Chocolate Raspberry Trifle Cake

The other day was a co-worker's birthday so I decided to bring a cake into work for her. It's chocolate cake soaked in raspberry juice/syrup, then the first layer of cake was covered in canned raspberries and whipped cream. The top layer is another soaked cake topped with whipped cream, milk chocolate drizzle and raspberries.

Much Loved Meatloaf

Tonight's dinner is a tasty meatloaf, made from the same recipe my mother and paternal grandmother have used for as long as I can remember. It is awesome for freezer cooking because it's really not much work to put together and freeze into casserole dishes, the trick is remembering to thaw it out early enough in the day. I freeze mine raw because I find that they dry out if baked, frozen, and baked/reheated again. It takes about 1 and a 1/2 hours to bake at 350*F once it's thawed. It's the perfect meal for one of those chilly, rainy, August days. Yes, that's right, chilly and raining today, in August, brrrr.





Much Loved Meatloaf:

Family Pack of Lean or Extra Lean Ground Beef
4 Eggs
2 Cups of Oats
2-3 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 Cup of Ketchup
Salt and Pepper

Mix all ingredients together and press into freezer/oven safe casserole dishes. I like to use disposable tin casserole dishes since this is quite a messy one to clean up. (Note, big messy clean-up tonight, Corningware...)

Glaze:
1 1/2 Cups of Ketchup
1 1/2 Cups of Brown or Golden sugar

Mix together and spread over meatloaves.

Bake at 350F* for 1 and a 1/2 to 2 hours.

Linked to Coupon Cooking's "Tasty Traditions"

Cream of Yam, Bacon and Leek Soup

Tonight we reaped the benefits of freezer cooking! Hubby and I got a case of the (really) lazies last night and got take-out but tonight it was time to bite the bullet and defrost something. I often forget about all the goodies we have tucked away in our freezers...

The only photos I have of the soup in question are from last freezer cooking day, here it is cooling off a bit in a casserole dish before I bagged it to freeze.


And here we are all ready to freeze!



So the recipe is a little, um, wing it!

Ingredients:

2 Cups of chopped Leeks (I used to use onions, so try whichever your preference is for)
1 package of Bacon, cut up
4-6 large Yams, peeled and cubed
4 Liters of Milk
1 Cup of Butter
Approximately 2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
Garlic, Salt and Pepper to taste, and a pinch of Nutmeg if desired.
Water, to thin out consistency if soup is thicker than desired.

In a large skillet or wok, fry bacon until partially cooked, add leeks and fry until bacon is crispy and leeks are limp and bright green. Set aside.
In a large pot make a roux, melting the butter on low heat and adding flour until it forms a soft ball. (I find that a wooden spoon works best.) Whisk in milk gradually, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add yams, bacon and leek mixture, stir and bring to a boil. Add spices and cook on medium heat until yams reach desired consistency.

Yeilds: Approximately 8 Liters of soup.