Elk Meatloaf… (insert movie quote here)

Long time no blog!  Sorry about that, but I've had a few hiccups happen over the past few months.  I'm happy to be back though!

This is a recipe for elk meatloaf.  We have a plethora of game meat in our freezer, so this is the meat I chose for the recipe BUT you can use whatever ground meat you'd like.  Just make sure that you cook it to the proper temperature for your chosen meat. (I wonder how many times I can say "meat" in the post)

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground elk
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• 1 TBSP grapeseed oil
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded or grated, your choice)
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 1 TBSP olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Pour grape seed oil in a large skillet and warm over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for about one minute, then add in the onion.  Cook until the onion is opaque and then add in the spinach.  Cook until the spinach is just wilted, but not soggy!  Remove from heat and let cool
3. In a bowl, whisk together the egg, egg whites, parsley and basil
4. In a separate large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, kosher salt and black pepper.  Add the Elk meat, egg mixture and spinach mixture, then add the worcestershire, balsamic and olive oil. Combine until just mixed using your hands.  Do not over mix or else it will become too tough!
5. Place the mixture in a loaf pan (if you do not have one, a glass bottom pan will do but just form the meat into a loaf shape).  Cover in the marinara sauce
6. Cook for about 45-55 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 150 degrees.  Remove and let stand for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving

Deer (Meat)balls...

It's a snowy day in Kansas City… normally when it's snowing or too cold (or too hot… for when I lived in Arizona), I make my Nonno Tony's sauce.  Yes, it's my Grandfather's recipe and not my Grandmother's and maybe some day I will share it all with you all but this post is dedicated to the little balls of glory that you place in the sauce to make it perfect… meatballs, made with the deer meat my husband so lovingly shot down in Montana this past fall.

Your best friends for this recipe are a food scale and a mini cupcake tin.  If you do not have these, no worries.  You can just eyeball the quantities.

Ingredients

• 12 oz ground venison (feel free to substitute with a ground pork or beef option, or better yet mix the two together for a more authentic italian ball)
• 1 oz pancetta, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped finely
• 3 TBSP bread crumbs (I used a gluten free variety)
• 2 oz ricotta (skim or non-fat)
• 2 TBSP egg substitute
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients and mix well using a fork.  I say fork because it will keep the meat from compressing and thus becoming more tough during the cooking process.
3. Measure the meat out in 1oz portions and place in the mini cupcake tin (if you do not have a scale but have a mini cupcake tin, the meat will fit perfectly in the tin when formed in a ball).
4. Bake for 20 minutes
5. Remove from oven and drain the meatballs from the grease.  Add them to your favorite sauce and simmer for another 10-20 minutes.  Serve over pasta… or spaghetti squash… or in a grinder for a delicious sandwich