Italian Cheese Loaves Recipes

CHRISTMAS APPETISER: ITALIAN CHEESE LOAF

Steps:

• Spray a loaf pan with oil then line with cling wrap with overhang.
• Mix Cheese Log ingredients together. Taste and adjust salt if needed (bear in mind saltiness of crackers you are serving with).
• Scrape into loaf pan and level surface, pressing to remove air pockets. Smaller pan = taller loaf.
• Cover with cling wrap overhang and refrigerate for 4 hours+ (up to 1 week).
• Turn out onto platter, peel off cling wrap.
• Top with sun dried tomato and pour over oil. Garnish with parsley and rosemary sprigs to give it a festive look.
• Best to serve closer to room temp than fridge cold. Serve with crackers! Knives for smearing optional - it's soft enough to scoop with crackers.

ITALIAN CHEESE-STUFFED MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in ground beef, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, salt, pepper, garlic and 1/2 cup of the pizza sauce until well combined.
• On large sheet of foil, shape beef mixture into 12x10-inch rectangle. Top evenly with provolone cheese, roasted peppers and olives to within 1/2 inch of edges. Starting with one 10-inch side, roll up; press seam to seal. Place seam side down in pan.
• Bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven; spoon remaining pizza sauce over loaf. Insert meat thermometer so bulb reaches center of loaf.
• Return to oven; bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until loaf is thoroughly cooked in center and thermometer reads 160°F. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

ITALIAN CHEESE LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cut top half off loaf of bread. Carefully hollow out both halves of loaf, leaving a 1/2-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). , Combine remaining ingredients. Spoon into bottom half of bread, mounding as necessary; replace top. Wrap in foil. Bake until cheese is melted, about 25 minutes. Slice and serve warm.

AIR FRYER CHEESE-STUFFED MINI ITALIAN MEATLOAVES

Steps:

• Combine milk, pesto, egg, garlic, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add ground beef and bread crumbs and combine, being careful not to overmix.
• Divide meat mixture into 4 portions. Press a well into each portion, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Place 2 slices pepperoni into each well, overlapping to cover the length of the well. Top each with 1/4 of the mozzarella balls. Press meat mixture around the filling to enclose; form each portion into an oblong loaf shape. Place loaves into the air fryer basket, in batches.
• Cook in the air fryer at 370 degrees F (190 degrees C) until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the meat reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 15 minutes. Serve meatloaves topped with warm marinara sauce and fresh basil.

ITALIAN MEAT LOAVES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, bread crumbs, milk, 1/2 cup cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Crumble pork over mixture and mix well. Shape into 10 individual loaves. , Place on a rack in a greased large shallow baking pan. Spread ketchup over loaves; sprinkle with remaining cheese and Italian seasoning. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-55 minutes until a thermometer reads 160°.

ITALIAN MINI MEAT LOAVES WITH MAC AND THREE CHEESES

Steps:

• Put a large pot of water on to boil for pasta. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place meat in a bowl. Make a well in meat. Fill well with egg, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup cheese, peppers, onions, garlic, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Mix meat and breading and form 4 individual oval meat loaves, 1-inch thick. Coat loaves with extra-virgin olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Roast 18 to 20 minutes.
• When the pasta water boils, salt water and add pasta. Cook until slightly undercooked ? pasta will continue to cook when combined with cheese sauce.
• Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour. Whisk in milk. Bring to a bubble. Thicken milk, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cheeses: Cheddar, asiago, 1/2 cup Parmesan and black pepper. Stir to melt cheeses. Drain pasta and combine with melted cheese sauce and transfer to a flameproof baking dish or casserole. Place bread crumbs in a bowl and add extra-virgin olive oil and herbs to bread crumbs. Top pasta with bread crumbs. Place under a broiler and brown bread crumbs. Serve cheese and pasta alongside meat loaf.

CHEESE STUFFED ITALIAN MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, stir together the egg, breadcrumbs (I whir herbed dry stuffing mix in my food processor to make these), garlic, and 1/2 cup pasta sauce until well-mixed.
• Add remaining ingredients (except the garnish), and mix together well (I do the whole thing in my sturdy KitchenAid mixer, which works quite well).
• Put into a large loaf pan, top/garnish with additional pasta sauce (I like a*lot* of sauce and so use about a half-cup, but three or four tablespoons would do, too), and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
• Serve with rice, spaghetti, or scalloped potatoes.

MINI ITALIAN MEAT LOAVES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into six loaves. , Place in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Spoon tomato sauce over loaves. , Bake 15 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a thermometer reads 160°. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with pasta if desired.

ITALIAN MINI LOAVES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup flour, sugar, yeast, garlic salt, Italian seasoning and parsley. In a saucepan, heat milk, water and 1 tablespoon butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough; beat until smooth. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into thirds; shape into loaves. Place in three greased 5-3/4x3x2-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes. , Melt remaining butter; brush over dough. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

ITALIAN CHEESE-STUFFED MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375º. Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in ground beef, crumbs, parmesan, basil, salt, pepper, garlic and 1/2 CUP PIZZA SAUCE until well combined.
• On large sheet of foil, shape beef into 12x10 inch rectangle.
• Top evenly with provolone, roasted peppers and olives to within 1/2 inch of edges.
• Starting with one 10-inch side, roll up; press seam to seal. Place seam side down in pan.
• Bake 40 minutes.
• Remove from oven; spoon remaining pizza sauce over loaf.
• Return to oven, bake 15-20 minutes longer or until loaf is thoroughly cooked in center and thermometer reads 160º. This may take longer, so please use the thermometer!
• Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
• Serve with additional heated sauce, if desired.

CHEESE LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan.
• Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and cheese in a large bowl. Mix in milk and melted butter. Stir to form a soft dough. Spoon dough into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 34 to 40 minutes. Remove from pan to cool.