Big Family Meat Ball

My kids like meatloaf, but most of the time the way it looks turns them off, or maybe it is just the name of it. I don't know. I make it in a similar way to the way I make meatballs, they should love it. But it often goes over like a ton of bricks. No pun intended.

So may I present to you, the family sized meatball! It is really just a round meatloaf, but shhhhh, I wont tell if you don't. Serve it with pasta if that helps.

2 pounds of chop meat (turkey, sirloin or the meatloaf mix you see in the store)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 small onion, sauteed to soften it up a bit.
1 sleeve of crushed saltines, or ritz or whatever crackers or breadcrumbs you have on hand, about 2 1/2 cups.
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mush it all together in a medium sized bowl. When mixed, push into the bowl and flatten the top, then invert the bowl onto a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 f oven for one hour or until cooked through.

I like a glaze of 1 cup Ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 T mustard and 2 T vinegar, spread over the top for the last 10 minutes of cooking, but my kids don't like it that way, so I usually leave it off.

Serve with mashed potatoes, and a vegetable. Or with Pasta to sell it.

London Broil

What are you cooking for Friday night? Here's what we are having.

London Broil

Really, London Broil is a name for a kind of cooking, but it has come to be known as a cut of meat. Usually a one inch thick steak of top round. This is how I make it:

1 london broil
3 sweet onions
2 T Butter
2 T Olive Oil
2/3 C Soy Sauce
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup Worcester sauce
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1 t flour


Trim all connective tissue off meat and using a sharp knife make slits in the meat every few inches on both sides. This helps the marinade to penetrate the meat. In a small bowl mix lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, Worcester sauce, cumin, hot pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Add meat to a ziplock bag and pour in marinade. Place in fridge for a few hours or over night. You can even do this and freeze the meat, this way when you defrost it it is busy marinading. I often do this when I first get it home from the store, then I don't have to think about it when I am ready to use it.

There are many ways to cook a london broil. You can Broil it. Grill it. Or as I do, cook it in a cast iron skillet.


Cut up 2 or 3 sweet onions and caramelize them. Cut onions into slices. In cast iron skillet melt 2 T butter and 2 T Olive oil. Over a medium heat, saute onions till translucent. Then lower heat to Medium Low and cook for 40/ 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can do this earlier in the day and set aside in the fridge.

Heat skillet, pat the meat till it isn't drenched in marinade, and cook on each side for 6-8 minutes. This can vary depending on how rare you like it, and how thick your meat is. If it is more than an inch thick, you may want to sear both sides and finish it off in the oven at 350F for 10 minutes or so.

Let the meat sit for 5 minutes. The using a sharp knife cut in thin strips, against the grain and place on a platter.

When it is cooked I make a pan sauce. I deglaze the pan with a drop of red wine. Scraping with my wooden spoon to lift all the flavor from the pan. Then I add the rest of the marinade back into the pan. If I need more liquid, I add some beef broth. Add a teaspoon of flour and cook for 3 minutes, make sure you get the liquid to bubble before you lower the temp for maximum thickening. Now add the caramelized onions, stir and pour over the sliced meat.

I think I may make those pop overs again to serve with it, and some potatoes and broccoli.