Don't let Your Meat Loaf!

I got up at 6:00 AM on Tuesday, got dressed in my work clothes and took the garbage out to the road. Back inside, I put on a pot of coffee (four cups ONLY, dear Amer!) I putzed around, straightening the kitchen while I waited on the coffee.

I watched the long line at local clinics for the swine flu shots on the news. Unfortunately, they are still running out before being able to vaccinate everyone in line. For once, being old is a benefit, as I am not supposed to be in the high-risk group (that's a nice change). Apparently anybody my age or older has already faced this flu before and we have some limited immunity built up. So, I'll wait until all the little kids and middle-aged at-risk people get theirs and then go.

At 7:00 AM, I shaved and showered, getting ready for therapy. More new exercises! What fun!! I called my barber when I got home to see if she had a morning appointment left. The earliest one was at 11:15, but I said I'd take it (I should have gotten this done the past Saturday).

Since I couldn't really do much until after my haircut, I decided to catch up on the magazines I'd recently received, but not yet read. So, I sat in the recliner with another cup of coffee and Caley in my lap, trying to read.

After a while that got annoying; both because of Caley's fidgeting and those stupid inserts that seem to fill magazines these days. So, I thought of something I could do without changing into work clothes. I grabbed a light jacket (its mild out there), my work gloves and the bucket and then went outside. I picked up all the leftover tomatoes from the raised bed garden and nearby lawn (I filled two big buckets, BTW). Then I heaved them over the fence for the wild things.

On a roll now, I picked up all the patio furniture (except the one chair I always leave out for me to use in the late fall and early spring) and moved it to a pile on Jake's patio. Then I walked to the back and got the hoses from there (they went into the pile as usual). See photos.

As luck would have it, my time was running out. So, I stopped and went to get my haircut. She was just finishing up with her last customer, so I walked to the back of the place and hung up my jacket (that's where the coat rack is). For some unknown reason, I put my car keys in my pants pockets instead of my jacket. We talked about her vacation next week (a time-share in the Tampa-St. Pete's area), she finished up, I paid her at the register and drove home.

It was after I got home and treated the cats that I went to hang my jacket in the front hall closet and I realized I wasn't wearing it! Damn! So, I drove back and got it (feeling quite foolish).

Now home for real (I hope), I changed into my work clothes. First thing I did was to put the new batteries in the office smoke detector (I got them at Meijer's yesterday).

Then I went outside to finish the outdoor storage stuff. I added the wheelbarrow to the pile and got out the smaller tarp. I found some clothesline that I didn't think would be big enough (and some rope-rope in case it wasn't) in the garage and went out back. I threaded the clothesline (tied in a corner grommet) down the short side and then down the long one (there's about four feet left). I put the tarp on top of the pile, tucked it all in and started threading the clothesline through the remaining grommets. When I finally got it all done and pulled it tight, I had tons left. I got it as tight as I could and then tied the remainder to a cement block (you can see it on the right of the photos). This keeps the tarp from blowing away in the winter winds.

I went back inside and lay down on the bed, trying to catch up on taped shows. I was hoping to grab a nap as well and I did! Nice!!

I got back up a little after 4:00 PM and started checking the computer. After responding to a few emails and instant messages, I went out in the kitchen to start my Saturday night dinner (on Tuesday, lol - Don't you just love irony?)

Tonight I will be making 30 minute meatloaf, baked acorn squash and (a late addition) beet greens. I want to use the oven for half of the time to bake the squash, but I will need it set at a much higher temp for the meatloaf. So, I plan on baking the squash on the tray that fits in the toaster oven. After 1/2 hour, I'll switch it out, crank the oven up and do the rest.

So, I set the rack on the middle tray (where it needs to be for the meatloaf), cut a big beautiful acorn squash in half, dug out the seeds and then cut a flat on the outside so both sides would sit on the tray without tipping (I never used to do that, but learned that tip on Food Network). I put both halves on the toaster oven tray and added a big chunk of butter. Now, here's where my Mother would always add a spoonful of brown sugar (which I still sometimes do in her honor). But, since I'm not that a big fan of "sweet," I really like to add fresh herbs and salt instead.

So, I went out on the patio and grabbed some rosemary, oregano and thyme. I put those in the cavity, added a good sprinkling of salt and put them in the preheated 400 degree F. oven around 5:30 PM.

Now, while we still have a few minutes, let's talk about the meatloaf. As any long-time reader knows, I have my own personal bacon-wrapped meatloaf recipe (see, well, recipes, lol). But, it's both labor-intensive and expensive. One of the things I became interested in, at least when I had a full-time job, are recipes you can make during the week. When I saw this on America's Test Kitchen, I said, "I've got to try that!" So, I am...

In a big bowl I hand crushed 17 saltine crackers (now, they used a food processor, but cleanup seemed like a lot of work for some stupid crackers, so I just crushed them). To that I added 1/4 cup of milk, three tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1/3 cup of minced fresh parsley leaves, 1 1/2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, one large egg, one teaspoon garlic powder, one teaspoon of onion powder, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1 1/2 pounds of meatloaf mix (if you can't find meatloaf mix, use 3/4 pound of ground pork and 3/4 pound of 85% lean ground beef).

I mixed that with my hands until evenly combined and formed it into four lightly packed loaves (each measuring about four by three inches). I switched out the squash into the toaster oven, cranked the real oven to 500 degrees F. and inserted my broiler pan (groan).

Why "groan"? I hate cleaning that bad boy... But, that will come later...

Meanwhile, I got my biggest skillet and added two teaspoons of canola oil. I turned that onto medium-high and waited for the smoke (so did the smoke detectors, BTW). In the meantime, I mixed up the glaze in a bowl: 1/2 cups of ketchup, 1/4 cup of light brown sugar (packed) and four teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.

When the oil was ready (the ladies in both the bedroom and office let me know) I turned on the fan, opened the kitchen window a crack and, ignoring those broads, added the patties. I browned then until they had a nice crust (about 2-3 minutes per side).

When done, I carefully transferred them to the heated broiler pan and spooned one tablespoon of glaze on each piece. I baked them about 7-9 minutes (or until a thermometer inserted in the middle of a loaf registered 160 degrees F.). I pulled out the broiler pan and let them rest for three minutes. See photos.

Now, you might have noticed we haven't talked about beet greens at all! Well, I was kinda busy and figured they would go as well with the leftovers as they would have tonight.

So, I plated a meat loaf patty and one squash (after removing the herb stems). There is, of course, leftover remaining glaze, but I want to try it like this first. Oh, man! That was good!! The Test kitchen came through again!!!

I ate one patty and the bigger half of the squash. I seriously debated eating another piece of meatloaf (it was that good) but, in the end, my weight-conscious conscience won out.

I watched TV until "Chopped" was over, and then went to bed.