New recipes for January

I have a goal for myself this year to try a new recipe every other week, or twice a month. So far we've tried two new things this month.

Last week I made Lambchops with Rosemary and Garlic. I had never used lamb chops before. We get some beef, pork and lamb given to us every fall through Ben's work and we never know what cuts we will get. It's always an adventure to find ways to use the things that are unfamiliar to us. We only had 4 chops and were running out of "W" sauce so I kind of winged it on the marinade and the flavor still turned out very strong so I can't imagine using the full amounts listed in the recipe. Over all we liked it and if I ever had lamb chops around again I'd make this recipe again. I don't know if it's how all lamb chops are or it was just the ones we had but there was not much meat on them as a whole. It was work to cut through and find the meat that was there. That might be a deterrent for me to go out and purchase lamb chops.

Last night I made Pioneer Woman Meatloaf . I have never ever made meatloaf. I have never ever liked meatloaf. But it seemed like a good way to use ground beef other than tacos or spaghetti sauce that the kids would eat and wasn't a casserole (I don't really like casseroles and Alex isn't a fan of lots of foods mixed up just like me when I was a kid).

Alex really liked it minus the bacon on top because the bacon wasn't crispy. Ben had the same comment. I liked it alright. Maya wouldn't eat it based on appearance alone but she's been extra picky lately.

Then Ben and I had it leftover today. Wow, it's so good leftover. I warmed it up in slices in a skillet. So good. Next time I might make it ahead of time so it sits in the fridge over night.

The only other modifications I would do: cook the bacon separate and crumble it on the top so it still have it's flavor but was crispy. I would also cut down on the brown sugar in the sauce. We use natural/organic ketchup which I think has a sweeter taste than the standard Huntz/Heinz. Combined with the recommended amount of brown sugar it was really sweet.

So I have already met my self imposed goal for January but I'm pretty sure there will be at least one more new recipe I'll try this month. We have a lamb roast and some ground lamb in the freezer that I have a few things in mind for.