Cooking with Salt and Pepper

Last Edit December 23, 1999

Electronic communication from the kitchen....

Pepper

I need a recipe for meatloaf!

To Pepper:
Get a Betty Crocker cookbook. That's the best. Here's a basic recipe - it can be played with.

Meat loaf

1 egg

1 cup of oatmeal or bread crumbs

1 can tomato paste (or tomato soup, unthinned)

1-2lb. ground something - Ground meat! low-fat hamburger, turkey, etc.

seasoned salt - several shakes

1/2 - 1 chopped-up-fine onion

1 Tablespoon horseradish (or mustard)

1-5 cloves Garlic chopped - or one clove Elephant garlic if desired

Can also throw in a chopped up green pepper.

Cook in loaf pan - drain off the grease. DO NOT bake at 400 degrees - use 350 - safer. Takes about 30-60 minutes (depends on size)
The meatloaf shrinks some - it should be pulled away from the edges of the loaf pan as it cooks. If it is low-fat meat, the shrinkage won't be as obvious. High fat hamburger will result in a lot of grease run-off and a shrunken meatloaf.
It's done when it shrinks back a bit - or when a fork stuck in the center does not have any red meat on it! About 45 minutes.
Warning If the grease accumulates to the top of the loaf pan - it could spill over. Drain excess off with a turkey baster. Or, if you don't have one, use a spoon. Discard grease.
The egg holds it together - eggs are always used for binding.
To be really freaky - shred carrots and mix them in with the meat.
Or put other veggies in the middle - green beans, carrots, or kernel corn. Put half of the meatloaf mix in the pan, layer in veggies, put the rest of the meatloaf into the pan, pat down and bake as above.
Serve with ketchup or gravy.
Instead of gravy, serve with cream of mushroom sauce as gravy. Use a can of soup but don't add a full can of water or milk - use 1/3 can milk. Heat on low heat.
My kids won't let me do mushrooms - as soon as the last one leaves......

Pepper
What is an elephant garlic? Is it really in the shape of an Elephant or just a big one. And I'm assuming ground something, you have to watch me, I can think of ground cinnamon, but is that meat? No, just kidding.
Salt:
Elephant garlic is REAL BIG - like an onion - the cloves are about 1" across each.
Baked they are soft and squishy. Great in stuffing.
Pepper
My husband ate the hamburger while I was shopping today. So no meat loaf. I will buy more and do the meatloaf.
My sister told me how to bake potatoes in the microwave really fast.
I wonder if I can do gravy to go over them, she suggested I buy a packet of Schilling's gravy. This sounds like an adventure. My mother said that she might have to come witness this.
I said okay if she brings dessert. I don't think I can do gravy, meatloaf and Jell-O all at the same time.
I'd have to have a valium for that much.
Salt:

Don't do gravy - it will annoy you. Unless you have a blender and even then. Lumps are horrid.
Not good for you anyway. Cheat and use soup.
You make the soup using 1/3 cup low-fat milk - not a whole can - voila - gravy.
I made meatloaf once with too much oatmeal - not enough meat. Gag.
Don't forget to pole holes in the potatoes or they will explode all over the microwave. Time bombs.
Pepper

Thanks for the info on potatoes. Gravy in a can of soup? When did they start that?
You mean they have brown or chicken gravy in a can?
Unbelievable. I'm going to have to walk more slowly through the grocery store and see the culinary advancements..
I don't eat gravy but the men in my house do.
We are ketchup people. I think I'll try the mushroom soup, they like that. Simple tastes, my guys have.
Pepper

Now, here's what I did with the meatloaf. No bread crumbs in the house, no crackers, enough bread to make sandwiches for lunches, and no car. So I had to put Kellogg's special K flakes in it, (plenty of cereal) and an egg, and a can of tomato soup and we had garlic powder and onion salt, and I put mesquite barbecue potato chips on the top, they were really big ones so I sat on the bag a couple of times and it looks okay, really.
Now I'm cooking the potatoes, remembered, thanks I need this info, to punch holes in with a fork, and so I'm calling this PEPPER'S SIT DOWN MEATLOAF! (Because I had to sit on the chips to make them crumbs) My spouse will be home shortly and boy, I hope he eats this.
See? You are really helping me! Maybe in a year or so I can move up to an entire meal!
Pepper, warrior princess of the kitchen
Salt:

You SAT on them??
Pepper

Yes, I was desperate, and I had to crumble them and did sit on them. . I just sat down hard on them, shook the bag a few times, and they crumbled. It really turned out good, gave the top this crusty topping and seasoned it with mesquite barbecue flavor.
Afterward:

Pepper's husband said thank you. He actually ate it. First meal she ever cooked.