Meatloaf

Last night was a pretty easy meal and I got the recipe here.  I used grated potatoes, not frozen hashbrowns.  It wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it's cheap and quick!  I guess I just don't get that excited about too many fish recipes, which is why I didn't blog last night.  I"ll have to get more adventurous on Fridays.

Tonight we had good old meatloaf!  I don't know if I've ever had meatloaf anywhere but my mom's house, so I don't know if this is how everyone makes it, or if it's some Filipino version of meatloaf.  Maybe someone can comment at the end of the post and let me know if it's the weirdest recipe they've ever seen, or it's pretty standard.  It comes from a book by Nora V. Daza who I guess was like the Rachel Ray of the Philippines back when my mom was learning how to cook.

Meatloaf is a funny sort of dish.  I think it's characteristically American right?  I don't remember hearing a lot about meatloaf or ever seeing it on a menu when I lived in Vancouver (Canada), but I don't think I talked about food much with anyone else than my family.  But there seem to be funny feelings surrounding the dish.  I'm not sure exactly what it is.  Maybe it's a love it or hate it sort of dish?  Or maybe a if you get it right then it's really good, but if you get it wrong it's really, really bad?  I don't know.  It's a mystery to me.  But in this house, we love meatloaf.  I like to think I get it really, really right.  Here's the recipe, so you can replicate the meatloaf and prove me wrong if you want.



Meat loaf de luxe
adapted from "Let's Cook with Nora" by Nora V. Daza

(The original recipe uses something called Liberty milk.  I have no idea what that is, but I used regular milk.  The original also uses bacon, but my mom usually flavors it with bbq sauce, so that's what I stuck with.)   

Ingredients
1c soft bread cut into pieces
1/2 c onion minced
1lb ground country sausage
1lb ground beef
1 egg beaten
3/4 milk
1/3c barbecue sauce (I mix ketchup, molasses, garlic powder, pepper, and dijon mustard.  Sometimes I add hot sauce if we want it spicy!)
salt and pepper to taste


Method
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together milk, egg, bread, onion, and salt and pepper.  I use my hands and do a lot of squishing.

2.  Add ground beef and country sausage and keep squishing until everything is well combined.

3.  Mix in 3 tbsp of bbq sauce and spread meat mixture into a loaf pan.

4.  Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours.  Drain off fat.  Serve with the remainder of the bbq sauce.

Sorry, no pics of the process tonight.  I should have enlisted Jon's help to take photos because the process involves a lot of squishing and messy hands.  Here's a pic of the finished product though!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
Dear God,

thank you for family recipes and the stories that go along with them.  Help us to be thankful for the spiritual nourishment you give us in the Eucharist every time we sit down at our own family table for a hearty meal.  Amen.