How to make Homemade MeatLoaf !

Wondering how to make Meat Loaf ? Well, wait no more ! Ship Shape Mama can tell you how !
So lets start what will you need to make you fantastic meal for yourself or family. Personally, my family loves it. I love to see my son eat mommy's cooking and hear him say yum yum yum lol


Ingredients :

* 1 pound of ground beef
* 1/4 of a medium size onion cut into mince style pieces
* 1/4 of a medium size fresh minced garlic (or 1/2 tablespoon garlic)
* 1/2 cup of saltine crackers or animal crackers ( smashed into small crumbs )
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 of a medium size green pepper cut into small even pieces
* 2 teaspoons of Lawry's all season salt
* 1 cup of pure tomato sauce
* 1/2 cup of mixed vegetables ( type of vegetables are optional )
* 1/4 cup of ketchup
* 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
* 1 can of non-stick spray
* 1 large mixing bowl
* 1 square like baking pan



Okay people ! So lets start by  grabbing our large mixing bowl and adding in our fully thawed out ground beef. Than we are going to set this to the side so we can grab our onion, garlic and green pepper to cut into small even pieces. Once you have diced your vegetables into even pieces, you can go ahead and add this to the bowl of ground beef.


Than your going to add you seasons like your ground pepper and your all purpose Lawry's season salt. Once you have accomplished this. Your going to grab your crackers and put then into a separate bowl or into a napkin folded and start smashing them into pieces with a cup. For example laying your crackers flat and start smashing.


Next, once your complete with this process, your going to throw your crackers into the bowl. After this, crack open you egg and add this to your mixture.


Next your going to add your tomato sauce and 1/8 cup of ketchup. Your going to use the rest of your ketchup later on. By this time, all your ingredients should be added into one large bowl. Your going to next wash your hands and use which ever hand preferred and start hand mixing your mixture of meat very well in your bowl. You want to make sure that everything is mixed properly.


Your going to next set your oven on 400 degrees Fahrenheit, while your oven is per-heating. Your going to grab your square baking like pan and spray it lightly with your non-stick spray. Once you've done that, your next step is adding in your meat loaf mix into the baking pan.


Then, with you hand, your going to even out the meat through out the whole pan.


By this time your oven should have pre-heated, so your going to throw in you meat loaf into the oven for about 30-35 minutes.


After 30-35 minutes have past, your going to check on your meat loaf. It should look pretty close to looking well done. Your going to poke the center with a tooth pick or knife and check the center for pinkness. You should see just a little, like if you only need about 15-20 minutes more.

You can also drain your meat loaf of any excess oil if you used a high in fat ground beef mix, you can take the pan out and slightly drain into a cup or your sink.


So next ! Your going to next going to add the rest of you ketchup on the surface to your meat loaf. You can squirt a design of your own, I usually do an zig-zag line. After this step.


Your going to allow your meat loaf to cook for another additional 15-20 minutes more until its well done to your liking.


By this time, your meat loaf should be ready for consumption !


Dig in, eat up ! And thanks for cooking with Ship Shape Mama !



Bon Appetite !



Thanks for Reading !

How to make homemade Mexican Rice !

Many people give great compliments on how good my Mexican pink rice is. So I decided to let out my cooking secrete and tell people how I make my yummy rice. So lets start what you will need to make this delicious recipe in just 30 minutes !



Ingredients

* 1cup of uncooked rice
* 2 cups of water
* 1 can of tomato sauce ( 1 cup)
* 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon
* 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 
* 1 cooking soup pot with lid
* 1 wooden utensil
* 1 teaspoons of freeze dried mince onions ( fresh onion is optional )
* 1 teaspoon of freeze dried mince garlic ( fresh mince garlic optional )



Okay ! ... So lets start by bringing our pot to the stove and adding our vegetable oil in. Turn the stove on and set to medium heat so the oil can heat. Once the oil has heated, add your 1 cup of uncooked rice. Grab your wooden spoon and mix generously into the heated oil. We want the rice to cook a little bit until you see about 10 percent of the rice golden brown.

Once you established that the rice is fried just a little. Your going to add 2 cups of clean fresh water to the pot, mix well. Now, while the water is heating. Pop open your can of tomato sauce and poor into a separate bowl.

Next, your going to add your mince onion,garlic and your chicken bourbon. .... So Why? are we doing this instead of throwing all the ingredients in to the cooking pot. Well, we want to make sure that the chicken bourbon has correctly broken down and dissolved because if we through it in the cooking pot. This might cause someone to over mixing the rice, while trying to see if the chicken bourbon dissolved correctly.

Over  mixing rice can cause soggy rice ! Eww ! No bueno !

Once you made sure your tomato sauce has mixed well with the other added ingredients. Your going to next add your sauce to the pot. By then, your water should have heated but not boiled to the point you see bubbles rising. Your going to mix your sauce clock wise or counter clock-wise about 4 times so your sauce has mixed well with the water and rice.

Next your going to cover your pot with your pots lid and let heat for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes has past your going to stir once more about 4 times again like you did before. Once you've done that, your going to keep the lid on the pot for 20 minutes on medium heat. If your stove has a dial that reaches 6, leave it on 3 or between 2-3. Over heated the pot can cause over cooking of the rice and the water evaporating to quickly before the rice gets a chance to soften.

After 20 minutes has past, check on your rice by softly tapping the surface with your wood spoon to see if it has soften. If you feel your rice needs to be a little softer, keep your lid on so the rice can steam. Be sure to check the side of the pot where the rice is on the edge, so you can see if you havent burned the rice.

If your rice just needs a little for softening but does not need more time on the stove. One trick is to crank up the stoves heat and let the steam rise with the lid on for a couple of seconds. Once steam has appeared. turn off the stove and remove the pot of rice from the stove to the side and let the steam sit inside the closed pot for 10 minutes. This can reassure than your rice has not burned and it can soften your rice perfectly.

Next, your rice should be perfect and ready to eat !

Dig in !

Thanks for reading !

Holy Moly ! Thats a Great Price for All Natural Baby Food !

Do you Have a Baby ? ... Do you want nothing for the best for him or her when it comes to Nutrition ?


Well if you noticed that baby food that is, all natural or in other words organic. It can be pretty pricey and when your baby gets a healthy apatite, that can also get pricey.

Some of the best baby foods on the stores shelf is Gerber, Beech Nut and Organics. But just for each of them a single 2 pack can cost a $1.50 and that's expensive compare to the leading store brands that offer the same amount for only a $1 a pack...but Wait no longer ! There is a better price out there that is much better in price and nutrition.

Most baby foods that are packed in plastic containers are high in sugar because it helps preserve the food much longer, giving it a longer shelf life. And anything in a can has high in sodium which is not good at all for a baby .

So to get the best food, that is closer to its natural state is organic food. But that's the most expensive of all and its usually Beech Nut that is nutritious.

At your local Big Lots store, there is Now Baby Food...and not only that. It is Beech Nut ! Usually one single jar is a dollar ! But at Big Lots you can receive 1 jar for 30 cents ! Holy Moly !...so for less than a $1..you can receive 3 jars for only 90 cents.

If you need diapers, wipes that are name brand and cheap in price...look no further ! Big Lots is the store that caries Pampers and Huggies.

And No !.. People!.. there is no catch and it is not going bad either. Sometimes stores like Target and Walmart get over stocked and have to sell there products at smaller local stores like Big lots. So go ahead and Google your local store and take a look see. Your baby will thank you for the great nutrition and your pocket wont burn a whole in your pants !



Thanks for Reading ! Muah ! ;)