Meatloaf Monday

I bet you’ve heard of Meatless Mondays, right?

I’ve never been one for conformity, so I’m doing something very non-conformist on this Monday morning. I’m turning today, Monday, into Meatloaf Monday.

It’s a bit non-conformist (perhaps even a wee bit passive aggressive?), it’s a bit in-your-face, and it’s a whole lot alliterative. Which is a long way of saying that the name alone is awesome. (*Pats self shamelessly on back.*)

Because really, who doesn’t love non-conforming in-your-face alliteration? No one I want to be friends with, that’s who.

So, you may remember way back when it was still warm out and there were still green leaves on the trees (seriously, fall?!? Go home. We don’t want you yet.) Yes, way back then I went on a working vacation and visited some friends in Canada.

While there, we ate.a.lot. Lots of really GOOD food. One of these good foods was meatloaf.

Not that Meat Loaf. The food meatloaf.

While I spent my first evening there chatting with my old roommate in their living room, her husband spent the evening grinding venison from a deer that he had killed a few days earlier. The next day, while we ladies went out and shopped the day away, he worked and then made us dinner.

It kind of made me (almost) want to get married.

Yeah, we got back from shopping (STARVING) at 7:37 pm and the meatloaf still had an hour left in the oven, but still? Meatloaf that I didn’t have to make would be ready for me after my shower.

That just gave me more time to waste in the shower. No problemo.

I emerged from the shower a new (clean) woman, made us a salad and sat down to a big plate of greens, roasted asparagus, and meatloaf. A

Raw meat just looks gross. Sorry.

Then I begged him for the recipe, because I have a freezer full of meat and….well. Yep.

But, being of a lazy constitution, I never get around to making dinner ahead of time. I’m more of a crapI’mreallyhungryrightNOWandmusteateverythinginsight kind of person. So, instead of loafing my meat, I muffined it.

I reasoned that if cake takes longer to make than muffins, using the same recipe, the same logic should hold for meat, right.

That is sound logic, indeed.

Meatloaf Muffins

• 1/4 cup almond milk
• about 1/2 large onion, chopped finely
• 2 large stalks celery, chopped finely
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vegetable bouillon (or Mrs. Dash or other seasoning blend)
• about 3 -4 T oat flour (or 1/4 cup bread crumbs(
• 1 large egg
• 1 pound ground steak (my friend used 1/2 venison, 1/2 pork….I used what I had)
• Ketchup, to top (optional)

Blend milk through flour together until nice and goopy. Mix in the egg. Add meat to the goop and adjust with additional flour or milk, depending on how wet or dry your slop is. When the meat is moldable, but not dry, scoop muffinfuls into a muffin tin or into an 8×8 inch pan.

Bake at 325 for 35 min for muffins or 1 1/2 to 2 hours for a loaf. You can add ketchup on top during last 10 minutes (or 30 for the loaf), if you want. I prefer to leave mine plain and douse in ketchup on my plate.

Taste-wise, there is obviously no difference here. Ease of cleanup is probably a little skewed towards the loaf end (those muffin tins are a bitch to clean).

But muffins more than make up for the additional cleaning time by their shortened cooking time. Because I can stand in the kitchen washing dishes on a full stomach and be happy, but I can’t wait nearly TWO hours for meat to cook when I am hangry.

Intant gratification….who me?

Do you have a favorite meatloaf recipe? Anyone’s husband cook for them regularly? (Lucky you…) Who else has Paradise by the Dashboard Light in their head now?

You’re welcome.