2.24.2010

i would do anything for loaf

if you recall, tuesday night is date night and jesse under the confines of frugal february we now cook together as part of our dates rather than going out. this has as added bonus because cooking together creates both the date meal and the date activity. cause we're cocky like that, we often will try a challenging or new recipe on these nights. the first date dinner after the great pantry purge found us having meatloaf on the docket last night. what we made can be described as sex in loaf form (we love our food here on team dukes).
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i have never been much of a meatloaf kind of girl. this is ironic because i now walk around with two meaty loaves on the sides of my legs that some call "ample hips." my commodious rump aside, i have recently found a renewed interest in this scion of vintage american cookery. join me, won't you?
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my mom is ridiculous. she's a giver. she's also a re-gifter, but that's neither here nor there right now (but it was when i got a dachshund brooch in my christmas stocking when i was 17). growing up, a huge box in her closet was always filled with gifts that had no specific destination. she would stockpile these when she found great deals and save them for later. but these weren't reserved for just christmas or birthdays. i could not go to a sleepover without taking the host's mother a little care package, as if to say, "i realize it takes effort to tolerate my feral presence in your house, here, clutch this ralph lauren coin purse for comfort whilst i run amok in your laundry room." i was the ONLY 9th grader to play santa to my teachers on christmas, valentine's day and the last day of school, ferrying parcels of cocoa mix, soap on a rope, and delicious jams and jellies from home to bus to each and every class. while it can be embarrassing to be the middle man in these displays of lurid generosity (oh, keight, your science teacher had a smooth bowel movement?!?! here, take him this mallard umbrella to congratulate him) i know that being on the receiving end of my mom's giving feels great. i jest because i love. i hope she never ever changes this habit.

i don't always appreciate what she's giving

so meatloaf. right. whenever g-ma comes down to watch judah she invariably brings 1 or 2 frozen home-made meals for us. this is pampering to the max. she is already providing us free 100% trustworthy childcare and then on top of that she showers her AMAZING cooking upon us. she's the gift that keeps on giving. well, recently one of the meals left us with was her meatloaf. damn it's good. i remembered that she had sent me this recipe awhile back (when i had tricked her into thinking i was domesticated and actually cooked our meals rather than just buying or heating them pre-made...silly her). so i searched my gmail archives for key-word "worcestershire" (because "meatloaf" would return too many unrelated results) and blammo, there it was. now, she sent me this in october of 2007, which was a few months before my parents went off the healthy deep-end so i'm sure she has since revamped this particular recipe to have 87 grams of fiber, a bushel of antioxidants and a freshly plucked hair from the head of suzanne somers in every serving.
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g-ma's gift that keeps on giving meatloaf:

1 pound of ground turkey
1 pound of ground pork
1/4 cup of chili powder (i about had an aneurysm when i read that, but it's not spicy at all in the finished product...but you can use less if you're scared)
1/4 cup worcestershire
1/4 cup of ketchup
3 slices of bacon (optional)
2 eggs
1 T salt
1 T crushed red pepper
1T cumin
1 T liquid smoke (in the marinade section)
4 pieces of toast, crushed (or sub. about 1 1/2 cups of breadcrumbs)
1 small onion chopped
1 T minced garlic
minced mushrooms (however much you want, i used a whole bag of cooked frozen 'shrooms)


-preheat oven to 350

while it's cooking it's best to let your child get in the habit of playing with the oven (it's like he knew i was granting his wish)
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-in a large bowl mix with hands all ingredients (minus the bacon)

-pam a 9x13 baking dish.

-form into a oblong shape; top with bacon (cut each strip in half and lay crossways)

-cover with foil and bake for 1.5 hours

-top with a glaze--i made a yummy one of ketchup, worcestershire, liquid smoke and texas pete, but you could just use plain ketchup or bbq sauce if your prefer--about 20 minutes before it's done. i put the glaze above and below the bacon before popping it back in for the final 20.

*the loaf can be made up the night before and put in refrigerator to cook the next day.


the finished product with from-scratch cornbread and zucchini wedges (that got mutilated by paprika). store bought mashed potatoes not shown

it's a bunch of meat ensconced in bacon...what could be bad about it? well aside from the fact that this is about 15 servings. excuse me while i go have this for lunch for the next 2 weeks.
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the catch to this entire post is that i didn't actually get to cook this WITH jesse. why? you ask. well on monday night he was complaining about really needing to toot. his left abdomen was hurting and it felt like a gas bubble when he breathed in deep or sneezed. by yesterday it was still really bothering him even though he had, you know, evacuated the dance floor by then, so he wanted to go to the doctor. this is an event and a red flag in itself because jesse NEVER goes to the doctor. he is the strapping picture of health and even when he gets a cold he always to toughs it out and has never needed more than over the counter aid to get back on his feet. well our doctor (who he has never even seen since we made her our primary care physician 3 years ago) couldn't see him until thursday, so we decided he should go to urgent care (cheaper copay than the real ER). turns out...kidney stones!
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jesse has had the honor of passing these granulated devils once before and has indicated that it is no tea party. unless you typically invite deranged maniacs to your tea parties (insert apropos topical republican joke here) who proceed to stab you in the back with knives. he had a CT scan done today (geez, i feel left out) to decide if the stones, which are still in his kidneys at this point, are small enough to let him pass on his own or if they need to be sonic blasted to bits before they make their happy little way down the ureter trail of tears. until we hear back, jesse has vicodin and an oblong wad of tasty meats to see him through. i may be playing the role of "labor coach" to poor sweet husbo in the coming days as he prepares to give birth to these renal usurpers.
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p.s. i am just pleased as punch with myself over the cleverness of the title of this post.

7 comments:

  1. I too would do anything for loaf, but I won't do that. And by that, I mean passing kidney stones.

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  2. Oh my gosh...man, he and Jorge are kindred spirits w/ the stones. I think Jorge's were just shifting, b/c his pain subsided without passing (unless it was so small he didn't notice). Please tell Jesse to hang in there! Let us know if we can do anything!

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  3. Thank you for the chili powder warning, I know that was for me ;-) Sorry about the renal usurpers...

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  4. Yeow! So sorry about the stones, Jes...you know I know how to feel your pain! I'll never forget mine or yours! Let us know if you need us to keep Judah or cook a meal or go with you, or whatever!

    The meatloaf sounds fabulous, and I too love your mom's gift giving...it's always a sweet surprise!

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  5. K8, the title of this post is insanely clever. props.
    love always,
    JoAnna

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  6. I had that same sweatshirt. If you need to switch it up, try the Barefoot Contessa's turkey loaf- super delicious

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  7. SUCKS for jesse. my dad is a kidney stone producing CHAMP. he's had 2 sonic blasts since it was invented and has had to just endure the passing of a gazillion others in their entirety...even in high school and once at duke where a big group of newbie med students threw back his hospital gown to study his catheter. HA! tell jesse to stay away from teaching hospitals....

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