And the Day After.

I'm really wishing I'd though to do more than grab desserts on the way out of my MIL's house, but only having three hours of sleep might have had something to do with my lack of forethought. Here it is, the day after Thanksgiving and I have no leftovers to munch on. No stuffing to heat up and pour left over gravy all over. No cranberry sauce. No cold turkey sandwich. It's just sad...especially since I really, really want stuffing. A lot! I don't know why, but it was so good this year...better than it normally is. I think it has something to do with the fact that my MIL made it in a baking pan rather than muffin cups, so there was still some softer, mushier goodness inside the crispy, buttery stuffing crust. So GOOD! Just thinking about it is making me hungry.

Actually, I'm just hungry in general, mostly because I can smell the meatloaf I have roasting in the oven all throughout my house and it's making my belly grumble. Now, when I was younger, I hated meatloaf. Hated it with a passion beyond belief. Then again, my mother's meatloaf could quite easily turn off even the most staunch meatloaf supporter. It was always dry and flavorless (as my mom, who hated cooking, would just dump an egg, some salt, pepper, and too many Italian Seasoned breadcrumbs into the meat), and was topped with a not spiced up at all tomato paste. Oh don't get me wrong, I ate it. In my house, you ate what was put in front of you, and that was that. But it didn't mean I liked it. In fact, I also had a bit of a resentment harbored towards it because growing up on the poor side, meant that if you wanted meat in your meal, it was usually one of those icky, super-dry meatloaves. Depressing.

However, all that changed the first time I ate meat loaf at my MIL's. No tomatoey topping here, no sir. And dry? Hardly! It was the most moist, delicious meatloaf I'd ever tasted, and when I first moved out on my own with my then gf and now DW, I begged her for the recipe - which she happily divulged. And since I'm going on and on about it on here, I think I'll share the recipe.

Debbie's Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 can Cream of Celery Soup
1/2 c minced onion
2 eggs
1 c dry bread crumbs - UNSEASONED
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix together all the ingredients except for the beef, making sure they're blended thoroughly. Add the meat, and squish together with your clean hands (or you can be non-messy and use a spoon or something...I just find you get a better, more blended result by using your hands), until all the ingredients are blended well with the beef. Form the mixture into a loaf on a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half.

Simple, right? Incredibly! Serve it up with some brown gravy, mashed 'taters and some kind of vegetable and you have yourself a meal - sans that tomatoey ickiness that I hate on my meat loaf. This recipe would probably be delicious if you put barbecue sauce on top and maybe added some cheddar cheese in there as well too. (Mmm...that does sound good, maybe next time I'll try that!).

Now, I don't actually just put it on a baking sheet in a loaf-like shape. I have a small casserole dish that I put it in, but then again, I cut the recipe in half. Leave the recipe the way it is, and it'll serve 6-8 people, cut it in half and it'll serve 2-4 people. It's an easy recipe to double up on, or half, and it really is tasty.

No pictures right now, because I don't have a finished meatloaf to snap a photo of...yet. When it comes out of the oven though, I'll add in a picture so you can see what it looks like. :)

If you try this, I hope you enjoy!

And I also hope that all you people that do have Turkey Day leftovers...I hope you enjoy them as well. And possibly do a little happy dance for me as you bite into that bit of leftover stuffing...just once. Please?