Recipe Trifecta: Mixed Greens, Baked Mac N Cheese & Meatloaf

Sometimes I just sit around and cook for days on end.  Actually, that almost never happens.  But around the holidays I crave "homestyle" food.  Translation: Homestyle=Black AF.  Anyway, I spent a weekend making a bunch of comfort food...mixed greens, baked mac n cheese and meatloaf.  Though the mac and meatloaf have recipe inspirations.  I've altered them so much that they're really my own.  If you try these out please share pics of the outcome. Enjoy!

Recipe: Mixed Greens

Ingredients:

2 bunches of collard greens

2 bunches of kale

1 package of smoked turkey meat (drumsticks or wings)

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon Slap Ya Mama (or all-spice)

½ cup of Mojo Criollo

¼ cup of zesty Italian dressing

½ cup vinegar (white or apple cider)

Directions:

1. Cut stems off collards and kale. As you cut the stems place the leaves in a colander under hot running water.

2. Once all the stems are cut, wash the leaves thoroughly.  Roll the kale leaves inside the collard leaves to form a tube.  Cut the tube into strips. Place cut greens in a large cooking pot.

Lo Note: I like to keep the hot water running over the colander the entire time I’m chopping up the leaves.

3. Add the vinegar, Mojo, dressing and dried seasoning to the pot. Put the smoked turkey on top and push the greens down as far as you can. Add water to the pot so that only ¾ of the pots contents are submerged in water.  Don’t worry, this will cook down.

4. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 3 hours.

5. Remove the smoked turkey and pull all the meat from the bone.  Cut up the meat and return it to the pot. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.

We really like to make this on the weekend so we can have it as a side for all our meals throughout the week.  It’s only slightly healthier than the greens I grew up with. But I’ll take what little bit I can.

Recipe: Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

½ pound elbow macaroni (2 cups of uncooked macaroni)

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

3 cups milk (1 8 oz. can of evaporated milk)

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon Slap Ya Mama (or all-spice)

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 large egg

12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded or cut into small squares

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. When done, drain and set aside.

3. While the pasta is cooking, prepare your roux ingredients. 

a. In one bowl, whisk the egg.

b. In a second bowl combine the flour and powdered mustard.

c. In a third bowl combine the paprika, onion powder, cayenne, salt, pepper and Slap Ya Mama (or all-spice).

d. Place the three bowls as well as the cheese near the stove.  You’ll want everything within reach to ensure you don’t fuck up the roux.

4. Melt the butter in a pot. Whisk in the flour and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk and 4/5 of the dried seasonings. Simmer for five minutes. (DON’T STOP WHISKING!)

5. Temper in the egg. Stir in 4/5 of the cheese. (Whisk until the cheese is fully melted.) Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and dried seasoning.

6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

This recipe is not for the faint of heart.  Trust and believe that if you mess it up everyone will know and they WILL talk shit about you.  Make it for yourself like four times before subjecting anyone black to it.  Because we’ll be judging the fuck shit out of you. With that said, happy cooking!

Recipe inspiration found HERE but please note that I altered the shit out of it.

Recipe: Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onions

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup chicken stock or broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 1/2 pounds ground chuck

1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs (recommended: Progresso)

2 extra-large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)

Lo Note: The original recipe calls for 3 cups of onions. No. Just no.  There’s no reason for alladat.  That shit will be coming out of your pores for weeks

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown.

3. Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Allow to cool slightly.

4. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don't mash or the meat loaf will be dense.

5. Put the mixture into a loaf pan OR shape the mixture into a rectangular loaf on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Spread the ketchup evenly on top.

Bake for 1 to 1.25 hours, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F and the meat loaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven, under the meat loaf, will keep the top from cracking.)

Recipe inspiration found HERE.

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