In Need Of Comfort

I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps...understandably, I think. So I was in the mood for comfort foods this week. I wanted to bake chocolate cupcakes, but I didn't have time. I wish I had though because I've been having a serious baked goods craving today. Erm, so maybe it's a good thing I didn't. Heh. Anyway, here's what I'm eating this week.

• Mini meatloaves, courtesy of Food Network. These aren't really mini meatloaves, so much as meatballs, but they are fantastically delicious whatever you call them. First off, I love the baking method. When I pulled the muffin pan out of the oven I saw that the cups had caught all of the fat, so when I pulled the balls out, I didn't have that congealing fat problem later. Also, I love the mixture of beef, pork, and turkey. That way you get a little of each thing: fat, flavor, and lean protein. The texture was juicy and very flavorful. I've been just eating them plain without any extra sauce or carb-like addition underneath or anything. For me, that's big. Next time I make these (and I will definitely be making these again soon), I'll double the recipe. While one is enough for me for lunch (plus lots of veggies), Husband needs more like two, and since it only makes 8, that's not exactly enough food for the week. If I'm really in the mood for a treat, I think it would be fun to do a kind of meatball sandwich with these. Mmmm...messy and bready. And bonus, the link for the recipe also include the nutritional information. Love it!
• Green bean casserole, courtesy of Food Network. Because what's meatloaf without casserole? Um, still meatloaf, actually. This one didn't turn out so great. I'm really bummed because it looks and sounds so yummy. Green beans with mushrooms in a creamy sauce topped with caramelized onions and bread crumbs. What's not to like? I think this one just took too many healthy shortcuts to still come out good. It happens. The cream mixture ended up just tasting like paste (not like I would know from experience...), or rather, just watery flour. The recipe didn't specify whether to leave the green beans frozen, or thaw them first, so I left them frozen. So basically something frozen was topped with something cooked was topped with something toasted. Obviously, it didn't bake up that well. My main issue was actually with the bread crumbs. The recipe called for toasting them first. What happens when you bake something toasted? It gets more toasted! Yep, it totally burned. And so did some of the onions. This recipe was just a total mess. I do not recommend. I don't think it was good enough to tinker with it. I think it's just a lost cause. Sorry green bean casserole. I really wanted it to work out between us.
• Curried split pea soup, courtesy of Food Network (and Alton Brown). And yes, all of my recipes this week are from Food Network. You can blame this blog, and the fact that Good Eats is the only thing on tv worth watching right now. This soup I think turned out a lot like his lentil soup. The flavors are good and simple, but a little bland. A few dashes of hot sauce, though, and we have ourselves a winner. There's not much to say about the soup itself. It tastes like split peas, since that's mostly all that's in it. I like that it didn't call for cream or bacon or other boring cheater ingredients (I say cheater because fat is too easy a way to add flavor, plus it adds fat!), that most recipes use. It was creamy and didn't have that metallic taste I think sometimes comes through in the canned varieties. I would make this soup again, but I would want to punch it up with something. Not sure what though.
• Indian-spiced kale and chickpeas, courtesy of Food Network. Another dud, unfortunately. The kale was bitter, and just didn't come together with the chickpeas. It was hard to even eat them together, since the peas would just run off my fork. Grrr. Also, I don't think the spices really came through. It was pretty bland overall. I don't think this one can be improved upon, either. Into the trash it goes. Sad.

So there you have it. I'll be on vacation next week. How's that for timing? So I won't be posting any new recipes. You're dying inside, I know.