Week #20- March 17, 2025

This week I have been feeling a bit under the weather with a very bad sinus infection. The old Theresa, would never have cooked dinner with my head ready to explode, but this new wife Theresa forged ahead. Like I am fighting a major battle or something, right?  It was just a sinus infection.  This is just Meatloaf Monday for goodness sakes; however,  promise is a promise so I could not let my dear starving husband down.

Due to all of that, I needed a quick and simple recipe so I chose one that fit both those criteria.  Seriously, this one is a quick dinner on the table with most ingredients you would have on hand at any time.   Prep time was under 15 minutes and bake time was right at 30 minutes. There was no new ingredient this week. The way it is presented in 8 mini loaves, likely adds to how fast it baked. Chris Shepherd wrote a lovely note, on this recipe that originated from Taste of Home, saying “this really is the meat loaf recipe we always use!”  I definitely understand why. I did not ask Chris, or her husband Curtis, if the ‘we’ in the note meant Curtis actually makes it? Or does Chris do almost all the cooking? I will have to circle back around to them and ask that very important marital bliss question. Who does the cooking in most families my age? Or the next generation? Does it depend on the work schedule of one over the other? Or do they not cook much like the Schnipkes? I will say, I made two other meals this past week. 3 in one week is record for me.   I have this friend recovering from surgery she had last week.  She is the head chef in her home and 5 days after surgery she told she has back in the kitchen. That is some serious dedication to the art of cooking. Or hunger. Or doesn’t want said hubby to ride the struggle bus any longer.

Back to Week #20 and Shepherd’s go-to meatloaf. Terry keyed into the sweetness of the sauce and a random egg shell piece, almost immediately. How, out of 8 loaves, does he choose the random one with a tiny piece of egg shell? I did fumble with the egg cracking this time, but with the price of eggs, I was bound to salvage it. That is 50 cents for just one egg!  I guess in all honesty then, the ever so tiny eggshell was a new ingredient.  Terry said it did not hinder the flavor or the experience.

I thought the topping for the 8 mini loaves had more brown sugar than any other recipe to date. In a quick look, only one other called for a 1/2 cup as this did. Many do not use brown sugar, but more typical has been 1-4 T.   The 1/2 cup of brown sugar for one pound of beef made it one of the sweetest.  Terry thought maybe it was a bit too sweet (which is shocking for him with the biggest sweet tooth of all).  He guessed maybe with last week’s meatloaf, it just hit him differently. He loved the texture and flavor. Even though the egg shell did not hinder his experience, the onion did.

He noted that onion is still not his favorite in any recipe. I decided to investigate how many recipes through Week #20 have had onion.  It was 14.  Some weeks he knows it, and some weeks he doesn’t. I suppose in a 1 pound meatloaf 1/2 cup of onion is a bit more noticeable. My personal recipe does not have any onion.  That means it is more typical for a meatloaf recipe to have onion than not. It is more likely for a meatloaf recipe to have ketchup, than not. His highest ranked meatloaves to date, Week #5 and Week # 15, had onion. Both those were the larger meatloaves and the highest rated at 9.9 said to ‘finely chop’.  I should definitely do that each week. This week I did not have the time and was not on my A game so the onion pieces might have been a little larger than other weeks.  Still with an eggshell and onion pieces too large, he gave this recipe a 7.4. Respectable for sure, and one I would make again due to ease. Sorry, Chris for the eggshell and not finely chopping the onion to the point it cannot be seen by the human eye!  Here is Chris’ recipe.

Cheesy Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 large egg
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound of ground beef
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk egg and milk. Stir in oats cheese, onion and salt. Crumble beef over the mixture and mix well. Shape into 8 loaves; place in a greased 9×13 baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Spoon over loaves.
3. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until no pink remains and a thermometer reads 160 degrees.

At this point in writing my weekly post, I figured out this tidbit!  In researching how the cheese, brown sugar and onion stacked up to other recipes through Week #20, I discovered this is the exact same recipe as Week #11!  I had no idea. I bought the ingredients and made it, but did not notice.  In my defense was not titled the same, but with one tiny exception on cooking time, it is the same recipe. Here is how consistent Terry is with his preferences and ranking:  He gave the one on Week #11 a 7.2.  Only .2 off of this one.  I asked him again this week about never giving the same ranking. He said, “I give it what I give it. There is no big secret”.  Well, I have always said that Terry is very consistent. He gets up everyday at the same time and has the exact same routine- shower, shave, make coffee, read his bible/pray, lift weights in the basement, dress, brush teeth, pack lunch and leave. And go to bed at 10:00p.m.  He is very consistent with his meatloaf rankings too!

This is now a follow-up to Week #18.  I had a chat with Barb last evening about her recipe on Week #18 which was also her birthday.  She asked me if I used ‘Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix’ or another Italian Seasoning.  She then showed me the packet below. I did not use that! I have never even bought that product!   I used what is really Italian Seasoning. See below. After a bit, she admitted she did not like the meatloaf very much when we had it on March 3rd. Haha! Her recipe on her birthday and she did not like it.  She is one of my funniest friends. Not like Melissa R. funny, but blonde funny.  I know Barb will not be offended by that as I have my own blonde moments.  She said it did not taste like hers at all. She thought maybe it was too peppery.  I took a deep dive to compare the ingredients.

What does Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix have in it? Ingredients: tablespoon garlic salt · tablespoon onion powder · tablespoon sugar · tablespoons oregano · teaspoon pepper · teaspoon basil · tablespoon parsley and other.

I will let you decide but 2 T. of the one I used might just have been the problem!!! Terry- now that Barb said she did not like it, want to re-score it?  I might have just gotten a new one for Week#43. I will make it the way Barb makes it.