A Dozen Savory Muffins

Lay’s Tostistos sent me several samples of their new dip creations last week. I found the lists of ingredients to be wholesome, with the exception of corn sugar in one(?) of them. Other than that, they’re basically just packets of herbs and spices and salt. I was excited to use the Garden Onion flavor in a dozen savory muffins, also known as meatloaf muffins!

Tricia joined us for dinner and brought a bottle of red wine. I don’t really drink much, but I had a few sips. It was quite tasty!

The Menu

• Garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette
• Pepperidge Farm dinner rolls, multi-grain
• Meatloaf muffins with peppers and onions
• Hasselback potatoes with cheddar cheese and sour cream
• String beans with butter
• Homemade chocolate pudding

I make no apologies for popping store-bought frozen Pepperidge Farm dinner rolls in the oven. They’re delicious and save a lot of time when you have your hands busy in every other pot and pan in the kitchen, lol.

Simple tossed garden salad. Note: Those are shredded carrots, not cheese.

The meatloaf muffins were simple: 1.5 lb ground beef, 1 packet Lay’s Garden Onion dip creations, 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs, 2 beaten eggs, ~1.5 cups diced green peppers + onions sauteed in palm shortening; mixed together and evenly shaped into 12 muffin cups; baked on 350 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes until the centers were 160 degrees F. They look like meatballs after they shrunk in the oven, lol.

Another new recipe: Hasselback potatoes! I’ve seen these around the blogosphere for ages now and finally made them.

Looks fancy, but they’re extremely easy to make. They’re just a roasted potato with a pretty fan shape. All you do is slice them before roasting being careful not to slice all the way to the bottom to avoid breaking. After they were sliced, I rubbed them with extra virgin olive oil and butter, then baked on 350 degrees F for about an hour and 15 minutes—I should have roasted on 400-425 F to take less time. Next time! 10 minutes before they came out of the oven, I sprinkled shredded cheddar cheese over them, then a dollop of sour cream when they were done. Delicious! Tastes like a scalloped potato meets baked. Yum!

The decadence didn’t stop there! My mom made homemade chocolate pudding from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe!

SO GOOD! OMG, so rich! Yum!

Our entertainment was provided by our kitties playing with an iPad app that has a mouse or a frog moving around the screen. They love to swat at it, but it frustrates them, lol! They try to look under the iPad for where it might be. It’s so cute.

Other than the nasty weather outside, we had a nice evening. I was way too full by the end of the night, though. I need to ramp up my exercise this week. The weather should be nice once in awhile, lol. I can’t wait to go for a long, much-needed walk/hike around the ‘hood, where the road turns to dirt and there are no cell phone signals, haha.  

Did you have a nice weekend?

Tagged as: chocolate pudding, desserts, dinner, dinner party, family, guests, Haaselback potatoes, meatloaf, meatloaf muffins, recipes