Mr. Fabuful's Egg-in-the Hole

Whelp. So, as we're sure you've guessed, we're blogging about our cooking Ree's Egg-in-the-Hole (p. 46). This is quite possibly the simplest recipe in the book, but we'll make it as astoundingly exciting as we can.

In a land far, far away (Central Kansas), many moons ago (about three weeks) a band of weary pilgrims made their way home from their pilgrimage (church). Road-weary and starving (not really) they decided they were in great need of sustenance (low-blood sugar). They had heard of a legendary food that could fill 'em up real good. This mystical dish was known as Egg-in-the-Hole.

Back to reality. Egg-in-the-Hole is a good and fast meal, especially if you're a fan of fried eggs. Oddly enough, Lou and Jo are not fans of fried eggs, but our husbands are. Isn't that fun? Husbands used in the plural. Woot.

We started by melting butter in the skillet. Then we used a mason jar to cut a hole in the bread.

We placed the bread in the buttered skillet, allowing the bread to soak up some of the butter. We cracked one egg, dropping it into the hole in the bread.

We waited until the underside of the egg was fully cooked, then flipped the bread and egg to the other side.

Once the second side finished cooking, we plated it and topped the Egg-in-the-Hole with shredded cheddar cheese.

Mr. Fabuful enjoyed his good, quick lunch. Uncle He-Man enjoyed the Hole minus the bread, as he is doing a low-carb regimen.

Happily full,

Bacon + Hamburger + Ketchup = Undeniably Tasty

We're begging you to try this meatloaf recipe. Mr. Fabuful said this was his favorite meatloaf ever. And he is a bit of a meatloaf connoisseur.

As you can tell, we were making Ree's Meatloaf (p. 150).

To start this recipe, one places six slices of bread in a bowl and covers it with one cup of milk to soak.

That's what's supposed to happen. In the typical Lou and Jo fashion, we got started and quickly saw that there was no milk to be found on the premises. We thought water would be kinda gross, and the only other liquidy thing in the meatloaf portion of the recipe was eggs. So, eggs immediately became the substitute for milk, and we moved on.

Next, we combined two pounds of ground beef, some Parmesan cheese, seasoned salt, parsley, pepper and salt.

Jo massaged the mixture (because she's braver than Lou) until the ingredients became a smorgasbord of lovely colors.

We lined the broiler pan with aluminum foil. This helped catch the drippings from the meat during the cooking process and made for a very easy clean-up. Thanks for the tip, Ree!

Jo transferred the meat to the broiler pan and formed it into a loaf. One thing we learned was the meatloaf will cook more evenly and quickly if the loaf is somewhat flat. Our loaf was a good 2-1/2 to 3 inches thick. We suggest making your loaf 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick.

Next comes the awesome-est part. We wrapped this puppy in bacon. We swore we heard angels sing. Okay. It was The Bean hollering for another episode of "Shaun the Sheep". But, close enough.

Then we prepared our tomato gravy by whisking ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard and a wee bit of Tabasco together.

A portion of the sauce was brushed onto the meatloaf. This was placed in the oven at 350-degrees for 45 minutes.

We removed the meatloaf, basted it again, and let it continue to cook until it was no longer pink in the middle. This dish is definitely worth the time.

It was a success with our fellas and guests. We appreciated being able to simply roll up the messed foil and throw it away to clean up. Truly, this is a very tasty dish.

Happily full,

Hot Dip for a Cold Day

Does anybody have a little WD-40? We're feeling a bit rusty.

Between the holidays, organizing a new home and growing a little person, we're a touch out of it. Thankfully, Ree's Hot Artichoke Dip (p. 30) is so easy to make. This is the perfect snack food for a cold winter evening - or even for the upcoming Super Bowl. We made it as an appetizer when friends came over for supper. It was an automatic hit.

We started by combining one can of drained, chopped artichoke hearts, mayonnaise and one block of cream cheese into the food processor. This was followed by two, chopped green onions, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. We pulsed this mixture several times to blend lightly.

Next we added about a cup of Parmesan cheese and gently blended this with the mix.

We then chopped our second can of artichoke hearts.

These were folded into the processed mixture. We then plopped this into a 9x9 baking dish and baked it for approximately 20 minutes at 350-degrees.

We love this hot artichoke dip because of the well-balanced combination of creamy cheeses and tangy mayo and artichokes. This will easily curb your guests' hunger as your main course finishes cooking. Or, it makes for an excellent supper. Just remember, you have to share.

Happily full,