Mango Mania

Guess what? It's mango season!

No, not the Mango as played by Chris Kattan on SNL for many seasons.  I'm talking about these tasty guys:

A couple of months ago I moved into a new apartment with three mango trees on its property.  The biggest and most fruitful tree is right outside my bedroom window, so I have the pleasure of hearing them drop from the branches and hit my roof with a *thud.*  Now that it's the peak of mango season, this happens constantly - especially during rain and wind storms!  So, what do I do with them?  Well, to be honest I usually have to throw them away because I can't eat them fast enough!  Or, I have to convince the neighbors to take some.  Either way, I'm growing tired of the waste so I'm now looking into delicious mango recipes!  I'm past the whole mango salsa trend - although I will admit it's my favorite kind of salsa - and various methods of baking mangoes into bread mixes.

That's why this recipe got me super excited: MANGO GINGERSNAPS (as based on a recipe from The Great Mango Book by Allen Susser).  All you need are 9 ingredients and 45-60 minutes of prep & cooking time.  Sounds super easy!  Plus, I already have most of the ingredients; just need a couple more things before I start!  Will update after baking :)


UPDATE: So, the cookies do take a little bit of elbow grease but I ended up making HALF the recipe and baking 50+ cookies!  Granted they were teaspoon-ful scoops of batter, but it was definitely worth it!  They didn't turn out with a huge mango flavor, and they didn't even exactly *snap* like gingersnaps.  However, I would recommend this recipe and add to it (Of course... You know me, always gotta change it up!):


Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon over the batter balls before baking - they come out beautifully!

Not Yo Mama's Meatloaf!

This recipe was inspired by a low-carb cookbook that featured a very promising meatloaf recipe. Unfortunately, that day I had few ingredients to match the book's recipe, so I opted to substitute almost everything with something somewhat equivalent in savoriness that I already had in my fridge (read: I was cleaning the fridge of leftovers!). The result? A delicious, super low-carb, semi-lean protein meal! No pictures, sorry - but trust me, this "dump" dish is super tasty!

What you need:

• 1/2 lb cooked venison sausage
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 grilled medium eggplant*
• 1/4 grilled medium red pepper*
• 1/4 grilled portabella mushroom*
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup korean sweet bbq sauce**

* These items do not necessarily need to be grilled before dumping into your meatloaf. Again, this recipe is based on leftovers found in the fridge; follow as meticulously or as carelessly as you like!
** Can't find it?  Also known as Bulgolgi sauce, Koreans are known for slathering it on meat!  Check your grocer's international food section, or look up an asian grocery store in your area.  Unless you live in say, rural Montana, you'll most likely have one nearby.

What you do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Dice up all your grilled veggies, then toss in with all other ingredients except for Korean BBQ sauce. Use your hands to combine.
• Lightly spray a small loaf pan with cooking spray (canola or olive oil). Pack meat mixture into loaf pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle on more parmesan if you'd like!
• Place loaf pan into oven, cook for 10 min. Remove loaf pan from oven and brush one thick coat of Korean BBQ sauce. Be sure to slather the sauce enough to drip down the sides of the loaf pan. Return to oven for additional 10 min.
• Remove loaf pan again and coat with the rest of the BBQ sauce. Set broiler and let broil for 5 min; this will caramelize the sauce and render a beautiful crust on the meatloaf!
• Remove loaf pan once more and let rest 10 min before serving.

What you get:

• Yields about 3 servings (or just 2 if you're going for seconds!)
• A very happy boyfriend! Well, that's what I got :)