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  • Pork Meat Loaf

    Pork Meat Loaf

    I was surfing channels on TV one day and stopped when I saw Jaime Oliver was on.  You see, I like the way Jaime Oliver does his cooking, he makes it look very easy.  He was doing a Pork Meat Loaf which really got me interested.  After watching the show, I figured I could do his Pork Meat Loaf and googled the recipe and found it HERE.  I was thinking of doing it as a dinner surprise for the family.  Boy was I disappointed, I did not have some of the ingredients in my pantry.  So what did I do?  Improvise!   Might as well come up with something along the same lines.

    One of the ingredients unfamiliar to me was tomato passata.  It looked like a tomato sauce or puree and I did some research.  It appears that passata is an uncooked tomato puree that has been strained of seeds and skins. It originated in Italy but used throughout Europe.  Big problem, I don’t have it.  Checking my pantry, I saw an Italian Style Spaghetti sauce.  I figured might a well use it as a substitute.  Another ingredient that I did not have was feta cheese.  No problem, I used cream cheese.  The recipe also called for stale bread blitzed into crumbs.  None.  But I did have packaged bread crumbs so I figured this will do.  The recipe also called for chilis but knowing my family, they will not like it. I replaced them with red bell peppers.  The meatloaf was supposed to be served as a topping on spaghetti.  None also, so rice will have to do.


    Ingredients:

    • 3 pcs carrots
    • 3tbsp tbsp olive oil
    • 1 package bread crumbs
    • 1 Kg ground pork
    • 1 tbsp dried oregano
    • 60 grams cream cheese diced into small pieces
    • 1 pc egg
    • 3 pcs red bell peppers sliced lengthwise
    • 2 pcs onion finely chopped
    • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
    • 1 package 250g Del Monte Italian Style Spaghetti sauce
    • 60 grams Cheddar cheese grated

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
    2. Peel the carrots, quarter lengthways, then place in a roasting tray (roughly 25cm x 30cm), drizzle with oil and cook for 10 minutes.
    3. Use your hands to mix in a bowl the pork, breadcrumbs, half the oregano, the cream cheese, the egg and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
    4. Shape into a loaf (roughly 20cm long), then, when the time’s up on the carrots, make a space in the middle of the tray and add the meatloaf. Cook for a further 25 minutes, or until the meatloaf is golden and cooked through.
    5. In a pan, heat oil and then put the onion and garlic with the remaining oregano and fry for about 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. Add the bell peppers and cook for 1 minute.
    6. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and let simmer until the meatloaf is cooked.
    7. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully pour the sauce around the meatloaf. Pull the carrots to the top of the sauce and arrange around the meatloaf with the red bell pepperss, then grate the Cheddar on top.
    8. Put back the meatloaf into the oven for a further 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden, and the sauce is bubbling.
    9. Once done, slice the meatloaf and use as topping for rice.

    pork meat loaf

    Pork Meat Loaf

    Easy to cook pork meat loaf recipe.

    • 3 pcs carrots
    • 3tbsp tbsp olive oil
    • 1 package bread crumbs
    • 1 Kg ground pork
    • 1 tbsp dried oregano
    • 60 grams cream cheese (diced into small pieces)
    • 1 pc egg
    • 3 pcs red bell peppers (sliced lengthwise)
    • 2 pcs onion (finely chopped)
    • 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
    • 1 package 250g Del Monte Italian Style Spaghetti sauce
    • 60 grams Cheddar cheese (grated)
    1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.

    2. Peel the carrots, quarter lengthways, then place in a roasting tray (roughly 25cm x 30cm), drizzle with oil and cook for 10 minutes.

    3. Use your hands to mix in a bowl the pork, breadcrumbs, half the oregano, the cream cheese, the egg and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

    4. Shape into a loaf (roughly 20cm long), then, when the time’s up on the carrots, make a space in the middle of the tray and add the meatloaf. Cook for a further 25 minutes, or until the meatloaf is golden and cooked through.

    5. In a pan, heat oil and then put the onion and garlic with the remaining oregano and fry for about 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. Add the bell peppers and cook for 1 minute.

    6. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and let simmer until the meatloaf is cooked.

    7. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully pour the sauce around the meatloaf. Pull the carrots to the top of the sauce and arrange around the meatloaf with the red bell pepperss, then grate the Cheddar on top.

    8. Put back the meatloaf into the oven for a further 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden, and the sauce is bubbling.

    9. Once done, slice the meatloaf and use as topping for rice.

    This goes well with Greek Salad or Buttered Steamed Vegetables.

    There you go folks.  My family loved this Pork Meat Loaf dish and I hope you try it out too.  Not as good as Jaime Oliver’s but worth the time and effort to try.

    Check out other recipes HERE.

     

  • How To Cook Pochero

    How To Cook Pochero

    How to cook Pochero? Pochero is a Filipino stew dish that was inherited from the Spanish. In Spain, they call it Puchero and is also prepared in Mexico and other South American countries.  Pochero consequently reached the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period of our history.  The Spanish word puchero means stewpot in English.  Pochero is almost the same as the Spanish dish called cocido but does not use colorants like paprika.

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    Pochero is a stew of meat, vegetable, root crops and legumes.  In Andalusia, Spain, they considered this as peasant stew in the old times. This is because the meat usually used were from the cheapest cuts of pork, beef and chicken.   The vegetables often used where whatever was in season.  It certainly is not a peasant stew anymore!

    How To Cook Pochero

    What makes the Filipino Pochero different in contrast to the Spanish Cocido?

    Unlike in Spain, the Filipino Pochero is different because it uses tomato sauce rather than paprika.  But what sets it apart from other tomato-based stews?  It is because ripe plantain banana or ‘saba’ is a must.  Without a plantain, it it is not a pochero.  First of all, the plantain adds a natural sweetness to the dish. Secondly, plantain helps in producing the interesting flavor of the stew. Thirdly, Filipinos probably added plantain in pochero because it is very common in the Philippines and is easily available.  The plantain therefore makers pochero a uniquely Filipino dish.

    The meat usually used in pochero is beef.  Likewise, pork and chicken are ok to use too.  Similarly, some people combine the meats but I would rather use only one kind.  I remember my Uncle Jinggoy and his beef pochero.  He usually boils the beef first and sets aside the broth to make a soup out of it. Then he adds some of the vegetables like cabbage and green beans.  He then serves the dish with an eggplant relish that has vinegar and loads of garlic in it!

    How to cook pochero?  Simple!  Just ry this simple pochero recipe and I am almost sure your family will love this!  It is certainly an easy pochero recipe and above all tastes so good!

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    How To Cook Pochero

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 kilo meat cubed (chicken, beef, or pork)
    • 1 bunch bok choy (pechay)
    • 1 small cabbage, quartered
    • 1 large plantain (saba) banana (ripe), chopped
    • 100 grams long green beans
    • 1 medium sized potato, cubed (sweet potato optional)
    • 2 medium tomatoes, diced.  You can also use canned tomatoes like THIS.
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
    • 1 tablespoon whole pepper corn
    • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
    • 1 small can tomato sauce
    • 1 cup chick peas (garbanzos)
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 chicken cube
    • Salt and Pepper to taste
    • Sugar to taste

    Instructions:

    1. Heat cooking oil in a cooking pot.
    2. Sauté garlic, onions, and tomatoes.
    3. Add meat and cook until the color turns light brown.
    4. Add-in chicken cube, whole pepper corn, and tomato sauce. Stir.
    5. Add water and let boil. Simmer until meat is tender (about 30 to 40 minutes).
    6. In a separate frying pan, fry potatoes and saba until golden light brown. Set aside.
    7. Add-in potato, saba, and chick peas. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
    8. Add cabbage and long green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.
    9. Stir-in the bok choy. Cover the pot and turn off the heat.
    10. Let the residual heat cook the bok choy (about 5 minutes).
    11. Season with salt, pepper and sugar according to desired taste.
    12. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with rice, eat the Filipino way and enjoy!

     

    How To Cook Pochero

     

    Pochero

    Pochero is a Filipino stew dish that was inherited from the Spanish. It is called Puchero in Spain and is also prepared in Mexico and other South American countries.

    • 1/2 kilo meat (cubed (chicken, beef, or pork))
    • 2 pcs medium tomatoes (diced)
    • 1 pc medium onion (diced)
    • 1 tsp garlic (minced)
    • 1 tbsp whole pepper corn
    • 1 small can tomato sauce
    • 1 cup chick peas (garbanzos)
    • 1 pc plantain banana (ripe) (large , chopped)
    • 1 pc potato (medium sized, cubed (sweet potato optional))
    • 1 pc cabbage (small, quartered)
    • 100 grams long green beans
    • 1 bunch bok choy (pechay)
    • 1 cup water
    • 2 tbsp cooking oil
    • 1 pc chicken cube
    • Salt and Pepper to taste
    • Sugar to taste
    1. Heat cooking oil in a cooking pot

    2. Sauté garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

    3. Add meat and cook until the color turns light brown.

    4. Add-in chicken cube, whole pepper corn, and tomato sauce. Stir.

    5. Add water and let boil. Simmer until meat is tender (about 30 to 40 minutes).

    6. In a separate frying pan, fry potatoes and saba until golden light brown. Set aside.

    7. Add-in potato, saba, and chick peas. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes.

    8. Add cabbage and long green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.

    9. Stir-in the bok choy. Cover the pot and turn off the heat.

    10. Let the residual heat cook the bok choy (about 5 minutes).

    11. Season with salt, pepper and sugar according to desired taste.

    12. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with rice, eat the Filipino way and enjoy!

    Other recipes may be found HERE.

  • How To Cook Homemade Salisbury Steaks

    How To Cook Homemade Salisbury Steaks

    Homemade Salisbury Steaks is a dish made from a blend of ground beef and other ingredients and is usually served with gravy or brown sauce.

    The gravy and spices added to plain ground beef patties converts it to a meal that is easy to love. You can use packaged dry gravy mix (as in the recipe) to keep the meal quick and simple to do. Then make some homemade mashed potatoes.   Instant mashed potatoes work well too.

    The ingredients needed to make your own homemade Salisbury Steaks are not hard to find. You just need ground beef and other items found in your fridge and pantry. Dinner can be on the table in no time at all.

     

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    Homemade Salisbury Steaks

    Ingredients:

    • 1 kilo uncooked ground beef
    • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (or more if you desire)
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 dash salt and pepper
    • 2 cups beef gravy

    Instructions:

    1. Take a cookie sheet and cover it with foil, pre heat oven to 350-375°F.
    2. Get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl add ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
    3. Mix well with your hands. Make patties according to the size you want. Place patties on foiled cookie sheet.
    4. Bake until done to your preference (for well done-30 minutes or so).
    5. When patties are done, make gravy according to package instructions. Pour brown gravy on top and enjoy with some mashed potatoes!

    Homemade Salisbury Steaks

    Homemade Salisbury Steak

    Salisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of ground beef and other ingredients and is usually served with gravy or brown sauce.

    • 1 kilo ground beef (uncooked)
    • 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • 1 dash salt
    • 1 dash pepper
    • 2 cups beef gravy
    1. Take a cookie sheet and cover it with foil, pre heat oven to 350-375°F.
    2. In a large mixing bowl add ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well with your hands. Make patties according to the size you want. Place patties on foiled cookie sheet.
    3. Bake until done to your preference (for well done-30 minutes or so).
    4. When patties are done, make gravy according to package instructions. Pour brown gravy on top and enjoy with some mashed potatoes!

    Other recipes may be found HERE.

    Check out this post about OVENS.  You will learn some interesting stuff HERE.

    Try out this recipe and let me know what you think about it by commenting below.  Thanks!

    Homemade Salisbury Steaks

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