TGI (almost) F

I love Thursdays, but this one especially. I’m not working tomorrow, so my weekend started precisely 3 hours and 28 minutes ago, Grey’s returns tonight, and so does The Office, I have a new hair cut, it’s the first day of Fall and I’m leaving tomorrow for a weekend mini-break in the mountains! My house, however, is a complete wreck, and I have to do two loads of laundry, unload the dishwasher, clean up from supper and pack (one bag for me and at least three for Colin #2). But I’ll focus on the positive…and really, really enjoy my wine (that was super discounted at the Teet tonight).

New Specials for the week and featured highlights: http://flyer.harristeeter.com/HT_eVIC/ThisWeek/index.jsp?ID6734

• 93% Lean Ground Turkey – buy one, get one
• Barilla Pasta Sauce – buy one, get one
• Boneless Chicken Breast (HT Brand, frozen) – buy one, get one
• Smithfield Whole Pork Tenderloin – buy one, get one
• Top Round London, Broil – buy one, get one
• Kraft Dressing – buy one, get one

Hurray for Buy One, Get One’s…My freezer, pantry and refrigerator are looking pretty sparse.
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Monday – Italian Meatloaf
This meatloaf calls for 1 pound lean ground beef, but you can substitute the VIC special lean ground turkey if you’d prefer. The turkey and spinach lasagna I posted in March would also be a good to do this week with both turkey and pasta sauce on special. I have never made meatloaf, so this was a first. It is Liz Pollet’s recipe via Make it Easy. I recommend reading the recipe all the way through before you begin. When I made it, I first put it in a loaf pan and then realized it needed to be in a casserole dish. At least it was already in the loaf shape…

• 1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 onion
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1 jar 4-cheese spaghetti sauce – Barilla brand is buy one, get one, but they don’t make a 4-cheese, so I got Roasted Garlic
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ c. Italian bread crumbs
• Pam spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dice onion and sauté in olive oil for 10 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat.
In large bowl, combine ground beef, Parmesan, egg, breadcrumbs and cooked onion/garlic. Stir to combine and then add about 1 c spaghetti sauce – OOPS another reason you should pay special attention to the directions…I just realized I didn’t do this step when I made it…it was very tasty regardless, but could have been that much better. Stir until sauce is thoroughly distributed.

Coat glass or ceramic roasting pan with Pam. Form meat mixture into a loaf shape with hands. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then pour spaghetti sauce over the top of the loaf to cover completely (I poured the entire jar).

Continue baking for another 20 minutes or until cooked through. Internal temp. should be about 160 degrees.

Tuesday – Marinated Pork Tenderloin
I love this marinade – Thanks Liz Grasty and Make it Easy! It is so very easy. You must, however, be sure the Ziploc bag is zipped while mixing the ingredients…it’s not fun to clean soy sauce and sugar off hardwoods.

• 1 pork tenderloin (1 ½ pounds) – buy one, get one!
• ½ c. soy sauce
• ¼ c. sugar
• ½ t. garlic powder
• Sesame seeds – I omitted, because I didn’t have any when I was making

Place pork tenderloin in casserole dish or plastic Ziploc bag.
Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl and cover pork. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350. Toast sesame seeds and set aside. Remove pork tenderloin and save the marinade.
Place tenderloin on roasting rack (or in casserole dish) and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Turn once while baking.  During the last 10 minutes of cooking the tenderloin, add the sesame seeds to marinade and warm over medium/high heat. Take tenderloin out of oven, slice thinly at an angle, pour warmed marinade over tenderloin and serve.
Note – this recipe goes well with asparagus, a salad or a starch!

Wednesday – Grilled London Broil
The marinade for this comes from, Take the Tour for a Taste of Colonial Edenton, cookbook You can use chicken (the frozen packs are on sale), flank steak or london broil.

• 1 (16 ounce) jar Kraft Italian dressing
• ½ c. honey
• ½ c. soy sauce
• 1 t. ginger
• 3 t. minced garlic

Mix all ingredients well and marinate steak or chicken all day or overnight. Grill to your liking.

Thursday - Open Faced Meatloaf or leftover London Broil or Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

Stay out of the kitchen and enjoy leftovers!