Monday, August 24, 2009

menu planning monday: a funny story about meatloaf

this is our first full week of school for both BigGirl and DaddyHall. and, it's BigGirl's first week of soccer practice. plus, DaddyHall won't be home for dinner two nights this week. and on top of all that, we'll be out of town Friday.

with all that in consideration, i planned our menu accordingly.

that's what Moms do. we plan, we adapt, we arrange and do what's best for our families.

monday: deli sandwiches and baked potatoes (using last week's left over hoagie bread)
tuesday: meatloaf and garden veggies (BigGirl's request)
wednesday: macaroni & cheese (Annie's brand, of course)
thursday: family night, dining out
friday: dinner at Grandma's

when we found out we were pregnant with BigGirl, along with our first Babies R Us shopping spree, my parents gave us a cookbook. "Gone to Texas, Heritage Recipes Volume II." they had given my brother's and sister's, and some friends of the family the same cookbook as gifts earlier in the year. my mom said it was one of her favorites, that she'd dog-earred several yummy recipes in the book herself.

a few weeks into owning the cookbook, i decided to try one of the recipes inside. this one looked easy and delicious:

"Meat Loaf (Max's Famous)" submitted by Max Harrell of Victoria, Texas
1 egg
1 lg onion
1 lg bell pepper chopped (i don't use)
1/2 c. milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
2 slices brown bread cut in small pieces
cayenne pepper to taste (i don't use)

mix all ingredients and then prepare sauce. pour half the sauce into the meat loaf and mix well. put meat mixture into loaf pan and pour remaining sauce on top. bake 1 hour at 350degsF.

sauce
1 4oz can tomato sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt

stir well and simmer 5 minutes.

halfway into making my meatloaf it occurred to me. heywaitaminute...isn't this MEATloaf? looks like Max of Victoria forgot to list the key ingredient in his famous recipe! i laughed out loud and called my mom right away to laugh with her about it. to think that i probably was not the first or only one to start this recipe and be struck with confusion. i wrote really big on the page "don't forget the meat!" and i giggle every time i see it. anytime we're talking about meatloaf, someone always remembers this story and says 'don't forget the meat!'

with the meat, this is mine and my family's favorite meatloaf recipe. for more Menu Plans visit OrgJunkie.com.