Cooking with the Authors- Open Book Blog Hop

Do you like to read? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the MMB Open Book Blog Hop each Wednesday and they will tell all. Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.

 If you came by way of Stephany Tullis's blog, glad you survived the hop over here! Did you check out her books while you were there? If not here's your chance..Stephany's books  But don't forget to come back when you've had a look-see!

This week's top is food: share a recipe or two and why you love it. Where did you get the recipe or from whom?

I'm not a fancy cook. I like to keep things simple and easy.I also don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I have other things to do—like write my next book. (Hint: The Free Wolves are back!) But I'm a fan of comfort food, and this recipe will do the trick. I actually forget where this recipe came from—no, it's not an old family recipe, I think I found it in the Intranet.

Preheat oven to 350°

Ingredients:

1½ lbs hamburger

1 egg

1 pkg dried beefy mushroom soup

1 cup bread crumbs (or substitute crushed saltine crackers)

1/3 cup water

2 cans condensed Golden Mushroom soup

Mix the above ingredients. If you want to make a slightly smaller amount, use 1 lb meat, and use only about ¾ cup breadcrumbs while leaving everything else the same. I usually don’t change the amount of water. If you want a little extra zing, add about 1/2 of a green bell  pepper.

Put the mixture into an 8×13 pan (or smaller if you want) and form into a loaf. Use one can of the condensed soup to coat the loaf. The original recipe I had said to do this halfway through cooking, but I do it before I put the meat in the oven and it works out great.

Total cook time for the meat is 1 hr. Ten minutes before the meat is done, it’s time to make the gravy with the other can of soup. Put the condensed soup in a saucepan and add about ½ can of water. Take the meatloaf out of the oven and add the drippings from the pan to the soup mixture. (if you're using lean burger there won't be much in the way of drippings. That's okay.) Return the meatloaf to the oven and finish cooking.

Heat the soup/water/drippings mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally. This will be your gravy.

Serve with garden salad, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable of your choice, and you’ve got an easy meal. You’ll notice it uses no tomato, which is great for folks with “delicate” stomachs, but you don’t lose any flavor.

Fair warning: the hardest part of this recipe is finding the Golden Mushroom soup. Not everyone carries it. So plan ahead and keep your eyes peeled when you're in the soup section of your favorite grocery store.

Now, because of the cook time, I usually only make this recipe during cold weather, which means I haven't made it for awhile. But just remembering how good it tastes has my mouth watering. Happy eating!

To find out was PJ Fiala is cooking, head over to her blog at PJ Fiala, Don't forget to check out her book page while you're there. And maybe we'll see you back next week.