THE Quiche

This recipe really should be called "Pepper Cheese Quiche" because it has delicious roasted red bell peppers and tons and tons of cheese, but calling it "THE Quiche" is also fitting since it is the ONLY quiche I will be making from now on.  My family proclaimed it the best quiche they've ever had, and they've had a lot of quiche!

THE Quiche

by Erin Taylor
                                                                                                                               Oven 375 deg.

6 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 C. whole cream (no milk for this baby!)
1 C. grated Mozzerella Cheese
1/2 C. grated Cheddar/ Jack cheese
1/2 C. Pepper Jack cheese, grated
*1/4 C. roasted Red Bell Peppers, chopped (in the jar, usually in the pickle section, or Italian section)
**1/4 C.  Jalapeno Artichoke Dip (I buy it from Costco)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pre-made pie shell, baked about 10 minutes at 350 deg. (store bought works great!)


Beat the eggs and egg yolk until frothy. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Pour into baked pie shell and bake at 35 deg. for about 50  minutes, or until the center puffs up slightly and no longer "jiggles".  Let cool slightly before serving.

* You may choose to swap out red peppers for chopped spinach or even green onions. Keep it simple, though. This quiche is best with light ingredients
** If you don't have this dip, use 3 Tbsp. Cream Cheese, softened, 2 Tbsp Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated, and 1 small can of green chilis for a decent substitute.

Too hot for cooking Greek Tortellini Salad

Yesterday I was just hot! Too hot to cook(and no wonder when it is 111 degrees outside). So based on random inspirations from around the web, I came up with this salad and it was amazing!

1 head of romaine/red/green lettuce chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 can olives, drained
2 cucumbers, chopped
1/4 cup of feta
1 bag cheese tortellini, cooked according to directions on pkg.

Add all ingredients in a bowl and toss together. Top with your favorite Greek dressing.

My favorite is from Our Best Bites.

Voila! Dinner! My family loved it!

Homemade noodles for chicken noodle soup

In the bowl of your mixer combine:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

In another bowl, whisk together:
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup water

Add liquid to dry mixture and mix until well combined. Knead for 3 minutes or so. Divide dough in half and roll out thin (1/8ish inch thick) on a floured surface. (I cheat and do this with my kitchenaid pasta roller attachment.)

Let the flattened dough sit for 20ish minutes. Cut into noodles with a pizza cutter. Add individually to your soup about 10 minutes before serving.  

Italian Veggie Chicken Casserole

I found this recipe on pinterest and made it with some modifications for dinner tonight. It got great reviews from my family and it is easy peasy and perfect for taking meals in to friends (is it just me or are you always on the hunt for those kind of recipes too? Please share your favorites if you have them.)

I served this over bowtie pasta (but you could use any kind of pasta or even spaghetti squash or julienned zucchini or really even serve it alone) and paired it with my favorite Easy French Bread and a simple salad.

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl and stir together:

    4-5 tomatoes, chopped

    2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly or minced  

    Jar of artichoke hearts in water, drained and copped

    2-3 zucchinis, chopped

    2 Tbsp. EVOO

    1 tsp. sugar

    1 Tbsp. flour

    A little bit of Salt and Pepper

Spread the tomato/veggie mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pyrex dish and top with 1-1.5 lbs. of chicken breasts or tenders. Salt and Pepper the chicken.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes (or longer if your chicken breasts are larger) until the chicken is almost done (still a hint of pink when you cut into the chicken). Remove from the oven, uncover and top with shredded cheese (I like monterey jack, but you could definitely use mozzarella). Broil the dish uncovered for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the veggies peeking through are caramelized.

Top with chopped fresh basil. 

Cooking notes: 

1.  Romas are ideal, but I used a combination of romas, de-seeded slicing tomatoes, and even a handful of cherry tomatoes

2.  You could definitely change this recipe up to give it variety/use up what you have on hand. Some things you could use instead of or in addition to the artichoke hearts and zucchini: asparagus, bell peppers, summer squash, mushrooms, spinach, cannelini beans

3. I always butterfly my chicken breast halves before freezing them, so they are more streamlined for storing/stacking in my freezer and more importantly because they defrost and cook faster. For this recipe I actually cut the chicken into smaller pieces to make it easier to serve later.

4. I plan to make this dish and freeze it...I would leave off the cheese and basil and add those after cooking. I will update with details when I try it.

Honey Dijon chicken

Tried this new chicken marinade today and it got voted into the regular rotation by my family, kids included. It is super simple, but has a great flavor. We served it with corn and tomato salad and baked sweet potatoes. 

1/3 c. Dijon mustard

1/4 c. Honey

2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. steak sauce

 

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag and add chicken breasts or tenders. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Cook on the grill. Enjoy!

One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken

I came across this recipe on pinterest and despite my lack of fresh garden grown tomatoes, fell in LOVE with it when I made it last night for dinner. As an added bonus, it is a one pan meal and cooks up super quickly.

2 chicken breasts (I sliced mine horizontally so they were thinner to get more even cooking)
salt and pepper to taste
italian seasoning to taste
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
4 Tbsp. cold butter

freshly grated parmesan cheese (totally forgot to add this, but was delicious without it)
pasta

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and italian seasoning. Heat oil in a pan. Add chicken when oil is hot. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. Add chopped tomatoes. Add fresh basil. Add cold butter. Add minced garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with grated parmesan cheese and serve over pasta.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Citrus season is fast approaching in the AZ and our neighbors have a lemon tree that hangs over the fence near our pool. The lemons are still green, but they have given us free reign to pick any lemons on our side, so in honor of that, I wanted to share our favorite way ever to use lemons. My kids request these cookies on a regular basis, and it is rare that they last longer than a few hours around this place! Since you roll them in powdered sugar the kids love to help too, which is really fun. I found this recipe on pinterest and you can check it out at the original source with gorgeous photos to boot.

Makes 2-3 dozen small cookies

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Add salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour and mix until just combined. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Strawberry Bacon Salad

Living in Arizona, the summers are HOT...waaaay too hot to be cooking in the oven or on the stove and sometimes even too hot for the crock pot! So, we ate a lot of salads this summer and this is one of my family's favorites! I have also made this salad with other fresh fruit or combinations of fruits. Peaches, nectarines, blueberries and raspberries are all delicious in it.

SALAD:
1 head of lettuce (romaine, green or red leaf lettuce all work), chopped
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (or if you hate the smell of bacon lingering in your house for days, you can be lazy and use 1/2 cup-ish of the bacon crumbles you can buy at costco.)


DRESSING:
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white vinegar
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. poppyseeds
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until combined (or mix in your food processor). I have found that we only use about half the dressing or less for per head of lettuce in the salad, so I make a couple of salads that use this dressing over the course of a week. :)

Corn and Tomato Salad

In honor of everyone I know in Utah harvesting fresh tomatoes from their gardens, and wishing I was one of them, this is one of my favorite ways to eat tomatoes! Hopefully I will be making a lot of this when we harvest our Arizona garden in November. ;) There are no measurements, just ingredients to toss together to taste.

Fresh tomatoes - diced
Corn - I typically use frozen corn, defrosted, but you can use fresh if you have it
Fresh Basil - chopped

Toss solid ingredients together and drizzle with:
a splash of cider vinegar
a splash of balsamic vinegar
sprinkle of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Stir everything together and serve. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Lemon Chicken

I found this recipe on pintrest and my family loved it so it is now a staple dinner in our home. This is another recipe that is easy to throw together because I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

1 stick of butter (or you can use as less as desired)
1-2 lbs. chicken breasts or tenders

1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup chicken broth
1 packet of dry italian dressing mix

Place the stick of butter in the bottom of the crock pot and melt. Add chicken, lemon juice and chicken broth. Sprinkle packet of italian dressing mix over the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Shred chicken and serve over rice or egg noodles. (I use my kitchen aid to shred chicken. Just put the cooked chicken into the bowl of your kitchen aid and use the beater attachment to mix on low for 30-60 seconds until chicken is shredded, then add back into the juices in the crock pot).

Gouda Fondue

We love to do fondue night as a family or with friends. It feels totally fancy, but is actually pretty quick and easy to throw together. This is our favorite fondue recipe because it is not too "fancy cheese"-y so the kids and our grocery budget can enjoy it too!

1 cup dry white wine*
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 oz. shredded gouda cheese (rind trimmed)
4 oz. shredded aged Gouda cheese (rind trimmed)
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg**
1 pinch cayenne pepper**

Combine wine (or substitute) and lemon juice in the top of a double broiler. Toss grated cheeses and cornstarch together. When wine comes to a boil (if using milk and chicken broth do not actually boil, just bring to almost a boil), slowly add cheese and cornstarch mixture, whisking continuously until smooth. Season with nutmeg and cayenne, if using. Transfer to a fondue pot to keep warm while serving.

DIPPERS:
cubed french or sourdough bread
sliced red peppers
cheese tortellinis
bite sized potatoes
sliced pears
grapes
roasted broccoli (or any other roasted veggie would be good: zucchini, carrots, squash, cauliflower, etc)
cubed steak (fully cooked)



*You can substitute apple cider or chicken broth or 1/2c chicken broth and 1/2 cup milk for the wine
**I typically leave these out

Gyro Burritos

It has been a very long while since anything has been added on here, but I have a couple of new recipes to share! This one came from a friend of mine as a quick easy dinner idea and it is delish. I love that it is mostly ingredients that I always have on hand so it is a perfect meal to throw together in a pinch!

THE MEAT
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice 
2 teaspoons garlic powder  or finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon onion powder or diced onion
1 teaspoon cumin 
2 teaspoons oregano 
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
1 lb ground beef or 1 lb ground turkey

THE CUCUMBER SAUCE
8 ounces light sour cream (I actually used plain greek yogurt instead)
1 cup diced cucumber 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon dill weed 

10 large burritos 
1 large white onion, chopped 
Sliced (or chopped) tomato

Mix the cucumber sauce a few hours ahead of time if possible to let the flavors marinate, but if you don't have time or didn't plan ahead, mix it together while the meat is cooking.

Brown the hamburger or turkey, (add onion if using fresh) throw in the rest of the seasonings and saute for a few minutes.

Layer center of burrito with sauce, onions, tomato and meat. Roll up like a burrito and enjoy!

Baked Broccoli a.k.a. Pinterest is Awesome

I love pinterest for finding recipe inspiration! I have been trying out tons of new recipes from there and I must say that there is a LOT of good stuff, but it is still nice to know that the recipe comes on the recommendation of a friend and not just a chain of pinners that just thought the picture looked yummy. ;) So, I am back to the blog sharing some of my favorites!

Baked Broccoli is our newest favorite veggie because it is easy and delicious! Here is how you make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Chop some broccoli into bite-sized pieces and put them in a large ziploc bag.
3. Add a splash or 2 of olive oil (2-5 Tbsp.) and 2-4 cloves of chopped garlic (fresh garlic is key here...don't use minced garlic from a jar)
4. Sprinkle some salt and pepper in there too and squish the broccoli around to coat it with oil.
5. Dump the broccoli onto a foil-lined rimmed cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. When it comes out of the oven, top with grated lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, and grated parmesan cheese.
7. Toss, serve, enjoy!

Caramels

I must confess, this is a holidays-only recipe for me.  They are so yummy, but let's be honest.  There is nothing good for you in caramels.  If you're like me, and still eating like a little piglet until Sunday, then make a batch and indulge.  Your mouth won't be sorry (but your waist might).

3 cups whipping cream, divided
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups Karo light syrup

Spray a 9x13 pan generously with cooking spray, then use a paper towel to wipe out excess.  Make sure sides and corners of pan are covered.

In a large sauce pan, combine sugar, Karo, and 1 cup whipping cream.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Let the mixture bubble (rapidly, but not violently) until it reaches the soft ball stage*.  Once it has reached the soft ball stage, stir in 1 cup whipping cream.  Let the mixture bubble/simmer until it reaches the soft ball stage again.  Stir in last cup of whipping cream.  Let mixture bubble/simmer to the firm ball stage**.  Pour quickly into prepared 9x13 pan.  Let cool, then cut into squares and wrap in individual bits of wax paper to keep fresh.

*I'm sure you can use a candy thermometer to help you get to the soft ball stage, but they've never worked for me and I'm too lazy to track one down and wash it afterward. It takes about 20 minutes on medium-low heat on my stove to get to the soft ball stage.  At about 17 minutes, I begin testing it by placing a teaspoon-sized drop of the caramel mixture into a little ramekin filled with cool water.  If I can shape the caramel into a soft ball and pick it up out of the water, then it's ready.

**For the firm ball stage, it takes about 25 minutes on medium-low on my stove.  I test it just like I would for the soft ball stage, except a firm ball should hold together a bit better and feel slightly more solid (but not hard).

Beef Stroganoff

This was my grandma's recipe, and despite the fact that I'm not a big meat eater, I love it.  It was perfect for a comforting Sunday dinner on a crisp fall night, and makes 6-8 generous portions.  It's unlike a lot of other stroganoff recipes in that instead of being creamy and white sauce-based, it's tomato-based.  You can stir in 1/2 cup or so of sour cream at the end to make it creamier, but I like it as is.

2 1/2 pounds beef, cut in 1/2 inch cubes (I use top round, trimmed of fat)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, divided
1 large onion, diced
1 can sliced mushrooms (opt.) or scant 1/4 cup beef broth
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce or 2/3 cup tomato juice
salt & pepper
1 1/2 pound cooked pasta or rice

In a brown paper bag, toss cubed beef with flour until lightly coated.  Melt all but 1 Tbs. of butter in large skillet.  Brown beef on both sides, but don't worry about cooking it through (about 5 minutes).  Remove beef from skillet.  Melt remaining butter in skillet, the saute onions until softened.  Add in can of sliced mushrooms and their juice (or beef broth), tomato sauce  (or tomato juice), and browned beef.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low.  Simmer on lowest heat for approximately 1 hour, until beef is tender.  Crockpot option:  empty skillet into crockpot with additional 1/4 cup liquid, and cook on low 6 hours or high 3 hours until meat is tender.

When meat is tender, serve over cooked pasta or rice (I like whole wheat egg noodles or penne).  

Easy Lemon Cookies

I needed a quick treat to make for visiting teaching this month, and I saw this recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Boy Cheese Sandwich.  It took me about 30 minutes, including clean up, to have a tasty treat ready to go.

1 lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  With a mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, and oil (dough will be stiff).  Roll tablespoon-sized balls in powdered sugar, then place on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets (I fit 12 on a sheet, as the dough didn't spread much).  Bake for 6-8 minutes (I did 8), or until just starting to crack.  Let cool for 2 minutes on sheets, then cool completely on racks.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Spicy (or not!) Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-lime Mayo

I love summer meals, don't you? This recipe is soooooo easy! You just have to remember to get the chicken marinating earlier in the day, but once it's time to cook it, you'll have dinner ready in ten minutes!

I omitted the hot sauce altogether (neither my husband nor my kids are fans of spicy stuff) and it turned out great! The crunch on these is great (it's tortilla chips!). For my girls, I just cut up the chicken into strips and gave them the Kaiser rolls on the side.

As you can see above, we had ours with a simple salad that had a Spring/Baby Spinach mix with sliced strawberries, crumbled bacon, and mozzarella cubes. You honestly don't even need a sauce over it, but Lighthouse's Raspberry Walnut salad dressing would be a fantastic choice.

The link is at the bottom for the recipe.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-chicken-sandwiches-with-cilantro-lime-mayo-10000001860085/

Broccoli Chicken Enchiladas

Can you tell enchiladas are my husband's favorite thing ever?  Since I get sick of having the same thing all the time, I try to put new little twists on old favorites.  Although this is far from authentic Mexican, it sure tasted good.  Plus, this is another meal that makes 2 pans, so it's perfect for freezing.

For the sauce:
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (I use the 98% fat free kind to lighten this up)
2 1/2 cups fat free sour cream
1/3-1/2 cup dried minced onions
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. canned diced green chilis
1 tsp. lemon juice

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

For the enchiladas:
1 cup grilled chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups broccoli, cut into small bite-size pieces
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 tsp. olive oil
8-10 flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I use part-skim mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 450.  Spray one large or two small baking dishes lightly with cooking spray.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil.  Saute onion and pepper until softened.  In a small pot, steam or boil broccoli until tender but still crisp (don't overcook--remember it will be baked too).  When onions and peppers are starting to brown and broccoli is done, add chicken, broccoli, olives, and about 3/4 cup sauce mixture (enough to make a moist but not runny filling) to the skillet.  Spread 1/4 cup sauce mixture onto bottom of prepared pan(s).  In each tortilla, place a few tablespoons of the chicken-broccoli filling and a sprinkle of cheese, then roll up.  Place seam-side down in prepared baking pan(s).  Repeat with remaining tortillas until filling is gone.  Spread remaining sauce over the top, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake for 5-7 minutes or until browned, bubbling, and heated through.  Watch closely so it doesn't burn!  Serve with black beans and a greens salad.

Lazy Lasagna

Does anyone else wish this dang snow would go away already? On the other hand, my husband loves it because he can get me to make warm, bubbly casseroles like this one because somehow in my mind it still feels like winter and therefore there's no need to be swimsuit-ready anytime soon.  This is not quite as easy as the Crockpot Lasagna recipe, but I like how this can be divided into two pans so one can be frozen for another day.

1 1/2 boxes lasagna sheets
2 jars spaghetti sauce (I like Classico or Barilla, but it's up to you)
1 large container cottage cheese
1 large container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup onion, diced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1/2 pound ground beef (optional)
 1 tsp. olive oil (optional)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes(optional)

Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly spray either two 8x8 pans or one 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Saute onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes until beginning to soften, then add in ground beef (if using).  When onions and garlic are translucent, and meat is browned, add spaghetti sauce and heat through.*  

In a mixing bowl, mix cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan, eggs, and Italian seasoning.

Ladle about 1/4 cup of sauce into sprayed baking pan(s).  Cover with uncooked lasagna noodles**, breaking into pieces to fill in all gaps.  Spoon 1/3 of ricotta mixture over noodles, covering well.  Ladle 1/3 of spaghetti sauce over cheese mixture, spreading to cover.  Cover with uncooked lasagna noodles, pressing down lightly to compact layers.  Repeat layering with remaining ricotta, sauce, and noodles.  In an 8x8 pan, I can fit about 4 noodles (broken to fit) per layer, and 4 layers of noodles in total.  Cover last layer of noodles with any remaining sauce and ricotta mixture.  Cover with foil and bake 1 hour.  Then remove foil and sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan over the top. Broil 3-5 minutes (watch closely) until browned and bubbly.  Serve with a green salad.

*I feel better about using store-bought spaghetti sauce if it's a good quality brand, doesn't have too much sugar, and I doctor it up with onions, garlic, and spices.  But to make this even simpler, you could skip the ground beef and onion mixture altogether, and just ladle the sauce into the pans right from the jar.

**You can buy either no-boil noodles, or just use regular lasagna noodles.  I've found that as long as each noodle ends up covered with plenty of sauce to give it moisture, and as long as you bake for at least 1 hour, it all works out fine.  Plus, it's easier and less messy to skip boiling the noodles!

Meatloaf

My husband has been gone during the week, so when he came home last weekend, I wanted to make him something hearty and comforting.  He loves meatloaf, which I've never made before, so I combined a few recipes I had and came up with this.  I served it with mashed potatoes (made so easy by the frozen Ore Ida Steam 'n Mash), roasted asparagus, and these caramel rolls.  Oh, and my husband liked it so much he had leftover meatloaf sandwiches 2 days in a row!

1 1/2 lbs. extra lean ground beef (I use either 93/7 or 96/4)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Stove Top Stuffing (dry)
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix (optional)
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/2 cup diced onions
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced green pepper
2 Tbs. shredded or grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper


In a nonstick skillet, saute onions, celery, garlic, and peppers in about 1 tsp. olive oil until softened and barely browned.  Scoop into a large mixing bowl and let cool.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375.  Mix together cooled veggies, soup mix (if using, or just add salt, pepper, and dried onion), dry stuffing mix, beaten eggs, 1/2 cup ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.  Then mix with beef, being careful to distribute seasonings evenly without over mixing.  Shape into a loaf on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper.*  Brush remaining 1/2 cup ketchup over the top.  Bake for 35-45 minutes until browned and cooked through (I did mine for 45 minutes and it was perfect).  Let rest covered with tinfoil for an additional 10 minutes.

*You can also use a loaf pan, but from what I've read, loaf pans steam the meatloaf instead of getting the outside crisp.  Plus then you have to wash the pan.