Men love it! And so do women.

At my bridal shower, the hostess asked everyone to write down a favorite recipe and then she bound them together for me. One of those recipes was "Pleasant Hill Shaker Village Meatloaf" contributed by my friend, Kathy. I found the broccoli rice cup recipe in a Kraft foods magazine.

Pleasant Hill Shaker Village Meatloaf (as written by Kathy)

1-1/2 lbs. hamburger meat
1/2 c. onions (chopped)
1/2 c. green pepper (chopped)
1/4 c. celery (chopped)
1 small can tomato juice (6-8 oz)
3/4 c. oats
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix hamburger, salt, pepper, green peppers, onion, celery & egg. Mix in oats & add tomato juice. Use fork to mix to avoid packing. Shape into loaf. Place on rack covered in aluminum foil with slits pricked to allow juice to drain into pan underneath. Bake at 375 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. Men love it!

My Notes: I made several changes to this recipe so my comments do not fairly reflect the actual outcome of the original recipe. I used 2 lbs. of beef instead of 1 1/2 lbs. I left out the celery and I substituted bread crumbs instead of oats. I also separated the mixture into two loafs (which cut the cooking time in half) and put them on a vented baking pan instead of wrapping them in tinfoil. The meatloaf was moist, but it was lacking in the flavor department. Next time I will probably add other spices and top the meatloaf with some sort of sauce.



Rice, Broccoli 'n Cheese Cups

1 c. Minute white rice, uncooked
1 c. chicken broth
1-1/2 c. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
2/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. ranch dressing
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare rice as directed on package, substituting chicken broth for the water. Place cooked rice in large mixing bowl; cool slightly. Stir in remaining ingredients until well blended.

Spoon mixture evenly into 8 greased muffin cups.

Bake 25 min. or until lightly browned.


My Notes: This is the second time I've tried this recipe. The first time it turned out in perfect little cups, but this time the cups weren't very firm. The taste was incredible, but all the cups ended up together in a bowl. I eyeballed the measurements so I'm guessing I just added too much moisture. I will definitely give this one another go.