Meatloaf with Mashed potatoes.

The gelatin helps keep the meatloaf more moist and keeps it from splooging out grease onto the pan.

• 1 onion, diced fine
• 2 tsp garlic, minced fine
• 1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 c steak sauce or 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 c dried bread crumbs or crushed crackers
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 tsp unflavored gelatin (optional)
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Topping:

• 1/4 c ketchup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Sauté the onion until translucent and add the garlic and thyme right at the end and cook until fragrant. In a medium bowl, mix the egg, onion mixture,  and steak or Worcestershire sauce. Add the breadcrumbs, beef and pork,  gelatin salt and pepper and mix until just mixed. Don’t overmix or the meatloaf will get a funky texture.

Place the meat mixture on a cookie sheet and form into a rough square about 2 inches thick.

For the topping, mix all ingredients, and spread over the top of the meatloaf.

Bake for 1 hour.

16 oz prepared red cabbage with apple bits

Mix everything except the cabbage and paprika in a bowl. Knead until every item is distributed evenly. Place cabbage on bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle paprika. Spread meat mixture on top of cabbage. Cover and cook in oven for one our at 350 degrees. Forty minutes in, feel free to drain. With ten minutes left, cover with sauce.

Sauce for meatloaf

• 4 tablespoons minced onion
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 4T of brown sugar,
• 4T vinegar,
• 2T Worchestershire Sauce
• 1 teaspoon basil leaves

Simmer everything in a small sauce pan and stir constantly. Serve with meatloaf.

Start with cooking your rice because it can cook while we prep everything else. Once your rice is boiling, turn the heat down and simmer on a low heat for about thirty minutes.

While the rice is cooking slice one large zucchini into cubes about one-quarter-inch small. Pre-heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Once the oil is hot, insert your ground hamburger and attack it with your spatula while salting and peppering until you have small chunks of slightly browned hamburger. Before the ground beef is completely cooked, dollop your stone ground mustard into the pan and give it a good stir.

Next, toss in all that zucchini we diced earlier. We won’t be draining the ground beef fat because we want to fry the zucchini and the rice in the juices. Splash some Worcestershire into the skillet and give your food a couple of good tosses. Don’t be afraid to dash in a bit more salt and pepper.

By this point your rice should be almost fully cooked. The technique I use is to pour rice into a small pot and then cover it with double the amount of water and then simmer it on the oven, covered, until all the water boils away. Just before the rice gets fluffy and when there is just a bit of water left is when I insert my ingredients for flavoring the rice. This time we are putting curry into the rice.

After approximately five minutes from the last step, dump all the rice into your skillet and keep the heat on high. Just five more minutes of cooking and stirring and just a pinch more salt and we will be done. In the last minute of cooking I sprinkled in some orange zest and mixed it into our dinner.

I think I changed point of view throughout the last few paragraphs from first person to second person and then back to first person again but I’m too lazy to go back and re-write it so don’t let it confuse you too much.

One rule that I follow is to always cook an extra portion in case an unexpected guest arrives. I live by this rule. I wouldn’t suggest it to those who don’t know how to eat leftovers, however.

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 9 slices bacon
• 6 oz bleu cheese
• 1 onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c toasted bread crumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 milk
• 2-3 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 T dijon mustard
• salt and pepper
• buns
• toppings (ketchup, mustard, onion, lettuce, more bleu cheese and bacon, etc.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sautee onion and garlic till translucent. Place in a large bowl. Fry bacon and add half of it to the bowl with the onions and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients except buns and toppings and mix thoroughly.  Form into 6 large balls and place on a baking sheet.  Make a large dent in the balls and add bleu cheese and  remaining bacon to each, pinching ground beef around the hole to close. Flatten, taking care not to let any of the filling to get out.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until well done. Serve on buns with your choice of toppings.

Later I will share how with only another fifteen to twenty-five dollars per month we can keep our pantry stocked with items to round out our meals nicely. This will include spices and cooking essentials.

Standard Share

• 2 lb. Chicken Breast
• 1 lb. Diced Beef (Beef Stew Meat)
• 1 lb. Pork Spare Ribs
• 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
• 1 lb. Rice
• 1 loaf Artisan Wheat Bread
• 1 pkg. Mushrooms
• 5 lbs. Red Potatos
• 8 Kiwi
• 6 Apples
• 6 Oranges
• 1 bunch of Green Onions
• 1 Red Leaf Lettuce
• 3 Artichokes

I did some comparison shopping at Albertson’s. All items were identical with minor differences in the spare ribs and maybe the size of the artichokes. Grocery store would have cost around $55.00 give or take tax. Here is the list broken down by price.

$4.98 – 2 lb. Chicken Breast
$4.49 – 1 lb. Diced Beef (Beef Stew Meat)
$4.99 – 1 lb. Pork Spare Ribs
$2.99 – 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
$2.00 – 1 lb. Rice
$3.99 – 1 loaf Artisan Wheat Bread
$2.49 – 1 pkg. Mushrooms
$5.99 – 5 lbs. Red Potatos
$4.72 – 8 Kiwi
$4.47 – 6 Apples
$2.49 – 6 Oranges
$0.99 – 1 bunch of Green Onions
$1.29 – 1 Red Leaf Lettuce
$8.97 – 3 Artichokes

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$55.00