Tag: Comfort Food

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MEATLOAF IS NO LONGER A BUDGET MEAL

Growing up in the post depression years, meatloaf was often served at our old oak kitchen table.   It was filling, nutritious, and cheap.  Believe it or not, ground beef only cost about 42 cents a pound.  My mother could serve our family of six for less than a dollar.  Even as recently as 2020, it was still advertised as a “budget meal.”   But this pandemic has changed all that.  Meatloaf, as an expense, has graduated into the  upper class.  That doesn’t mean you’ll find meatloaf  on the menu at upscale restaurants.  But the ingredients costs about as much  as many of those fancy entrees.

Meatloaf is no longer a budget meal. the cost of lean ground beef has escalated.
Meatloaf is no longer a budget meal. The cost of lean ground beef has skyrocketed.

Why is that?  Because the cost of 93% lean ground beef is astronomical.  Paid $6.85 a pound for it yesterday.  So, my  meatloaf recipe  will require about $10.27 of beef for starters.  The other ingredients are fairly reasonable, But it’s still going to be pricey.

Meatloaf in the old days had some fillers.  Many people used bread crumbs, but I always preferred oatmeal.  It’s one of the most popular comfort foods around, right up there with macaroni and cheese, and beef Manhattans.  One of these days, you may find meatloaf on the menu at your favorite, candlelit restaurant.  Maybe they’ll dress it up with cheese or mushrooms to make it sound more sophisticated.  And serve it with a $10 glass of wine.   I wouldn’t be surprised.

If you’re in the mood for some upscale comfort food, here is a recipe using Quaker Oats.  I’ve changed it a little bit from the original, because I’m not too fond of ketchup.   Instead I’ve substituted a can of tomato sauce.  However, my husband likes a few dabs of ketchup on his serving.

Since I’m cooking for two I make the  full recipe , then freeze half for another time

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 pounds 93 percent lean ground beef
  • 1 8 oz can tomato  sauce
  • 3/4 cup Quaker Oats, quick or old-fashioned, uncooked
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves chopped garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, using just ¾ can of tomato sauce.  Mix lightly but thoroughly. Press into an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. Pour remaining tomato sauce over the top as a garnish.

Bake for 1 hour to medium doneness (a thermometer inserted in the center should read 160 degrees) or until not pink in the center and juices run clear. Let stand for 5 minutes and drain off any juices before slicing.

While the meatloaf is baking, throw a couple of small Idaho potatoes in the oven.  It’s an easy way to complete the meal, with minimum cleanup afterward.

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STRESS CALLS FOR COMFORT FOOD

Have you  noticed that recipes in the media have grown more complicated during this pandemic?  I guess they’re thinking that  people have more time to fiddle around with unusual ingredients and longer prep time.  But now,  you want nostalgic dishes that remind you of happier times.  Pandemic stress calls for comfort food , made without canned soup. 

High on the list of comfort foods in the USA are soups and casseroles.  What’s wrong with that?  Nothing, if you make them with natural ingredients   But here’s a list of additives you get in canned soups that really don’t give you that taste of home:  Sodium phosphate, whey, soy protein concentrate, yeast extract, potassium chloride, lactic acid, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate and beta carotene. That’s just a few of the ingredients listed on the label of one can of store-bought Cream of Chicken soup.  

Ham Potato Casserole is the Perfect Comfot food
The Pandemic Calls For Comfort Food. This easy Ham Potato Casserole is made with all natural ingredients.

 One of my favorite comfort foods  is Ham Potato Casserole.  Remember when they served it at your school cafeteria?  I can’t think of many restaurants that have  it on their menu.  Your mom may not have made it, but I’ll bet your granny did.  At one time, it was a way of using up the left overs from a baked ham. That was when frugal people didn’t waste a smidgen of meat left on a bone.   Not many of us bake a whole ham nowadays.  But you can buy packaged, diced ham, which greatly simplifies things.  

When you go on the net looking for Ham Potato Casserole recipes, you’ll find that many of them call for canned soup.  But it’s so much easier to make it the old fashioned way, starting with a simple white sauce.  You don’t really have to follow a recipe after that.  Just throw in some cubed, cooked potatoes, cheese, diced ham, and  green beans.  Mix it altogether in a casserole dish, and bake, covered for 30 minutes.  Your family will want seconds, I promise.  So make plenty.  

If you feel more comfortable following a recipe, here’s one that serves 4: 

Milk: 1  1/2 cups

Butter: 3 Tablespoons 

Flour:  3 tablespoons 

Onion finely chopped: 2 tablespoons

Idaho potatoes, boiled for half an hour, then peeled & cubed:    2

Fresh green beans, trimmed and cooked while boiling the potatoes:  1 cup

Packaged diced ham:   1 cup

Shredded Cheddar cheese:  1 cup 

Directions:

In saucepan, saute onion in butter. Stir in the flour, until blended. .  Gradually whisk in milk until mixture has thickened.  Turn off heat. Add cheese.  Arrange potatoes, ham, and green beans in a baking dish and cover with the white sauce/cheese mixture. .  Cover with foil. Heat in 350 oven for half an hour, or until bubbly..  

Notice, I don’t add seasoning  to the white sauce..  The cheese and ham are plenty salty and some people are allergic to pepper.  Provide salt and pepper shakers for those who want it. .  You can leave out the green beans, or serve another vegetable  as a side dish.  

Enjoy!