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This is slightly fancier than my mom's old recipe, but it calls for the topping of ketchup, mustard and brown sugar she always used. I took this meatloaf, served cold, to a party last night and folks gobbled it up. Nice and firm, it cut neatly and easily into small portions.
I always buy ground beef at the butcher counter, because you can't be too picky. 85% lean yields a tasty meatloaf. I used marjoram and thyme instead of the sage. Pick the herb(s) you favor. Used part scallions, part regular onion. The cupboard yielded only panko bread crumbs, so I used that.
Not only do you go to war with the army you have, you often cook with the ingredients on hand.
This was the first dish I learned to make. My dad learned to expect it when my mom couldn't cook. BTW, I substituted cilantro for parsley, being too lazy to go out and cut parsley in the rain.
Meatloaf tastes good with baked potatoes, almost any veg. and a green salad. Sauteed cherry or grape tomatoes (with garlic and herbs) are always a colorful side dish, should they be on sale. Carrots, also give great color. Remember, we eat first with our eyes.
Here is where you'll find the recipe: Better Homes and Gardens Meat Loaf
I think the recipe was around when God was a boy. Enjoy.
The Cheeseparer
Chop up half an onion, a little less if huge. Cook it over med. heat in a big cast iron skillet. When the onion begins to soften, add a pound of good quality 85% lean ground beef. I always buy mine at the butcher counter. When the meat is almost cooked, add a chopped (seeded if you don't want it too hot) jalapeno pepper. Continue to cook and stir. Add a sprinkling of hot pepper flakes, some chili powder. I also add another sprinkle of Penzey's Southwest Seasoning. Oh, an don't forget a teaspoon or so of cumin. Very important. Salt and pepper well, and continue to simmer to blend the flavors. Add a can of rinsed and drained black beans or your favorite kind of beans. Pinto. Kidney. Whatever.
Chop up the following and put in small bowls: scallion, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro and avocado. Into other bowls put grated cheddar or Mexican cheese (a mixture), sour cream, wedges of lime. Nine "condiments" in all.
For each person, cook a couple or more corn tortillas in a vegetable oil until slightly browned but still pliable. Keep warm in oven while cooking the rest.
Put the condiments on the table along with the fried tortillas in a basket. You may also put hot sauce on the table or salsa. Bring the hot skillet to the table and serve. Everyone creates his/her own tacos. They are utterly delicious. I fold mine in half and eat it messily. My significant other dumps everything onto his plate and has at it. This is good stuff.
I also serve orange wedges with the meal. Refreshing.
I usually keep corn tortillas and all the spices around, along with scallions, lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream, so we just have to buy the meat, the cilantro and the avocado. Serves 4, and doesn't break the bank. Dieters can go easy on the cheese and sour cream. Corn tortillas are low in carbs and high in fiber. Of course, grilled steak added instead of ground beef will also be tasty, as would chicken or a grilled pork chop or two. Taste for seasoning as you go along. A couple of these babies and you won't be hungry for hours.
I have never tasted any tacos this good at a Mexican restaurant, although the fish tacos at the Border Cafe in Cambridge, MA are close. Ole!
On Saturday, I saved $48.57 on a $93.36 grocery bill. 21 of the items were on sale. The savings broke down at $1.60 for coupons, Sales items $26.55, and BOGO savings $20.42. Saturday's shopping involved several challenges. I only had $97.00 left in the grocery budget for the month. The store had some specials I needed to stock up on for houseguests arriving th second week in July. We needed meat for two meals. I didn't buy any specials that I didn't need immediately or else for the guests. The guests have difficult to meat eating requirements. We don't even want to go there. What we are eating. I had a package of chicken breasts, and we ate chicken piccata two nights, one night with grilled zucchini and lettuce from the garden, and the second night with corn on the cob and organic romaine hearts on sale at a good price. With the romaine, I could plan that I would use all the lettuce before leaving for the 4th of July weekend. Last night we had petite sirloin on the grill, and I saved one of the steaks and a portion of a 2nd for steak salad (remember the romaine?) tonight. Cluster tomatoes were also on sale. Tomorrow I'm making a minestrone with Italian sausage, on sale two weeks ago. I bought zucchini and coleslaw mix for the soup, and one can of tomatoes. Eating cheap does not mean forgoing food pleasures. Remember the steak! Cherries and blueberries were also on sale, and we had blueberry waffles yesterday morning and blueberry pancakes this morning. Sale bacon, of course. Some of the cherries went into a ricotta dessert last night. Tonight I may use the rest of the blueberries for a freeform tart. I'll be making the crust myself and baking some food processor bread tomorrow to go with the soup. I do hate to pay $4.00 a loaf for decent bakery bread. I can make the bread while dealing with the soup. Thursday, en route to the holiday weekend locale, we're packing a lunch of chicken sandwiches on home made bread, cookies (on sale two weeks ago), chips, plums and coke on special last weekend. We'll eat better and faster. Remember, eating cheap(er) doesn't mean yucko margarine and boiled cabbage. We had a delicious salad last weekend of cucumber, dill from the garden, and a dressing of plain yogurt and sour cream. Menu planning and keeping a well-stocked pantry are your greatest helpers on the road to supermarket savings. For instance, after the chicken piccata, we need capers. I'll haunt the job lot for a nice big jar at a fab price instead of paying through the nose at the grocery store. Capers (if you like them) add zest and flavor to a lot of dishes. Everything is a balancing act between time, money, health and taste. It's a lot to consider, and you do have to plan ahead. Yours in frugality, The Cheeseparer
Before the economy tanked, we ate out about once a week, everywhere from The 99 to upscale downtown Boston haunts. Now we eat out half as often, and we're very choosy about where we drop our dimes. Would they were only dimes! Of course for the cook, fewer meals out means more work: shopping, food prep and (Yuck!) clean up. However, the right attitude and compiling the savings can work wonders. Instead of our weekly meal out, we have a nice, FAST dinner at home. Last night we had scallops, and I have to tell you that instead of paying $120.00 (food, 2 glasses of wine, tax and tip), we spent about $20.00 for everything. The most expensive item was 3/4 pound of scallops for $12.07. I could have eeked by with 2-3 ounces less. We had scallops provencal (from the Food Network recipe of the Barefoot Contessa), fresh buttered broccoli, herbed rice, and mesclun salad with cucumer and tomato. We each had a glass of red wine. I calculate the whole meal cost less than $20.00. The whole dinner went together in a half hour, and I had two pots, a skillet and the salad bowl to clean up. Not too bad. Steak is another option, especially when it's on sale. Asparagus is on sale this week. I buy Basmatic rice in five pound bags, and it lasts for ages. We would have had leftover valentine's day port wine ice cream, but the scallops were really filling. All that lean protein. Great herbs in the rice. Yum! A roast chicken is also a good option, as is shrimp. All can be low cost healthy fare. I believe in red meat twice a week winter and summer for keeping your immunity high. This is my RX for getting through winter, especially. That and a flu shot and washing one's hands regularly. Sleep a lot. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. When oranges are on sale, we stock up. An orange sliced on a bed off lettuce with a drizzle of dressing makes a great salad. Add a few slices of avocado and yowza! I don't buy avocados when they are 2 bucks a pop. Avocados were 4/$5 at the supermarket yesterday. We get two meals out of one, which puts it into the cheap range. Healthy oils, too. Do not neglect healthy oils. If you have an ice cream maker, you can enjoy premium ice cream, sherbet, ice milk and frozen yogurt for half of what you pay in the store, and so much better. It makes a very special dessert. Tonight I am taking a lemon poppyseed cake to a potluck. It will cost less than $2 to make, and serves 12. Pick your recipes. By the way, I am very big on Penzey's Spices. http://www.penzeys.com/ Penzey's has a great web operation, catalog and some stores. The best thing is that you can buy spices in all sizes from minute amounts to big jars depending on your individual use. Or without jars. They have some great rubs and mixed blends for marinades and grilling. Once you're a customer, you get a free sample in each order. The vanilla and peppercorns are soooo reasonable, and the prices make up for the postage. Be really smart and split an order with a friend or two or some folks in the office. Living cheap is living creatively. It can even be fun. And definitely tasty. I'm making cauliflower soup with a curry flavor. We eat it an lunch with some breadsticks. Cauliflower was on sale. Buy chicken broth on sale and some good curry powder from Penzeys. You can also make your own curry powder if you have a fully-stocked spice cabinent. Remember, creative is the operative word. Pare that cheese Bon Appetit!The Cheeseparer
