Meat Loaf

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I'm making room in the freezer. Turkeys go on sale next week. I'm planning to bake one immediately, and freeze another.

So, today, I got rid of the last of the breaded catfish "nuggets" and one of two 2 lb. packages of that "dog food" hamburger I got for fifty nine cents a pound.

I'll never buy those catfish nuggets again. They don't taste fresh. They were only a dollar a pound, or I wouldn't have bought them in the first place! So, after I finished my catfish sandwich, I gave the rest to the cats. Happy Cats! It was only about half a pound, anyway.

Then, I made my meatloaf. I sprinkled some beef boullion powder on the meat and worked it in.

In the food processor, I mixed: 2 cloves garlic; 1/4 of a giant sweet onion (about half a cup); two eggs and about 1/4 cup of that Ragu sauce I got for thirty cents because the label had fallen off.

I added about half a cup of cottage cheese and mixed this with the meat and kneaded it in.

I flatten the center of the meat, to about half an inch thick, and form the meat into a bowl shape in a pyrex dish. In the indentation, I pour about a cup of mixed vegetables. If I'm feeling rich, I use: artichoke hearts, pearl onions, brussels sprouts, snow peas and baby carrots, fresh or frozen. But today all I had was frozen, "mixed vegetables." That's ok; the sauce will give it some flavor.

Then, I mold the meat up over the vegetables until it completely encloses them.

Most times, I make some drop biscuit dough and cover the entire meatloaf in that. Not today; had other projects and didn't bother.

You'd think the biscuit dough would blacken before the vegetables in the center had even thawed, but it all comes out perfect. The dough seals the heat inside the meat. The meat steams the vegetables. By the time the dough is golden brown, everything's done.

Once it's cooled for about twenty minutes, all the juices are absorbed into the loaf and it maintains its form when sliced. One slice, plus a glass of milk, makes a complete meal.

I could have used some of that salsa I bought for thirty cents. It didn't have a label, either.

But the spaghetti sauce was already opened, and needs to be eaten up before the turkeys arrive.

For less than two dollars, I've made about eight hearty, satisfying meals. All I need to do is cut a slice and warm in the microwave.

And the baking warmed my house.