Loaf of Meat

My mom is one of the nicest people I know. I couldn’t ask for a better mother. She does however, have a bit of a mean streak that ever so seldom seems to sneak out.

I am not a big fan of mixing my foods. For some reason the thought of casseroles are just not that appealing to me. As kids, my brother and I wouldn’t eat casseroles. This was much to the demise of my dad. He grew up in the Midwest where casseroles are a dinner staple.

Now in my logic a meatloaf is a type of casserole. The thought of it kind of disgusts me. I absolutely refused to eat it. It was not a dinner option thanks to me and my brother.

On a side note, one time I went away to camp where meatloaf was on the dinner menu once a week. I was forced to eat a few bites otherwise I would have starved to death but once home I again refused to eat the stuff.

Fast forward about 20 years, and think about my mom’s mean streak. She thought that it would be a great idea to teach me her famous meatball recipe. I love her meatballs. I never learned how to make them since I get grossed out by touching raw beef. Living far away though meant I had to get over that if I ever wanted to have meatballs on a regular basis. As she was showing me the ingredients she puts in to the meat balls. She stopped and chuckled (insert meanness here). Her comment was the meatball recipe was basically her meatloaf recipe in ball form. Then she went on to say that she always thought it was very amusing how I refused to eat meatloaf but would happily scarf down the meatballs. Thanks mom!

Well fast forward a couple more years and here I am making meatloaf. I am not sure what changed in my mind but suddenly a loaf of meat sounds like a fantastic idea. (It could have been the beautiful pictures from Kath that changed my mind.)

Turns out, Mr. J loves the stuff. The first rendition wasn’t as pretty as I had hoped but it sure did taste good. I guess I need to start making it on a regular basis.

Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf- A.K.A 'Basic' Meat Loaf

Adapted from Paula Dean
Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Topping:
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix all meatloaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf.