Meatloaf

Dropping by to leave y'all this recipe.

Violet's Frighteningly Amazing (and kind of tangy/spicy) Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef
1 lb mild ground sausage
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup shredded "italian blend" cheese
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 eggs
salt
pepper
thyme
oregano
sage

Put all of that in a big ol' bowl and moosh the heck out of it.  I wear gloves.  :)

Then put all of that moosh into a pair of lightly oiled 1lb loaf pans.

Preheat your oven to 350*.

While the oven preheats, let's make the sauce:

1 Tablespoon Brown Mustard
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 cups Cider Vinegar

(or, double the recipe so you have enough for dipping later)

Pour over your meatloaves.
Put 'em in the oven for about 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Cut one open in the middle to make sure it's done.  You'll likely have to drain the sausage fat. 

Serve with mashed potatoes, of course!

Bread!

I am pretty new to this whole baking-bread-from-scratch thing, but I absolutely love to bake bread when I have time to spare.

I got this great recipe from Mother Earth News, and the magazine is pretty tattered at this point from me referring to it. I use this recipe for both bread and for pizza dough.



Rather than use the full recipe*, I cut it down to 1 cup of water, 1/2 tablespoon (1.5 teaspoons) each of yeast and salt, and two cups of flour.


I've found that special-ordering yeast is a better option than buying packets at the grocery store, since the stuff at the store tends to be really stale. The Bread Beckers are of reasonable driving distance from my house (and they do internet orders, too), and I got a pound of yeast for like $5. I keep it in my fridge, and even though it's a year old, it's still quite viable.


This is a no-knead recipe, so you just add the ingredients together, then stir/smoosh it together with a spatula or spoon.


Let the dough rise for about two hours... I cover the dough with a moist towel to keep it from drying out.


Pop in a hot oven for half an hour, and viola!









*also: The REASON I don't use the full recipe is that I don't have a big enough bowl to contain it. I did not know this the first time I attempted making bread, and without prior knowledge to how much bread dough actually rises. When I returned to the dough two hours later, it had crawled up and out of the bowl, across the table, and was beginning to drip down onto the floor. It was like something out of a horror movie.