Fall Cooking: as cozy as your favorite warm sweater!

Today is the start of a rainy weekend here on the wet coast.  Then again, despite the World Series starting this week (go Jays go!!), it is late Oct, kids are settled back in school and Halloween is nearing.   And once again, I have fallen a bit behind on the posts as we had a welcome visitor from Ontario for a month this fall.  

I had a good chuckle when the first thing I read on the family chat one of the first rainy days last month was “Top of the morning peeps: first rainy day means CHILLI!”   God I love that girl!  I have to admit that I had been longing for the fall so I could get back to those homey, comforting dishes.  I mean I like the BBQ, but I am ready for all things fall when it comes to cooking.  I also like the fact that with it being fall, with the shorter days, cooler and wetter weather, I feel less guilty about spending weekends in the kitchen cooking.  As I have shared, it’s my therapy — my happy place.   I am a big fan of the weekend binge in the kitchen where you make a week of dishes ahead of time to have ready for the week OR to freeze for later.  Mac and cheese, lasagna (or really any casserole you dig), shepherds pie, chicken pot pie or meatloaf.   I really like worry free weeks and in fact, despite meal planning, I just don’t really do good during the week if I don’t have meals made ahead.  

This weekend I think is a soup weekend.  I tried a recipe last week which was well just ok — perhaps a 6 out of 10, but I am going to continue to try hard this fall to expand beyond my chicken / turkey soup, cauliflower potato cheddar soup or French onion staples.  While I sampled a few recipes already, I am taking another shot at the (roasted) butternut squash soup this weekend.  And soup too can be great to freeze (if it all doesn’t get all gobbled up first round) and pulled out on one of the cold damp days we face with fall and winter. 

The other thing I really like to do are these make these mini meals where I make a recipe and break it down in to smaller servings so Will has easy meals to pull out of the freezer and cook up when I am not around to cook for him.  I have even often in the back of my mind thought about what it would be like to make meals like this (single serve meals) for seniors in the community.   But for that one needs real time, and I am pretty sure there are a whole lot of rules I would need to follow (and those who know me best would probably label me as a pragmatic rule follower) so figuring out how to do that just feels like such a daunting task.

Now to one of the fall meals I like to prep for the week as well as break down into mini meals:  meatloaf.  I don’t really consider my meatloaf recipe a traditional meatloaf.   My mom always served her meatloaf topped with chili sauce and sorry mum, I was never really a fan.  So when I found this recipe years ago, labelled as a “Cottage Loaf”, it started rotating into my fall and winter meal plan.  

Growing up and even still today I am a bit of a recipe hoarder.   Recipe books, the back of cans like ED Smith Cherry Pie filling (black forest brownie recipe) or on the back of the Nestle Chipits bag (the chocolate chip cookie my mum still makes today) or in the little holiday pamphlet glued in the centre of a magazine chocked full of holiday recipes. Today, what we find on Pinterest or Instagram are now recipes saved on my profile to give a try.  As a teen I even subscribed to those recipe mail out subscriptions that showed up monthly in the mailbox, which is where I actually got this recipe. 

So back to the recipe.  This one is easy to whip up and makes a healthy portion using 1.5 lbs of ground beef.  Great for a family of 5, or for those who feed bigger appetites (Brayden John) or to just to have leftovers for lunch.  I think the last time I made it, I divided it into two portions and froze them which made a healthy dinner with a leftover lunch for hubby.  So give it a try and tell me what you think.  And if you have any go-too fall recipes that you gravitate to because its like a warm sweater or blanket, please share with me.

Bon appétit friends.  

Meatloaf

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Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
• 1/2 c kechup
• 1/3 c tomato juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp red peppe
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 c breadcrumbs
• 1/4 c finely diced onions
• 2 tsp prepared mustard

Topping

• 1/4 c ketchup
• 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
• 2 tsp brown sugar

Method

 

1. In a large bowl combine: ketchup, tomato juice, salt, pepper, red pepper, eggs, breadcrumbs, onions and mustard until thoroughly mixed together.
2. Add ground beef and mix thoroughly.
3. in a 9 x 5 loaf pan, press in the beef mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the topping ingredients (ketchup, mustard and brown sugar). Spread on top of the meatloaf.
5. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes in a 400 degree oven or until a min of 160 degree internal temperature.
6. Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Serve with mashed potatoes, a green vegetable like Brussel sprouts or broccoli / broccolini, and a side salad.  

This can made ahead and frozen for a quick weeknight meal down the road.

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