It gets dicey from here on out. Before I published this journal, I was asked if I would consider writing about this project and if I would share the recipes. I heard more than once, “I need a new meatloaf recipe so please share what you learn.” I was also asked whether this could hurt the feelings of the wonderful friends that gave me these recipes. Knowing us, I did not think so, BUT…
Disclaimer: Before you read on, if I make your recipe, you must promise not to be offended by the ranking of your favorite great grandmother’s recipe or the church lady recipe that you call the ‘perfect meatloaf dish’. This is about Terry. His craziness for meatloaf and then of course, my ability to make it anything close to the intended outcome. I have learned we all like what we like, so you likely do have the perfect meatloaf dish for you and your family. I also hope there is grace with your recipe being posted in this format. I was not going to post the recipes but kept being asked for them so I decided to post them. Then you can all try this experiment on your own. We want to hear if you find a great new recipe through this experiment. We love you all and are so glad you shared your recipes with us. Since Mr. McCormick got a solid 6, I think we are safe but let’s see how the year unfolds.
Did you wonder at any point yet, what the Schnipkes ate post children in the home, if I never cooked? Anything. Oatmeal, eggs, cereal, salad, turkey…whatever we could find. Terry would eat regularly at a ball game, or we might pick up to-go. Just ask long-time CGHS band mom Anne, his concession buddy, how many chicken sandwiches or bags of popcorn he would eat all winter long at games. Every Wednesday evening for many years he would pick me up at work for Mexican food. Those were great evenings. We called them our date nights to catch up on everything. One question that hits me here is this: “Why dirty dishes when you get home after 7:00 pm each night?” I remember my predecessor Esther telling me once she had to leave the agency by 6:00 p.m. each evening, so she could have dinner for her husband by no later than 6:30.” It was part of their pre-marriage agreement. 😊 She is a great cook though. There is no way that was me. I left when I felt I had done enough for the day, or I had somewhere else to be. I was not about to go home and cook.
Back to Week #2 and the meatloaf.
First up, is from Karen, a lovely long-time co-worker. (I must specify as there are lots of Karens in the world. I do not mean the terrible connation that beautiful name, so popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s has gotten in the last 4 years). This Karen makes the absolute best butterscotch cookies. Each birthday, I would get a plate and often eat five by lunchtime. Don’t judge. I will miss those in my retirement days for sure!
Karen’s recipe was called “My Great Grandmother’s Favorite Recipe for Meatloaf.” I wanted to hit Terry hard with how my recipe is not the best. It also seemed fairly simple to get this project started. First up, shopping. Here’s a new wrinkle. I also do not like to regularly grocery shop. I actually, do not like it irregularly either. But here I am. Cooking and grocery shopping on Mondays. I was in the vegetable aisle looking at the onions. I had no idea which one to choose when the recipe says ‘onion’. I was guessing the choice mattered to the person making the dish. I texted the pickiest cooking “expert” in the family, Chef Dad. (His new nickname for this project.) He said he always uses sweet onion unless the recipe specifies. Mostly Vidalia he said. I went with it and thought, every recipe that does not specify is getting sweet onion. I sure hope that is right. The recipe called for a whole onion. I thought there was no way I could use this whole onion. Again, this evening. I had to leave for a book club, so I left detailed baking instructions. I got the same loving text gushing about his wonder at coming home to meatloaf. Did I say yet, how excited he is?
When I got home, I asked how he liked this week’s installment. “Well, you know how I feel about onions?” WAIT! Game changer. Is he not going to like any recipe with onions? I don’t use them in my recipe so is that why he likes mine so much? This is a big deal because most recipes for meatloaf call for onions. I asked for his score, and he said “6.5”. WHAT?! “You gave it a higher score than last week, and you don’t like all the onion?” He also mentioned it was dense. Like thick. Solid. He said, “the ketchup and brown sugar, I am assuming on top, was very good.” Did I mention yet, Terry has a sweet tooth, so of course, he loves the brown sugar part. The denseness might come from the oatmeal used in this recipe. Terry is not told who the giver of the recipe is or the ingredients until after he rates it. At this point, I said it is going to be a long year if he chooses to fit 42 recipes between 6.5 and 10.
Karen has the loveliest handwriting and recipe cards worthy of a share.
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