Southwestern Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs or 1/2 c. Egg Beaters
1/2 cup salsa
2 tsp. chili powder
3/4 cup canned black beans (rinsed & drained)

Directions
Mix all ingredients. Pour into a 9x5x3-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until cooked through. Top with 1/4 cup salsa.

A Pesto Thanksgiving

I attended a reception for newly accepted Colgate applicants earlier this week. Hosted by Moira G., the event offered an array of treats for attendees. Amidst the candy and veggie platters were some phenomenal sandwiches that I just have to share here. I'm offering some Kitchen Witch amendments to the original recipe.

Ingredients
whole grain, nutty bread
roast turkey, sliced thinly
mayonnaise
fresh cranberry sauce
red leaf lettuce
tomato, sliced thinly
pesto sauce (leftover or jarred)

Directions
Spread a thin layer of pesto sauce and a thin layer of mayonnaise on each slice of bread. Pile roast turkey, tomato, lettuce & cranberry sauce on bread to build sandwich.

Mango Salsa

This salsa is super easy and always gets rave reviews. Offering a fruit-based salsa, a guacamole and a traditional tomato-based salsa makes a very colorful spread for summer parties on the deck. Best accompanied by mojitos and margaritas!

Ingredients
1 mango, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions
Toss ingredients for a chunky salsa, or pulse each ingredient lightly (don't puree!) in Chef Tony's Ultimate Chopper (or a regular food processor) separately and then combine for a more cohesive salsa.

Asian Pork Meatloaf

Sky and I recently watched an episode of Alton Brown's "Good Eats," during which he demonstrated the perfect meatloaf. Alton recommended trying a variety of different meats and vegetables, so I went HOG wild with my love of pork.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground pork
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 red onion
1/2 Granny Smith apple
a handful of baby carrots
1 tsp. garlic, minced
a few shakes of ground cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
store-bought Asian dressing or dipping sauce
(a soy-sesame style would work well here)

Directions
Using Chef Tony's Ultimate Chopper (or a standard food processor), roughly chop onion, carrots and apples. Combine with remaining ingredients and mix gently with your freshly washed hands until everything is distributed evenly. Press meatloaf mixture into loaf pan and then turn over onto a baking sheet (the loaf pan is only a mold). Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until center of meatloaf measures 170 degrees. After about 35-40 minutes, glaze meatloaf with Asian sauce or dressing. Serves 4.