Free-Form Blue Cheese and Cherry Meatloaf

Mini Meatloaves. Enough crunchy, caramelized exterior to go around, and no one fighting over the ends. Easy to grab for work day lunches. This batch, in fact, never made it to the table for a formal dinner because they got eaten up for snacks and lunches before their time.

2 eggs
2 packages of Costco chicken thighs, fresh ground
2 tbs Montreal steak seasoning (or salt, pepper, garlic to taste)
1/2 c blue cheese crumbles
1/2 c dried cherries
1 c seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix all ingredients by hand. Form scant 1c balls.

I cook my meatloaf freeform, on a rack wrapped in tin foil and punctured for air circulation. I first got the idea from Cook's Illustrated, but you can find the same idea here.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, testing for doneness.

Rice Wine Mayo

You know what doesn't look pretty in pictures? Mayo. It's easily my favorite condiment/dip/dressing for any and all occasions. Once I discovered homemade mayo with rice wine vinegar, we stopped buying mayo and only eat the home made.

#30: Rice Wine Mayo

2 egg yolks
1/4 c rice wine vinegar
1 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder
1 tbs homemade mustard (or other whole grain)
1 c olive oil (or more, as needed)

I make my mayo in the wide mouth Ball jars, into which my stick blender fits perfectly. It;s a KitchenAid (in Green Apple, to match everything else in my kitchen!)

Toss in all the ingredients except the oil and blend. Then, while blending, slowly add the oil until the mayo is the consistency that you like.

1 to 20 Recipes of #365Recipesin2018

Out of my comfort zone. This project was intended to mix up our cooking at get my family out of our some several recipes. The homemade bagels from scratch and whole-roasted sea bass did exactly that!

On the other hand, comfort zone is well represented on this list. #1 was a salad I loved as a kid, and chicken soups and bread are well represented. Two different bread puddings made the list (and I've got another one ready for next week). And the Instant Pot was used for four of these (#2, #9, #12, #17)!


#1 Alaskan Taco Salad
#2 Instant Pot Quinoa
#3 Apple Fritter Baked French Toast
#4 Oaty Sandwich Bread
#5 Curried Sweet Potato Waffles
#6 Roasted Curried Veggies
#7 Egg White Waffle (from the Kitchn)
#8 Warm Blueberry Sauce
#9 Instant Pot Yogurt
#10 Rotisserie Chicken Broth
#11 Easy Chicken and Veggie Soup
#12 Rice and Mushy Peas in the Instant Pot
#13 Pan Roasted Flounder
#14 Sheet Pan Chicken Breast and Veggies
#15 Quick Stewed Green Beans
#16 No-Grain Chicken Breast Meatballs
#17 Instant Pot Tomato Sauce
#18 Bagels (from Genius Kitchen
#19 Grill-Roasted Stuffed Sea Bass
#20 Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding (Recipe from Ree Drummond, but I added chocolate chips)


8 days behind!! Time to get in the kitchen.

Grill Roasted Sea Bass Stuffed with Walnuts and Olives

This was a dinner that succeeded despite So Many Setbacks! The worst being bread pudding spilling all over the oven bottom and smoke billowing into the kitchen.

So these were roasted out on the grill, despite being January!


1 onion, diced
1 c green olives
2 c walnuts, chopped
1/2 c dates, finely chopped
Olive oil
3 sea bass
Garlic, Salt, Pepper to taste

Carmelize onions in olive oil. Mix in walnuts, garlic, dates. Season.
Season both sides of the fish with olive oil, salt, garlic. Stuff with walnut and green olive mixture. Roast on the grill (or in the oven!) at 500 for 12-15 minutes.

Easy Chicken and Veggie Soup

2 c homemade chicken broth

1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies (peas, corn, carrots)

Instant pot on ‘soup’ setting. Great with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Warm Blueberry Sauce

4 c frozen blueberries

1/2 c sugar

Warm berries on medium heat until softened. Add sugar and cook until juices run out of the berries. Stir occasionally. Pile on waffles, pancakes, and yogurt.

Roasted Curried Veggies

Frozen veggies - a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and and carrots is always a safe bet

Olive oil

Fill a sheet pan of frozen veggies, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spice blend and salt. Roast for 50-60 minutes at 400F.

Oaty Sandwich Bread

Oaty Sandwich Bread

• 2 c oats
• 6 c whey (from yogurt straining)
• 1 packet fast-rising flour
• 1/2 c honey (I never actually measure)
• 1 c coconut oil (or vegetable shortening)
• 2 c whole wheat flour
• Lots of wheat flour. Maybe 8 c? It will depend on your moisture levels and the flour itself.

Microwave the oats in 2-3 cups of the whey for three minutes, or at long enough to get them nice and soft. I use my 4c pyrex mixing cup, which doesn’t boil over like a narrower jar. Let the mixture cool down to 90F. This can take as long as an hour, but don’t skimp on this step. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill your yeast!

Mix in honey, coconut oil and yeast. Slowly, 1 c at a time, mix in flour 1 c at a time until dough holds together well. Let rise until doubled in size (depends on temperature).

Punch down. Divide into two bread pans, and you may have enough left over for a small baguette or two. Preheat oven to 450F while loaves rise for 45 minutes. Slash tops and bake for 45 minutes.

After cooling, I often slice one up and stick it i the freezer. It can be toasted straight from the freezer without going stale.

Instant Pot Quinoa

Instant Pot Quinoa

2c dry quinoa

3c water and bouillon or broth

3 bay leaves

7 minutes on manual. Adapted from Quessenberry and Merker’s Instant Pot. Made nice, fluffy quinoa!

Curried Sweet Potato Waffles

2 cooked sweet potatoes

2 eggs

1 tbs Montreal Steak Seasoning (or salt, pepper, and garlic)

1 tbs of Curry Powder

1/2 c chick pea flour

1/2 c coconut or almond milk

Cube the sweet potatoes. Beat together sweet potatoes and eggs until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients and cook in waffle iron as per instructions. Mine’s a KitchenAid Griddler and they took 10 minutes on 425F. Makes 4 waffles.