Meatloaf with Sun Dried Tomatoes

This beautiful jar of sun dried tomatoes was on sale last week,

Without hesitation, it left the grocery store and found a nice resting place in my kitchen.

I ought to make a good use of it,
What might be a good dish for sun dried tomatoes?
I just had spaghetti last week..so no on noodles...oh wait, I got an idea! 
Let's make meatloaf with sun dried tomatoes shall we?

Ingredients?

Sautéed onion:
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 cup of chicken stock
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Mixture:
1 lb of ground pork
1 lb of ground sirloin
2 tablespoons of sun dried tomato
1/3 cup of panko or regular breadcrumb
1 egg
Ketchup
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Others:
Hot water
Extra olive oil or butter to grease the meatloaf pan

How?

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Use butter or olive olive to grease the meatloaf pan, better safe than sorry.

First let's make the sautéed onion,
Drizzle some olive oil in the pan and toss in diced onion,
Sprinkle some salt and pepper, cook till color turns translucent,
Add the remaining ingredients under "sautéed onion,"
Give it a quick stir, turn to medium heat, cook till the chicken stock has been fully absorbed by the onion.
Move away from heat to let it cool down a little bit.

For the meat, I used half ground pork and half ground sirloin,
You can just use ground beef, but pick the one with more fat content so the loaf won't turn out too dry.

Use a big bowl for mixing,
Put in the ground meat, finely chopped sun dried tomatoes, panko, egg, sautéed onion, salt, and some pepper,
Just use your hands and mix everything till fully blended.

Transfer the mixture to the loaf pan and spread a thin layer of ketchup over the top,
Into the oven for about an hour or an hour and half,
Mine took about 80 minutes.
You can insert addition pan of hot water underneath,
It'll help to keep the meat moist and tender.

You can definitely taste the sun dried tomatoes inside the meat loaf,
Slightly chewy and very sweet, yummy!
By the way, I came across this when I was Google-ing about tomatoes,
The word "tomato" is used to describe attractive woman!
Never knew that,
I guess ladies, let's eat more tomatoes!

Cindy's Rating: 7

Semi-Thai Influenced Stir Fry Chicken with Basil

After cooking "tom kha gai," I still got some Thai basil left in the fridge,
Sometimes I tend to forget the leftover herbs and they just all slowly turned into something...mushy ( > _.<")
So this time, I was determined to finish all the basil before it goes to waste!

(Thai basil has a stronger aroma compared to the common ones you find in American grocery stores, it comes with harder texture too)

Ingredients (small portion)?

1 cup of bite size chicken
2 Thai chilies
2 lemon wedges
2 tablespoons of chopped Thai basil
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce
1/4 teaspoon of fish sauce
Some olive oil
Some salt

How?

Marinate the chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce,
In the meantime, let's chop up the basil leaves, garlic, and chilies.

Drizzle some oil in the pan, turn to high heat,
Toss in garlic and chilies, sprinkle some salt, 
Cook for a short moment, don't let the garlic get burned.

Transfer the chicken, including the marinade into the pan,
Add additional 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon of Sriracha, and fish sauce,
Give it a quick stir, add the basil when the chicken is about 90% cooked through,
Quick stir again and wait till the meat is well done,
Serve will two lemon wedges (adds that fresh aroma to the dish).

Use dark meat if possible since it tends to stay moist in stir-fry dishes,
Please enjoy,
By the way, Happy Halloween!

Cindy's Rating: 8