Romantic Valentines Day's Meal made easy!
Valentine’s Day is here and if you’re anything like me, you waited to last minute to whip up a romantic Valentine's Day meal recipe that you can easily make in under an hour.
Don't worry.... I've got the perfect meal for you, and I will walk you through the steps to make it!
If you’re looking for a foolproof meal that is sure to please, then look no further than the classic meatloaf and potatoes. This dish is not only easy to make, but it is also budget-friendly and relatively healthy (if made with ground turkey instead of ground beef or veal). Plus, it can be easily tailored to fit your Valentine’s Day theme. For example, you could make heart shaped herbed Potatoe fries and serve them with heart shaped mini-individual meatloaves.
While everything is in the oven cooking, you will be able to enjoy a nice glass of red wine like a cabernet sauvignon (which is my favorite) served with a side salad or perhaps an oyster appetizer.
Here's what you will need for the mini heart shaped meatloaves and herbed potatoes.
Meatloaf Ingredients:
- 2 lbs ground beef, 85% or 90% lean (or for a healthier version use ground turkey)
- 1 med onion, finely chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tbsp ketchup (or your favorite BBQ sauce)
- 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1-1/2 tablespoon of Humphrey's Divine Bovine
If you don't have any Humphrey's Divine Bovine you can substitute it with the following:
- 1 ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp ground paprika
Meatloaf Sauce Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 ½ tsp white vinegar
- 2 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
Heart Shaped Potato Oven Fry Ingredients
- 2 Lbs. Russet potatoes (wide enough for slices to fit cookie cutter)
- Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp salt divided
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp rubbed sage
- 1 tsp rosemary
Instructions
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 425°F. Place one rack at the top and a second rack in the lower part of the oven.
2. Wash potatoes and cut crosswise into 1/2" wide planks. Use a small heart shaped cookie cutter to punch out the center of each potato circle.
3. Put cut potatoes in bowl and fill with hot tap water, let sit for 10 minutes.
4. While those are soaking, work on your meatloaves.
5. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients for the meatloaf (excluding the sauce). Mix well to combine.
6. Form the meat mixture into heart shaped loaves on your baking sheet.
7. Set aside and finish up your potatoes.
8. Drain and pat potatoes dry.
9. Add potatoes to a clean dry bowl and toss with olive oil, 2 teaspoons of the salt, pepper, parsley, sage and rosemary.
10. Spead fries out evenly across the baking sheet and bake on the top rack. At the same time, put your meatloaves into the oven on the lower rack.
11. In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients together for the sauce. Set aside.
12. Once fries start to turn golden brown, about 25 minutes use a spatula to flip them and continue to roast until crisp on outside.
13. About this same time, Check your meatloaf. It should be reaching 140°F internal temp. Baste them with the sauce that you made. I like to lather them with a lot of sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce and serve on the side.
14. Bake both the fries and Meatloaves for about 15-20 minutes longer.
15. Remove the meatloaves and fries from the oven and sprinkle the fries with remaining with remaining salt and serve.
Time may vary depending on how big or thick your meatloaves are. Meatloaves will be done with the internal temperature is at least 160°F.
Some other ideas for your romantic Valentine's Day meal:
Baked Bacon shaped into hearts - sprinkle with Humphrey's BBQ Crack, - then once cooked and cooled, drizzle with some melted chocolate. Place into fridge. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
You could get sassy with Meatballs and sausage..... ;)
Thank you theFitFork.com for the inspiration!