yum a yummmmm mmm !

I just made and partook in some really really yummy meatloaf and roasted potatoes.

I googled some recipes here and here and then made my own modifications.

For the meatloaf, i started with about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of finely minced onions and a half a stick of real butter (salted). Truly, you should start any great recipe this way because it makes the house smell FANTASTIC! I sauteed the onions in the butter on low and then on medium until the the onions were very soft and getting a good caramel color. I'm extra thorough about onions because my husband loves the flavor but hates to bite into them, so if i sautee the heck out of them, that usually works.

Next i added about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of water to the onions. The recipe called for salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning but didn't say how much. Now i know what you're thinking. I thought it too, but we were both wrong. Poultry seasoning is for more than just poultry. I liberally salted and peppered my mixture and then sort of measured probably about 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning.

I continued to let that heat while i added 1/4 cup of ketchup, a couple small dollups of worcestershire sauce, 2/3 cup of oatmeal, and one egg to the ground beef which was in a large mixing bowl awaiting my attention. After letting the onion mixture heat about 5 more minutes and then cool slightly, i added it to the meat mixture and then mixed it all up with a wooden spoon. I am not afraid to use my hands as is traditional with meatloaf, but this time i used a spoon.

After the the meat was mixed well, i covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Then i packed the meat tightly into a well oiled loaf pan and baked for one hour at 350 degrees. When it was done, i let it sit for about 5 minutes, drained the grease out of the loaf pan and into a bowl, and then turned the meatloaf upside down on a platter. It isn't very pretty (you might remedy that with some gravy or something), but it tastes SO GOOD!

But wait! That's not all. As soon i had the meat in the oven, i started on the potatoes. I took about 5 small russett potatoes, washed them, quartered them long ways and then cut them into about 1/2 inch chunks. Then i let them drain and put them in a single layer in a 9 x 13 cake pan (i'm sure a cookie sheet would do just as well). Then i got the other half of that stick of butter i used earlier (be sure you kept it in the fridge for this) and sliced super thin slices and lay the slices on top of the potato chunks in the cake pan. The amount of butter i had didn't fully cover the potatoes like the original recipe calls for, but it doesn't really end up mattering in the end.

After all the butter was sliced and laid out, i seasoned the potatoes with lawry's seasoned salt, pepper, and dill weed. I was very generous with the dill because i really like dill. It took me almost exactly 15 minutes to prepare the potatoes for the oven, and then i slid them in right next to the meatloaf. Every 15 minutes, i took the potatoes out and flipped them and stirred them around a bit. The meatloaf was done at exactly one hour, so i took out the meatloaf and let the potatoes cook about 5 more minutes at 350 and then turned the oven to broil for about 5 more minutes. When i broil anything, i always keep the oven open a little bit to remind me to keep checking on my food. Otherwise, i will ALWAYS burn it.

When the potatoes were finished and cooled just a little bit, i spooned them out onto the platter on either side of the meatloaf. It turned out to be a cute and concise presentation. The guys actually commented on it. There was also a bowl of microwaved vegetables on the side.

The guys didn't really talk about the potatoes, but they raved and raved about the meatloaf. Truth be told, my mother makes the best meatloaf in the world, but this was a close second. There isn't any left if that tells you anything. I asked them about the potatoes, and my husband said "they were good." I tried what was left of them, and i thought they were AWESOME. You don't notice the flavor of the lawry's really. You just know they taste GOOD.

I took a picture of the meatloaf plate, but then my husband took the camera to work, and i'll have to post my picture later. =)