The Life of a Meat Loaf

There's no telling where some of my menu planning ideas and inspirations will come from. Some are based on great sales at the grocery store. Some are based on yearnings and memories from the past. Some are based on items I have on hand and reworking leftovers. Some are inspired by another blog, a magazine, or a cookbook. Whatever combination of forces were at work, I decided to make a meatloaf.

I am going to give a recipe, which is really a guideline or map. Making a meatloaf is not like baking a cake. The ingredients are very flexible and it should be fearless. The recipe calls for fresh bread crumbs but I had a couple of leftover croissants and diced them up instead. The recipe does not call for bell pepper, but I had half a red one on hand, so I chopped it up and added it to the mix. The recipe asks for milk, but I had some heavy cream leftover from a dessert, so I used it. I had a couple slices of leftover cooked bacon, so crumbled it over the top before adding the topping. Oh, and I had a few tablespoons of chili sauce and added that for kicks. I think you get the idea.

House Meatloaf

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground sirloin
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. mustard
• 2 tsp. worchestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Topping
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. mustard
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Combine all ingredients except ground sirloin and mix well. Crumble and mix in the ground sirloin but do not overwork. Place the mixture into a greased loaf pan, smooth the top, and spread with topping mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

The next day we had meatloaf sandwiches. Buttered whole wheat bread, a generous slice of cold meatloaf, sliced Vidalia onions, crisp lettuce. Yum.

On the third day, I still had some meatloaf--we are only two people after all. That's when I came up with the kooky idea to make a meatloaf pizza! I had a leftover baked potato in the fridge and decided to slice it on the pizza as well. It came out very tasty if I do say so myself.