UrbnSpice

"A Taste Of Heart & Home"

Sandwiches

Unbeatable Meat Loaf – The Ultimate Comfort Food

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Urbnspice Ultimate Recipe Series

My daughters were both very involved in soccer during their childhood (continuously, for seventeen years), sometimes seven days a week during soccer season.   Needless to say, we were very busy parents, often delivering one daughter to a field before driving to the other side of the city for our other daughter’s practice or game.  As a working Mom, I needed to be extremely organized with meal prep for breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinners.  I developed strategies to make my busy week simpler with a freezer reserve of homemade meals, a repertoire of slow-cooker recipes and a selection of make-ahead meals prepared over the weekend.  One of our family favourites was this Unbeatable Meat Loaf.  

Sliced Meatloaf on a Wooden Board | urbnspice.com
Unbeatable Meatloaf – The Ultimate Comfort Food

We often had what we called ‘oven-meals’ on Sunday and meatloaf was a favourite comfort food of the kids.  The addition of scalloped or lemon potatoes, roasted butternut squash and an apple crisp made this oven meal wholesome and healthy for two very hungry, fit and growing girls.  Meatloaf is an excellent quick and easy make-ahead dish, which also keeps the budget in mind.  

Meatloaf can be popped into the oven immediately after mixing together, or prepared up until topping (see Method) and refrigerated until the next day. This recipe makes two family-sized free-form meatloaves – one to have now and one to freeze for later.  If you can resist eating it all, there should be leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches! 

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How to Make Your Own Herb and Spice Turkey Deli Meat

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The Confident Kitchen Series

One of my favourite deli lunch meats is thinly sliced turkey breast, which is one of the most expensive lunch meats available. After posting the Pork and Ham Lunch Loaf last month, I had a number of requests for additional lunch meat recipes that can easily be made at home for a fraction of the cost when compared to store bought luncheon meats. The recipe for Herb and Spice Turkey Deli Meat provides a simple technique that does not involve roasting. It is very economical to make an extremely high-quality product which is gluten free, grain free, dairy free and preservative free.

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Herb and Spice DIY Turkey Deli Meat | urbnspice.com

The Herb and Spice Turkey Breast Deli Meat is sliced thinly for sandwiches

COST ANALYSIS:

Store Purchased Turkey Deli Meat vs. my Make Your Own Turkey Deli Meat

  • Store Purchased Prepared Turkey Breast: $ 4.99/100 grams sliced Turkey Deli Meat or approximately $50.00/kg.
  • Make Your Own Turkey Deli Meat: Cost to purchase $15.41/kg of boneless raw turkey breast
  • #WOWSavings : $ 50.00 – 15.41 = $ 34.59 Savings on just 1 kg of lunch meat

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School Lunches – Oh, How Things Have Changed!

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Culinary Historians of CANADA 150 FOOD BLOG CHALLENGE SERIES

Featuring a Recipe for Pork and Ham Lunch Loaf

Prelude: I am a proud Canadian. When the Culinary Historians of Canada (CHC) invited food bloggers to participate in the “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge”, I knew that I wanted in! What a great way to celebrate and honour Canada’s 150th birthday by featuring a different Canadian dish or discussing a topic which reflects on what it means to be Canadian.  For the month of September, CHC invited food bloggers to share stories and recipes about the history of school food: lunchbox lunches, school cafeterias, or any related topic. This article is called: School Lunches – Oh, How Things Have Changed. I thought it would be fun to take a different approach to this post by writing about what my lunch was like when I was a child compared to what children take in their lunch kits today. To further capture yesterday and today, I will share with you a recipe for Pork and Ham Lunch Loaf, with a bit of history that I think you will enjoy.

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Pork and Ham Loaf | urbnspice.com

School Lunches:  Pork and Ham Lunch Loaf

It is interesting to note that school lunches when I was a kid were completely biodegradable. Our simple lunches consisted of a peanut butter and jam sandwich on homemade bread and a fruit. We did not even know that we were excellent environmental stewards by using wax paper wrapping and paper bags, and throwing all fruit and vegetable scraps into the compost bin or feed to the animals if you lived on a farm. Nowadays, children have special insulated lunch kits with ice packs, bento boxes, garbage-free packaging, completely nut-free options, and high-quality BPA-free water bottles. Oh, how things have changed over three generations.

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Grilled Double Cheese Bacon Sandwich

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UrbnSpice Ultimate Recipe Series

When I think of a grilled cheese sandwich, I think of kids. My daughters often tell me that when they were younger grilled cheese sandwiches were one of their most treasured food memories. It was always a hit before or after soccer practices (they played soccer six days a week).  They loved their grilled cheese sandwich fingers and warm cream of tomato soup, which they used as a dip for the crispy batons.  This recipe for Grilled Double Cheese Bacon Sandwich is a classic for little kids and big kids alike.  The addition of crispy bacon elevates the flavour and texture to a whole new level and is comfort food at its best.

The Grilled Double Cheese Bacon Sandwich is caramelized to a golden brown | urbnspice.com

The Grilled Double Cheese Bacon Sandwich is caramelized to a golden brown 

It takes time to make a great grilled cheese sandwich – allow at least 10 minutes with two flips on each side of the sandwich. Ensure you press down on the sandwich with a spatula so that the entire surface of the sandwich makes contact with the pan. The extra effort is worth it – you will be rewarded with a golden crispy crust and a ‘gorpy’ cheesy interior (my definition of ‘gorpy’ is gooey, chewy and tasty).

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