Loafin' Around.....

When the cold weather sets in, it always takes me back to my childhood comforts.....the flannel nightgowns trimmed in eyelet lace that my mother made for me, the soups on the stove, the fresh cannister of cocoa that always appeared in the pantry ready for cold, windy days, the cans of condensed milk ready for snow cream......and meatloaf!

I have to admit that I wasn't always a fan.....I'd have rather she used it to make plump, juicy hamburgers!  The meatloaf my Mom made was full of oats, breading and lots of onions topped with lots of ketchup....and I've never been a ketchup fan!

Well, the cold weather has set in and it seems that meatloaf has also conjured up some memories for Dennis.  He was craving meatloaf!  After requesting this entree (?) several times, I finally caved in and decided to serve it up.....my way!

I try very hard to stay away from carbohydrates (most of the time I fail!), so I went to work trying to figure out how I could pull off this meatloaf without it being so dry......and without the globs of ketchup (which lasts much longer around our house now that the kids are on their own).

I had some ground beef, but decided to make a run to the store for some ground pork to add to it.  I also scouted out what I had in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.....mushrooms, tomatoes, green onions and roasted red peppers from the pantry....score!  The vegetables should help keep the meatloaf moist versus using oatmeal!

Now....what to do about the ketchup!  While at the store scouting out the ketchup section, I noticed chili sauce....lots more flavor and not so sweet......score #2.

I used my food processor to grind up the veggies semi-fine and added them to the meat along with an egg. 
Then I formed it into a loaf on top of parchment paper on my baking sheet.....baked it until it was somewhat firm (nothing worse than firm, dried out meatloaf!) and served it up.  It was a hit!

Since I made so much, I decided to take half and freeze it.....NOT a score!

 There was plenty for dinner.......but, as I found out later, not enough for a meatloaf sandwich the next day (not for me, mind you.....remember, I TRY to eat bread only on special occasions....like weekends at Melinda's cabin and holidays!)

Since I'm not so much a meatloaf lover, I wasn't quite sure it was a hit until it was served.......it got rave reviews.....along with requests for more!  I have to admit, for meatloaf it was awesome.....the best I've ever had!