Meatloaf Burgers with Smokey Ketchup and Carmelized Onions

I've been craving meatloaf but it takes so long to bake it! It's a total "Sunday dinner" in my books, meaning Sunday is the only day of the week that I have time to prepare and cook it in time to eat dinner at a decent hour. The idea came to me when I was flipping through an old issue of COoking Light where they had a feature on burgers from around the world. All of a sudden I thought, "Why can't I put all the flavors of meatloaf into a burger size portion?" Ta-da.

So I took my meatloaf recipe and just turned it into burgers, ketchup topping and onions and all.

Carmelized Onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cup yellow onions, sliced thin
1 1/2 cup red onions, sliced thin
pinch of sugar

Heat oil over medium heat in a small saute pan. Add onions and cover pan. Cook until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add sugar and continue to cook for about 10 more minutes, until the onions are golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Smokey Ketchup
3/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl.

Burgers
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 slice of light wheat bread, ground fine (I use a coffee grinder or mini food processor)
20 ounces 93% lean ground beef

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, mix ingredients from egg through bread. Stir in cooked onions and garlic. Add meat to bowl and mix well with hands. Mixture will be much wetter than a typical burger mixture. Shape meat into 6 equal patties. Grill or broil to desired level of doneness. Serve on a light hamburger bun with smokey ketchup and carmelized onions.

Yields 6 servings.

WW info:
flex - 4 points per burger
core - included
(does not include hamburger bun)

Beef Goulash

Nothing better than a hot beef stew on a cold winter's day. Too bad that winter took a break today and the thermometer reached 50 degrees. Oh well. Its still delicious. There's nothing more warm and homey than coming home to a warm bowl of stew.

So, as for the goulash aspect of it. If there are any true Hungarians out there, then the first thing you will tell me is that the recipe below is not real goulash. It contains two ingredients considered most forbidden among goulash ingredients: flour and tomatoes. Of course, I did not discover this until AFTER it was simmering away. The good news is that somewhere I read that if you must add tomatoes, then you needn't be able to taste them. Thankfully, all they did was body to my goulash, not flavor. I also unintentionally omitted red peppers. But in my defense, I actually am part Hungarian and my mom never mentioned anything about red peppers when making goulash. I'm not blaming though.

My goulash (or stew, for the party poopers) came out great. My husband didn't care for it, mainly because of the caraway seed flavor. I'd be willing to leave it out next time, just to see if he'll eat more. Because now I'm stuck with 6 more servings of goulash to eat myself since he doesn't want anymore.

2 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds trimmed beef sirloin, cut into 1" chunks
1 Tbsp shmlatz (chicken fat)
2 1/2 cups onions, chopped (about 3 onions)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp caraway seed, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1 (14 oz) can reduced sodium, fat-free beef broth
1/2 cup water
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 pound egg noodles
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Mix flour, pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon paprika in a bowl. Dredge meat in flour mixture.

Melt chicken fat in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add meat and brown, about 8 minutes. Remove meat and add onions and garlic. Cook onion and garlic until soft and brown, about 10 minutes. Add remaining paprika and vinegar; cook for 2 minutes and return beef to pot. Add bay leaves, tomatoes, caraway seed, and salt; cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add broth and water; bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat down to low, and simmer for about an hour and a half.

After an hour and a half, add carrots and potatoes. Cook for another hour and fifteen minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Stir in lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and cool. Refrigerate overnight.

Serve over cooked egg noodles tossed with butter. Garnish with a light sprinkle of paprika to serve.

Yields 8 servings (2/3 cup of goulash over 3 oz cooked egg noodles)

WW info:
core - 3 points (for egg noodles, shmaltz, and butter)
flex - 8 points

Beef Brisket

What people don't know is that the eleventh commandment is "Thou shalt eat brisket." You can't really screw this recipe up, unless you undercook the meat. The longer it cooks, the softer it gets, which is the opposite of how cooking meat usually works. I've incorporated a combination of a few different recipes to make my own creation. Its a little my mom's, a little my mother-in-law's, and a little my mom's best friend's. It's the best. I promise.

24 ounces tomato juice
1 (12 ounce) jar of Heinz chili sauce
1 Tbsp white horseradish
1 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (3 pound) beef brisket, trimmed
3 large carrots, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the first 7 ingredients (save for half the chili sauce) together in a large bowl. Place half the onions and garlic in a large roasting pan (like this one, with a tight lid). Pour about 1/2 the liquid over the onions and garlic. Place the brisket over this and the remaining onions and garlic on top. Pour the rest of the liquid over the brisket and cover tightly. Place in oven and cook for one hour.

After one hour, turn the oven down to 325 degrees. Add the carrots and return to oven. Cook for an additional hour. After the second hour, quarter potatoes and add to roasting pan. If there isn't enough liquid to cover all the contents of the roasting pan now, add water to the remaining chili sauce in the jar and shake vigorously. Add as needed to make sure all contents are covered in liquid. Cook for an additional hour (time based on a 3 pound brisket; approximate 1 hour cooking time per pound of meat)

Remove from oven and let stand to come to room temperature before slicing. Best if made one or two days ahead of time.

Yields 8-10 servings (2 slices of brisket and 1 1/2 cups of potatoes and carrots)


WW info:
7 points per serving.

Sloppy Joe

This is actually a Weight Watchers recipe that someone had emailed me a looong time ago....way before I even considered Weight Watchers. Its way better than Crapwich, I mean Manwich.

2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion(s), chopped
2 medium celery, stalks, chopped
1 medium bell pepper(s), chopped
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
20 oz canned crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
8 light hamburger roll(s)

Heat oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and bell pepper and sauté until tender, 3 minutes. Add turkey and sauté until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, 5 minutes. Add chili powder, basil, salt, black pepper and cayenne; stir to coat. Add crushed tomatoes, ketchup and mustard; mix well.

Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

Stir in corn and simmer 2 minutes to heat through. Spoon mixture onto rolls and serve hot.

Yields 8 servings.

WW info:
flex: 4 points per serving
core: 1 point (for the bun)

Meatloaf

I will fight you for the end piece of the meatloaf. It's my favorite part!

OK...this was a magical rising meatloaf. Seriously though...it rose (and stayed risen) like a loaf of bread (see picture below). That's never happened to me before. Perhaps it knew that it would be photographed and wanted to look its best....

non stick cooking spray
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion. diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup egg substitute (or one egg)
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup homemade breadcrumbs (or ground oatmeal if following core)
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
20 oz 93% lean ground beef
20 oz 93% lean ground turkey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a skillet generously with non-stick cooking spray and add oil. Heat over medium heat and add onions and garlic. Cover and let onions sweat and cook until translucent (about 7-10 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine egg, broth, 1/4 cup ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, seasonings, and about until 3/4 of the sauteed onions and garlic (reserve about 1/4 of the onions and garlic for later). Separate the ground turkey into 4 equal portions, and do the same for the beef. Add 1 portion of each to the bowl at a time. Be careful to combine the meats well (to avoid a whole bite of beef or a whole bite or turkey later on) but at the same time be careful not to overknead the meat (which will result in a tough loaf).

Spray a loaf pan with non stick cooking spray and fill pan with meat, making sure it is spread evenly. Spread remaining ketchup across the top and sprinkle remaining sauteed onions and garlic over the ketchup.

Place in the center of the oven and bake for 75 minutes.

**Note: As my loaf cooked and shrunk away from the edges of the pan, I noticed ALOT of fat and grease accumulating at the bottom the loaf pan. At about the 40, 60 and 75 minute marks, I siphoned out as much grease and fat as possible with a turkey baster. This did not lend to any dryness or adversely affect the meatloaf at all. Who needs all that grease anyway? Although, I'm sure with some beef broth, ketchup, and cornstarch it might make a decent gravy.

Yields 8 servings.

WW info:
flex:4 points per serving.
core: included