First, I'd like to share with you an funny anecdote and then I'll share my Sunday recipes. At my bridal shower, each guest was asked to write down a piece of advice for the bride- and groom-to-be. Most of the advice was about patience, true love, and many of my friends simply wrote to continue doing whatever Mr. Lauer and I were already doing because we were (and still are) that disgusting couple who are so in love with each other it's slightly obnoxious :) But the most memorable piece of advice came from my best friend Sarah's mother. First of all, for those of you who don't know Rhonda, she is the sweetest, kindest woman who has been married 25+ years to her pastor husband. She is very soft spoken and gentle and was like a second mom to me when I lived in Ohio. Her advice was as follows:
" To keep your husband happy, keep his stomach full and his balls empty. "
...Say WHAT?!
For those of you married ladies, you are probably laughing and nodding because you know it's the truth. (For my lovely unwed friends, trust me, it's damn good advice).
With that being said, my husband is a very happy man...
Now onto the yumminess I promised.
Gimme Some of that (Brown) Sugar Meatloaf
Yes, I do have a set of utensils that let people know whose kitchen they're in...
I have tried one meatloaf recipe after another, sometimes with good results and other times with disastrous ones. However, the one I made tonight is hands down my favorite! Since Mr. Lauer is a 6-foot, 150 lb garbage disposal without many discerning taste buds (ugh, men and their amazing metabolisms...), he will gobble up anything I put in front of him claiming that I'm the best chef in the world - even better than his mom [gasp]! But this recipe was put before a panel of judges with more refined tastes than my sweet hubby and it got rave reviews. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 2 slices of bread
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 small onion, chopped (or a packet of onion soup mix)
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger (this is important!)
- 3/4 cup crushed saltine cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Grease a loaf pan (I don't skip this step even though my loaf pan is nonstick, I still love the extra flavor that the butter brings to the dish)
- Put the two slices of bread in the bottom of the loaf pan, pressing them down to make an even layer
- In a mixing bowl, mix the ground beef, milk, eggs, salt, pepper, onion soup mix, ground ginger and saltine cracks together
- Pour the meat mixture into the loaf pan
- Press the brown sugar on top of the meat mixture, covering thoroughly and spreading evenly
- Spread the ketchup over the sugar
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour
It's such a simple, fast recipe that can be made the night before which is important for those of us with miles of to do lists. I paired this with unskinned mashed potatoes with fresh parsley from the garden and onion salt. It was amazing!
For dessert (because you just have to have dessert on Sundays!), I made a fabulously easy and equally delicious cake by my favorite follower, Kristin. This recipe is from her beautiful Grandmother who recently passed away. I appreciate so much her sharing this with all of us on her amazing baking blog. You guys have to check it out - she has devilishly delectable recipes that are super easy to make!
Chocolate Cherry Chaos Cake
Let me just say that this is a lot of cake and it is something best made to share - unless you're my husband with a metabolism the rest of us can only marvel at. It is amazing and just has a hint of cherry, so even if you're not a huge cherry lover, it's the most moist, delicious cake and you have to try it! The super easy recipe, the nearly instant gratification, the common ingredients that you (should) have in your pantry all make this a must-try, regardless of whether you're a baker or not. You can't go wrong!
Cake Ingredients:
- 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix (see, I told you, you non-bakers cannot miss!)
- 1 can cherry pie filling (ok, if you don't have this in your pantry, it's understandable)
- 2 eggs, beaten (hopefully, these were found in your fridge, not the pantry...)
- 1 teaspoon almond flavoring (I read this wrong and originally thought it said vanilla flavoring, which I added and it was still delicious, so in my unexpert opinion, vanilla extract works here too)
- 1/4 cup sour cream (this is my little addition and makes an already crazy moist cake even more so, but I liked it because it also made it a little lighter too - this ingredient is by no means necessary)
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 oz. or half a package)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix the cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, flavoring and sour cream together by hand
- Pour batter into a greased and floured 13x9" pan (believe me, this will not fit into a cake pan)
- Bake for 30 minutes
- Remove cake and set aside to cool
- For the frosting, place the sugar, butter and milk into a small saucepan set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil while whisking constantly. Boil for about one minute. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips and continue to whisk. Pour over the warm cake and let it cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
DELICIOUS and as Kristin so sweetly points out in her baking blog, not totally unhealthy either! It's a win-win for us weight watching chocolate lovers!
I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the fabulous weather.
Happy Sunday! Check back again next week for another delicious helping of Sunday Night Dinners.
Chester and Charlie wish you all a happy week of full-tummies!
xoxo
