"Ma, The Meatloaf"

To me meatloaf was always one of those gross school lunches, which they slopped onto your plate and forced you to eat the "mystery meat" of the day. It is known for being dry, crumbly, and bland...basically nothing special. Recently, when I was home on vacation my mother served a new meatloaf recipe which managed to change my perception on this dish.

Her meatloaf could not be described as dry, bland, or crumbly. It was as if meatloaf received a complete head to toe makeover! Instead of a just a hunk of meat, this dish has vegetables in its center. I made this recipe with sauted mushrooms and onions, but you can also do it with spinach or any other vegetable of your choice. Needless to say, there was not a piece left by the end of the meal. I am convinced this is one of those recipes that no matter how much you make, there will never be leftovers.

Meatloaf

3 lbs of ground meat (or you can mix half meat half turkey)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

mushrooms

onions

1. spice the meat with some garlic powder, onion powder, 2 eggs, ketchup

2. mix together the brown sugar, ketchup and vinegar.

3. saute the mushrooms and onions in a pan

4. take half the meat and place it in a pan or on a baking sheet in loaf form

5. place the mushrooms and onions on top of the loaf

6. pour on half the sauce

7. use the rest of the meat to make another loaf on top of the first

8. pour the remaining sauce on top of the loaf

9. bake at 350 degrees until brown, about an hour

Enjoy!

Another Post From My Dear Sister

It is a well known fact that onions have layers. I have always thought that my older sister, Tali, was one of the most complex people I know. After having not lived with her in the same house now for five years, every time we do reunite I always discover new things about her. She is one of those people who has a lot of depth and really cares about other people. I know that there is always another "layer" to peel away and an opportunity to learn something new from her. After all, Tali is always right...That is why I think it is so fitting that she chose to share a stuffed onion recipe. 

Dear All,

Today marks a day in history…a time when events are happening in the world. 94 year old Zsa Zsa Gabor is trying to have a baby, Jeopardy’s Trebek asked what the backyard BBQ compound with the molecular formula C3H8 is called and a contestant answered “coal,” Congress has just passed the new budget bill, and I am writing my second blog post.

At this point, I’m thinking “hey, I should just start a blog of my own.” The problem is that once I start one blog, I’ll end up having to create numerous blogs in order to fully share with my readers the true life of Tali Bauman aka The Craziness of Me.

So for now, I’ll just stick to guest posting on Shira’s blog (thanks for your kindness, dear sister).

Tonight, I decided to make stuffed onions. Why? Because I thought I would be having only a few guests over for Shabbat lunch, wanted to have another ‘meat’ dish in addition to chicken cutlets (no, deli roll is not an option and is clearly a fallback for people who just want to eat filo dough), and  I figured, heck, how hard can it be to stuff some onions. Well, turns out, my meal grew to 8 and oh hey, it took me an hour and a half to stuff those onions (I’ll be honest- I did 4 loads of laundry in the middle).  

And with that exhilarating introduction, here’s how I did it. (I would like to acknowledge SmittenKitchen for the original recipe and my mom for the "doctoring up the meat" recipe) 

Buy various onions (medium sized, red, yellow, sweet)

SUGGESTION #1: I found the red onions to be easier to scoop out than the yellow onions

Cut each end of the onion (about a ½ in.) and make sure that the onion can stand on one side

Using a knife and spoon (the utensil teamwork really helps), scoop out the center of the onion leaving 2-3 layers on the outside

SUGGESTION #2: Requires a lot of upper body strength and patience. Don’t get frustrated if the onion starts to break a little or if there is a hole at the other end; it will be okay.

Place onions standing upright in 9 x 13 in pan and add ½-1 cup of water at the bottom and cover with aluminum (tin/silver- do they really make silver??) foil

Place in oven at 425 oF for 25-30 minutes until the onions are cooked but not too soft

In the mean time, chop the centers of the scooped out onions and cut up a red pepper

Sautee until brown, add some salt, pepper, and 3 garlic cloves (~1.5 tsp of minced garlic)

Add ground beef to the pan and allow to brown

Stir in 2 tbls of sugar, 1 small can of tomato sauce, and some ketchup and cook for a little longer on low flame

When you are sure the meat is cooked, add some chopped almonds

Scoop meat filling into the onions

Place back in the oven at 325 oF for another 25 minutes (keep an eye that the meat does not start to burn)

Your guests will love this fancy treat. Let me know if you can beat my 1.5 hr time- should not be too difficult.

Enjoy!