
Mix ground beef, sausage, bread crumbs, parsley, onion, garlic, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add eggs, tomato juice and wine and mix well. Pat into a 12 x 15 inch rectangle on a sheet of waxed paper or foil. Layer the sun-dried tomatoes and half the cheese over the rectangle. Roll as for a jelly roll, peeling back the waxed paper as you roll. Arrange seam side down on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 10 minutes longer, just until cheese melts.
Twice Baked Potatoes
Add anything you like to the potato mixture – chives, sun dried tomatoes, chopped artichokes or crumbled bacon.
- 6 large baking potatoes
- 1½ tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Wash and prick potatoes and cook in the microwave for 10 minutes or until done. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out center of potatoes and put into a medium bowl. Add butter, milk, salt and half of the cheese. Mash with potato masher until lump-free. Fill potato shells with filling. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.
Spinach Casserole
- 5 10-ounce packages chopped, frozen spinach
- 2 cups chopped mushrooms
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon horseradish
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Cherry tomatoes
Cook spinach and drain in a large sieve. Sauté mushrooms in butter over medium heat until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Combine spinach, mushrooms, 1 cup cheese, sour cream, whipping cream, onion, horseradish, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a large bowl until well mixed. Spread mixture in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese; bake for 15 minutes. Garnish with cherry tomatoes. Bake 10 minutes more.
Apple Pie Danish
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 2 packages crescent rolls
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add egg and mix until smooth. Chop pecans. Open crescent rolls and place dough on a cookie sheet, but do not separate into individual rolls. With the dough in a rectangle, cut slits along both sides, leaving the center uncut. In the center, spread half of cream cheese mixture. Arrange sliced apples on top. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add remaining half of cream cheese mixture on top of apples. Sprinkle chopped pecans over top. Starting at the top, fold the side strips of dough over the center, alternating sides and angling over and down, to give the appearance of a braid. Tuck in the ends at the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with maple syrup. Cut into slices and serve.
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