Meatloaf

For dinner tonight I made meatloaf. Let me first say this: I don't like meatloaf. I don't really like ketchup all that much either. Cooked ground meat with ketchup and call it dinner? YUCK! But David likes meatloaf and I haven't made it for him ever. Evan was here tonight, so I made mashed potatoes and meatloaf for the boys. (Please note Nancy, we did have broccoli and brown rice with shrimp for lunch so I think it balances! ha)

You should also know how I cook. I hardly ever follow a recipe. I don't like to. It takes the fun out of creating. I do however watch hours upon ridiculous hours of Food Network. It's basically mindless, entertaining, educational, occasionally pretty funny and surprisingly it's light on cuss words and unnecessary nudity. So, it's on a lot when I'm around. I see a lot of things I'd like to try and then days or weeks later, I get in the kitchen and do my own versions. This is how I cook.

But to make meatloaf, I really needed a recipe. I googled and came across Ina Garten Meatloaf Recipe. It sounded good, so I decided to go with it. I bought 1 1/4lbs of beef and 1 1/4lbs of pork instead of just beef, because I couldn't image a meatloaf with only beef. Sorry Ina. I bought 3 onions like the recipe called for. But only used two (that was three cups). They were actually out of fresh thyme in our little grocery store, so I skipped that. I added a tablespoon of dried basil instead. It wasn't until I had the meatloaf in the oven that I realized, I didn't read the directions well enough and went ahead and put the 1/2 cup of ketchup IN the meat, not on it. I'm not used to using recipes! I bought the 79 cent can of tiny tomato paste and only used the Tbls it called for. I had that left over and no ketchup on top of the loaf, so I decided to make my own topping. I put the third diced onion in the pan and cooked it with salt, pepper, garlic and Worchestershire. I added the rest of the tomato paste, some chicken stock to keep it loose, ketchup and more dried basil. I made a ketchup/sauce/gravy to pour over the top of the meatloaf. DELICIOUS! "Grown-up ketchup" really.

It turned out really well. I was surprised. David gave it the tumbs up and Evan had two helpings. I think the onion mixture that Ina created to put into the meat really helped keep it moist. It seemed like a lot of onions, but it wasn't. It was really good! If you like meatloaf (or even if you don't, but someone you love does) you might want to give it a try. I'd highly recommend it. It takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to cook, plus prep time, so it's a little too time consuming for a week night for us. But a cool, Sunday, football watching type day - perfect!

Grandmommy, I tried to make your rolls tonight too. They turned out like little hockey pucks. Anything tastes okay warm right out of the oven with melted butter on it - even hockey pucks. So, David politely ate a couple. That was my baking attempt for the year I'm sure.