Meatloaf

Meatloaf is another of those foods that I've never really eaten but am deciding I might actually like. My mom used to make it, but the only meatloaf she liked was her own. Personally, there was just something about it that wasn't too appetizing. The first meatloaf I remember really trying and liking was at the Loveless Cafe (an experience that probably requires its own entry). Then I had it again this year at a potluck, so I decided to be brave and give it a shot. 

I have my mom's old recipes, so I figured that the best place to start would be close to home. I remembered seeing it made, but not paying too much attention to it. This was mistake number one!

I discovered that this recipe was a little different - rather than using bread crumbs as the binding, it used potato. Because I was too lazy to peel and grate my own potato I used a handful of frozen hash browns (this was, amazingly, not at all problematic). The rest of it seemed straightforward and everything seemed like it was coming together pretty nicely until I got to the last ingredient - one cup of scalded milk. 

I will probably never know how that ended up as a part of the recipe, but it didn't do anything but make a royal mess! I had to pour the whole thing into a loaf pan rather than just shaping it and putting it on a baking sheet. It all held together (enough to be sliced after baking, but it did NOT look pretty. It tasted pretty bland, too.

Jeff was a trooper and ate several slices (I just ate leftovers, after all the trouble i went to to make it, one bit was all I could stomach). When he went to re-heat the leftovers they started to fall apart. Because there wasn't a terribly strong flavor of anything, he added taco seasoning and turned it into taco salad.

I am not deterred though! I am going to try my hand at meatloaf again, only this time with a very different recipe.

Stay tuned for Meatloaf 2.0