Air Fried Mini Meatloaves

Here is an easy recipe for some comfort food goodness! Because #everythingsbetterwithbacon.

Note: I will be taking a break from new blog posts for the next couple of weeks, but I am going to repost a few of my most viewed recipes starting with this meatloaf recipe that I prepared again today. This recipe is still getting views daily, and has been viewed from a dozen different countries more than a year after the original post.

In fact, the original post is no longer available because while trying to “reblog” it, I accidentally deleted it, so I’m posting it all over again. 😖

Original Post – February 2019

Cook/Prep Time – about 2 hours

Servings – 2 – 4

Ingredients…

• 1 pound 80/20 ground chuck
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 large shallot
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 mini sweet pepper (any color)
• 3 tbsp milk
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 strips bacon (optional)

Add the panko and the milk to a mixing bowl and let them soak for a few minutes. Chop the shallot, pepper, garlic and rosemary finely. Add the salt, black pepper, egg and 1 1/2 tbsp ketchup to the mixture. Add the ground chuck and gently blend with the panko mixture. Do not over mix.

Spray two mini loaf pans with pan spray. Cut some wax paper to fit in the pans like this, leaving enough so that the wax paper can hang over the edge of the pans.

Divide the meatloaf into the two loaf pans. Press and pack firmly. Turn the loaf pans upside down onto a baking sheet and grip the wax paper to pull the loaves out of the pans. Make sure that the baking sheet is deep enough to catch the fat that will be released. I recommend using a drain rack. Place the loaves in the refrigerator for about an hour to firm.

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**Note: you can skip the wax paper and cook in the loaf pans if you want to, but they would be cooking in the fat and make a greasy mess. Forming them and baking them out of the pans will make a much healthier and non greasy meatloaf.

Next, I’m going to top one of these with ketchup for my wife Susan to make it more weight watcher friendly while I top mine with bacon because everything’s better with bacon. Set the three strips of bacon down on a cutting board and set the meatloaf on the bacon and roll the bacon around the meat. Spread the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp ketchup over the other meatloaf.

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Put them in the air fryer and set for 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Not all air fryers cook the same (we have a toaster oven style air fryer) so check every 10 minutes and cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

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Enjoy!

Suggested music for your listening pleasure while preparing the meatloaves…

“Bat out of Hell” Meatloaf,s debut album released in September 1977 featuring the tracks “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad”

“Green – Eyed Lady” by Sugarloaf from their debut album “Sugarloaf” released in August 1971 and “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” from the album of the same name released in November 1974. This song features a guitar melody from Beatles song “ I Feel Fine” as well as a riff from Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”

Air Fried Beef Jerky

Beef Jerky is very easy to make, and you can customize the flavor you want by simply manipulating the marinade ingredients!

This is a basic recipe for regular beef jerky that I made, but you can make it more sweet or more spicy by having fun and being creative with the marinade.

I used an air fryer that has a dehydrate function. If you use a dehydrator, temperatures may vary.

Cook / Prep Time – overnight plus three hours

Yield – plan on losing about 60 % of the original weight of the beef due to moisture loss.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb thin sliced eye of round
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1 tbsp smoked sea salt
• 1/8 cup sugar (I used maple sugar, but you can use white or brown)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tsp granulated onion
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 4 drops liquid smoke

As long as you start with a soy sauce base, you can add more or less sugar, pepper, garlic, liquid smoke, and seasonings. You can use crushed red pepper flakes, honey, hot sauce or wine. You can add onions or jalapeños to the marinade. Teriyaki flavor? Add ginger and pineapple juice. It all depends what kind of flavor profile you’re looking for.

* Our local Publix grocery store stocks thin sliced eye of round, but you may need to ask your butcher to slice some for you.

Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the sliced beef strips. Place in a ziplock bag and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, drain and discard the marinade, squeezing the liquid out of the beef. Place the strips, sides not touching, on the air fryer baskets. Set at dehydrate at 160 degrees for one hour and turn the strips after 30 minutes. After one hour, turn the dehydrate temperate down to 120 degrees for two hours, again turning the strips around every 30 minutes. That’s it! Happy jerking!

Enjoy!

Suggested music to listen to while preparing the jerky…..

“Walls and Bridges” a John Lennon album released in 1974 featuring the songs “Whatever Gets You Thtu the Night” , #9 Dream, and of course “Beef Jerky”

Can Yeast Donuts Be Air Fried?

That was the question I asked myself and I have to admit that I was very skeptical. That’s why I only attempted to make a very small batch of donut dough. I did not want to waste a whole batch of dough if they didn’t turn out right. Read on to see if the experiment worked ……

“It’s Time to make the donuts”

Fred, The Dunkin’ Donut baker

Photo courtesy to the world wide web

The answer to the title question is of course you can! Here is the recipe….

Servings – 1 1/2 dozen doughnuts

Cook/Prep Time – About 2 1/2 – 3 hours

Ingredients…

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 6 oz lukewarm milk
• 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp butter (softened)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp orange peel
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Butter flavor cooking spray

Add 2 1/2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, yeast, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and orange peel to a mixing bowl and blend together. Add the lukewarm milk and butter. Mix well, using a dough hook on low speed. Add the egg and keep mixing until the dough comes away from the side of the bowl, adding more flour if needed. Pull the dough from the bowl and knead for a few minutes to shape the dough into a ball. Place dough ball in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and set it in a warm place until it doubles in size, about an hour.

Note – At this point, I cut the dough in half and placed the other half in the refrigerator to use later in case the air frying experiment failed.

After the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down, cover with a towel and let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. After the rest, roll the dough out to about 1/4 thickness. Place the air fryer rack on a cutting board and spray the air fryer rack with butter cooking spray. Using a biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rings and place them on the air fryer rack.

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Spray the donuts with more butter spray. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap and place in a warm draft free place until they double in size again, about an hour.

When they have doubled in size, place in air fryer and air fry at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes for donut holes or 8 minutes for the donut rings. I cooked them together and removed the donut holes after 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let them cool. Mix 1/4 cup powdered sugar with a tablespoon of water to make a glaze. Dip the donuts in the glaze or roll in dry powdered sugar and devour them. That’s it!

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• Synopsis – They turned out pretty darned good. They are still better when deep fried in a big vat of fat, but no mess of grease to clean up, and they are a lot healthier air fried.

Enjoy!

Suggested music for your listening pleasure while making the donuts…

“Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith from their “Toys in the Attic” album released in May 1975.

“Sweet Thing” by “Rufus featuring Chaka Khan” from the album “Rufus featuring Chaka Khan “released in November 1975

“Sweet Surrender” by Bread from their album “Guitar Man” released in November 1972.

“Love is Like Oxygen” by “Sweet” from the album “Level Headed” released in January 1978.

• Note – Not all air fryers cook the same. To see the air fryer I use on Amazon, click the image below.

Air Fried Chicken Cordon Bleu with Ranch Potatoes

This is an easy recipe to prepare and it is much healthier than a deep fried version. The chicken and potatoes can be cooked together in the air fryer…

2 servings

Cook/Prep time – about an hour

Ingredients…

For the chicken –

• 2 – 5 oz chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 1 1/2 oz thin sliced smoked uncured deli ham
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp mayo
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• olive oil pan spray

For the potatoes –

• 1 pound baby yellow potatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Ranch dressing powder

Halve the yellow potatoes and soak in cold water. Wash, rinse and dry the chicken breasts. Place them on a cutting board and pound to flatten. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the ham on top of the chicken breasts. Add the Swiss cheese on top of the ham. Roll the chicken breasts up jelly roll style. Mix the panko, Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese together and place on a plate. Blend the mayo and mustard together. Brush the mayo/mustard onto the tops of the chicken breasts. Roll the tops of the rolled chicken into the panko mixture . Spray them lightly with the pan spray and place them on the air fryer tray. Put in refrigerator while preparing the potatoes. Rinse and drain the potatoes. Place them in a bowl and add the olive oil and ranch powder and blend well. Add the potatoes to the air fry tray with the chicken breasts. Set air fryer to 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Place the tray in the fryer with the chicken breasts facing the back. After 12 minutes, flip the tray around and continue to cook. Cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

*Note – for a lighter version of this dish, substitute light mayo, Ian’s brand gluten free panko, and low fat mozzarella cheese.

Suggested music for your listening pleasure while preparing this dish….

“Blue” The classic album released in June 1971 by Joni Mitchell featuring the tracks “Blue”, “River” and “California”

“Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban from his album “Ripcord” Released in August 2016.

“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” By willie Nelson from the album “Red Headed Stranger” released in July of 1975.

“Blue Bayou” Written by Roy Orbison from the album “In Dreams” released in August 1963. The Linda Ronstadt version is also outstanding.

“Blue Velvet” by Bobby Vinton from his “Blue on Blue” album released in august 1963.

To view or purchase the air fryer toaster oven that I use, click on the link below.