Meat & Potatoes

I don't feel that we're under any obligation to post weekend dinners but we were here and I cooked so here it is.

Tonight I was so tired and uninspired but I knew I had this hamburger meat in the fridge (I loathe frozen meat) so I decided I'd make a meatloaf and use my grandmother's recipe as a guide. However, I did something pretty sneaky. (Tali gave me the idea last night!) I cut up mushrooms and spinach and hid it within the meatloaf. My husband hates both spinach and mushrooms. Ha ha! It was very sneaky.

He didn't notice and in fact, he raved about this being one of the best meals I've *ever* made.

We also had a tossed salad on the side. The girls ate most of this. My three year old isn't big on meat so she didn't eat much but she did try the potatoes and ate most of her salad.

Here's my recipe for my new and improved Mima's Meatloaf if you're interested:

1 lb ground chuck
1/2 an onion finely minced
several white mushrooms also finely minced
a clove of garlic
about 2/3 of a cup of diced baby spinach leaves
approx. 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of seasoned bread crumbs
some milk
2 eggs
salt & pepper

I use my hands to mush it all up. It works better than a spoon. Then I shape it into a loaf and bake at 350 for an hour. Oh, and I top with a few strips of bacon for flavor! *gasp*

We had smashed potatoes on the side - that's what I call 'em - boiled red potatoes with milk, light sour cream, salt, pepper, a little butter and I thought about tossing in some pressed garlic but was scared I'd ruin them but you could.

Homemade bread (hee hee) - exact measurements depend on size of loaf or breadmaker. I made a 2 lb loaf.

3 1/4 c. bread flour
11 oz. warm water
1 tsp salt
4 tsp bread machine yeast
1/2 c. oatmeal
1 1/2 tblsp. butter

The bread takes about an hour and 10 minutes to mix, knead, rise and bake. Isn't that amazing?

Fresh strawberries for dessert - organic even!