Did I ever show you this?
I don’t think I did. This is the quilt I made for the new baby in the family. A nice, simple, basic, old-fashioned Winnie-ther-Pooh print, and some soft cotton flannel. Yummy and soft. Easy-Peasy to make, and done in a flash. Well, okay- it took me two weeks to make, but that’s because I took my time and broke it up into steps. And the binding gave me some trouble, so I had to rip out the stitches and do it again. ahem.
Now I need one. No, seriously- this is the best thing I’ve ever made, and I want one in my size, pronto. Except it’s summer, and 80 degrees in the shade, and I am running the air conditioner just to bake a meatloaf for dinner tonight. Ack!
Meatloaf you say? Yes, I did. Want to know how to make one? Here’s how:
2 packages of ground beef- this can also be made with ground turkey, it’s yummy either way. I bought a 1.75 lb and an 1.80 lb package. We are making enough meatloaf for two weeks- it’s part of the Summer Plan. You’ll see how later on.
1 large onion, minced.
4 medium carrots, minced.
2 large stalks of celery, minced.
2 packages sliced white mushrooms, minced.
I washed, peeled, sliced and chopped all these as appropriate to it’s condition, then threw them into the food processor and blitzed them a few times, then dumped it all together into the biggest bowl I could find. And yes, I washed my mushrooms- they were dirty! Let them sit over the sink in a colander, and they don’t get mushy.
4 slices of bread- including the heel, and the crusts. I like the crust! It adds color, and tastes good. Blitz them too into fine crumbs, add a quarter of a cup of milk and stir until all the crumbs are good and soaked, then add them to the bowl of vegetables.
Now, stir everything together well, divide into two equal parts and put them into two separate bowls. We’re working with a lot of meat, and it’ll be too big to fit into one bowl- plus, it’ll be easier to combine.
To each bowl of vegetable/bread mixture add two beaten eggs, a quarter of a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, a teaspoon of steak and chop spice mix, and a half a teaspoon of dried thyme. Add a package of ground beef to each bowl, and mix thoroughly. I like to take off my rings, wash my hands, and just get in there! It will be really wet at first, but just mix everything together well, then shape it into a ball.
Now grab a cutting board and lay out your foil onto it- about double the length of the board should do it. Turn the meat out onto this and shape it a long rectangle, about two inches thick. You want a big long shape, to take advantage of the amount of meatloaf mix, but not too high or it will crack and cook unevenly. Wrap the extra foil over the top and seal all the edges. Leave the whole thing on the cutting board, set the two packages side by side, and place the whole kit-and-caboodle in the freezer. Voila! Dinner in the freezer.
So, what do you do with two gigantic meatloaves? Well, first off it will take almost two hours to cook them, so plan accordingly. I start them at 45 minutes, then start basting them with the pan juices (make sure you give them a half a cup of water in the pan to get those lovely juices going, too). My first one was done in about an hour and a half. I like to cook them off in the cool of the morning, then slice off servings and pan fry them in the evening. Served with mashed potatoes and orange glazed carrots, that’s your basic meat-and-potatoes-meal. Next, I fry slices in a pan and serve them in sub rolls with cheese melted over the top and drenched in marinara sauce for meatball subs. Then, I use some slices for spaghetti and meatballs. Ohh, I’m getting hungry! And that’s three meals from one recipe!
Now, I paid about 12 dollars for two packages of meat this Sunday. Yikes! But- that made enough meatloaf for 6-7 meals for two people! That’s about a dollar a meal. And that’s pretty good for the first week of summer, I’d say! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meatloaf sandwich to put together for my lunch…
