Meatloaf

We went out of town for four days last weekend, so I intentionally let the food run out. I figured that I would make a run to the store when we returned. The only thing I did was pull a couple of pounds of ground beef out of the freezer and into the fridge. That way, we would have something to eat upon our return.

I decided to make meatloaf since we hadn't had it in a while. After I threw the meat in the bowl (with a little garlic, salt and pepper), I realized that we had no eggs. Instead I threw in the last of the milk, along with a finely minced bell pepper and diced onion. After mixing well, I found that I was also out of breadcrumbs... and crackers... and corn flakes. LOL! I smashed up the last of the garlic and cheese croutons and threw those in. Just for fun, I layered the top with bacon to keep it moist and add a little flavor. I baked at 350 until temp reached 170.

To go along, I made mashed potatoes. After I drained the potatoes, I discovered that I was out of milk. Duh. I used it in the meatloaf! I melted a stick of butter and substitued sour cream for the milk. There wasn't much left and when I added the potatoes, they were still too dry. I added another stick of butter, but it didn't help much. They tasted great though! I found a can of evaporated milk and ended up adding the entire thing. It may sound like a lot, but I made a lot of potatoes. A little salt, pepper, and chives and voila! After I was done, I remembered the can of stock in the cupboard. It would have been a healthier alternative to the two sticks of butter... Did I mention that they tasted great?

I made a cream sauce with bacon and green chile to go with... steamed veggies, too.

All in all, it was a rousing success. No leftovers and no complaints.

Comments

[HR Lady]

LOL -my best recipes come from last minute rush meals and improvisations. I've pulled the sour cream trick too -only luckily I did have a tiny little bit of milk to use too. And I always make tons of mashed potatoes -these two guys love my mashed potatoes.

I've got an excellent recipe for white chicken chili, (if you'd like to have it, e-mail me. it's kind of long, but very easy) which easily feeds a crowd -we usually get two to three meals from one batch, but there's only three of us and my 8 yr old eats like a bird.