As often happens when family comes for the holidaze, they tend to come and go in shifts.
Some came Wednesday morning and were staying through Saturday, others arrived Wednesday evening and left just after lunch on Friday; so aside from the big day on Thursday, I was looking for flexible recipes that would work whenever I got to tossing them together.
This recipe, original from Taste of Home, worked a treat for Friday lunch before some
folk needed to head home. I bumped up the original recipe by sneaking in extra veggies in the form of shredded cabbage (bagged coleslaw mix) – no one noticed – and, I made it all gluten-free by serving the fondue with toasted tots instead of chunks of French bread, so, bonus!
INGREDIENTS
•1-1/2 lb meatloaf mix (or ground beef)
•1/2 large sweet onion, diced
•1 cup shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix)
•2 tsp oregano
•1 tsp black pepper
•1/4 tsp garlic powder
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce – or your fave hot sauce, to taste
•2 jars pizza sauce
•2 cups shredded Cheddar/Jack cheese
•1 cup shredded Mozzarella
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Brown the meat over medium heat, breaking up the meat into small chunks, for a few minutes, then stir in the onion, shredded cabbage (trust me, no one will know you’ve added veggies), oregano and other seasonings, Sherry Peppers and hot sauce, and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through and most pan juices have been cooked off.
Drain well, then return to the pan along with the pizza sauce.
Cook for a few minutes, stirring every now and then, then reduce the heat to low add the cheeses, and stir until they have melted.
Transfer to your fondue pot and serve.
The Taste of Home recipe called for serving with bread sticks, garlic toast, or green pepper slices; but air fryer toasted tots (five or six minutes at 400º) worked a treat, and since they are gluten-free, this was a safe, tasty lunch for the whole crowd.