I'm still boycotting the grocery (which is going to have to change this weekend since we've had cheese and crackers for dinner two nights this week) and I wanted a good dinner using ground beef from the farm share that I had thawed, but I really didn't want burgers. So I made meatloaf on Tuesday night.


I blended together a couple of recipes for this one to make use of what I had and what I thought sounded cool. I do that more and more these days, which may be the biggest thing I've learned during the farm share experiment. I really have come a long way since the end of the first month.

Kyle said this was the best meatloaf he's ever had. Well, thank you.

Meatloaf with Carrots & Sake & Oatmeal (of course)
1 egg
1/2 cup sake (Japanese rice liquor, it's our standard "cooking wine")
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (frozen from earlier in the farm share season)
1 to 1.5 cups of grated carrot (I used 1 large and 4 small ones to try to make a dent in our supply)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked steel cut oats
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon "Italian seasoning" from the spice rack (an oregano, basil, etc. mix that I should use up)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup pasta sauce (I didn't have tomato sauce, so I used Classico jarred pasta sauce from the fridge)
several generous shakes of red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste

I beat my egg well in the bowl first and then dumped everything else in there. I mixed it well using a fork and my hands and put it in a bread loaf pan. I baked at 350 for about an hour, until the center measured about 150 degrees.

We ate it with another 1/4 cup or so of Classico on top.

Last night, Kyle made his butternut squash, which are always good, and sauteed our last head of cabbage. He went with Asian flavors this time--soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar--and it was a good change from the normal cooked cabbage.

Now I'm trying again on bread and dreading the grocery.