It's NOT meatballs - but it's Meatloaf

As a child growing up, I remember mom having several different recipes that were her all-time favs. I don't ever recall mom 'not' being in the kitchen with a toothpick in her mouth, the phone with the long swirly cord extended from the hallway to the kitchen counter setting on her shoulder and her cooking something up from memory, scratch or a family recipe. 

Mom liked to bake, make holiday candies, fudge, Martha Washington’s, peanut brittle, divinity - and the list goes on and on (oh the aromas that filled the air)...mom also loved to can and freeze fresh garden vegetables through the summertime months so we would have an ample supply through the winter. 

I miss those jars of canned pickles. They could have been sweet and sours, or dill with a touch of garlic might even find a jar of chowchow in there somewhere. Those jars of canned, pickled cucumbers into a delish pickle were the best...Mom canned and froze anything and everything out of their garden. It wasn't a small garden by no means.

Our family moved to an area called Pleasant Valley on the Northside of Amarillo in the early '70s. It was so pleasant back in the day. We were the only family on the block that had children...the rest of the neighbors were retired, elderly people who had manicured yards and who would set on their front porch in the evening waving at everyone who drove down the street. It was so peaceful...but not anymore. 

The house was three parts of three other houses made into one...it was built in the 1930s and had 1,470 square feet of living space. It was considered a Single-Family Residence. We had 3/4 of an acre and the garden took up over a quarter of that...we called it the "Back 40". There was a 4-car garage that at any given time, only had a small path to walk through - - dad was such a hoarder of many, many different things. 

The washer and dryer were housed in the garage - -and oh I hated walking out there in the cold, winter, dark months - -or the steaming hot summers. I really hated going out to the garage after dad brought the burned mannequin home from his job! (I'll save that story for another time!) Nothing about my dad surprises me now that I think back to a few of these memories. I will cherish them forever. The dryer we had was from the motel he and his mother owned. It was called, King Motel. He had shimmied it where we had a quarter that had to be inserted for the pilot light to kick on to heat the clothes - -oh my. I hated it! It was so big, so loud, and as a young girl, it scared the peewaddlin' out of me! LOL

Mom always put up squash (canned or blanched, then frozen), green beans, okra, corn, anything, and everything they grew. Trust me, I snapped my fair share of green beans...I'd sat on the front porch with my large bowl of beans and snap, snap, snap. I hated working in the garden with the bugs, the weeds, and an occasional snake here and there...but I did enjoy the benefits of the fresh food from mom and dad's garden. 

Moving back to the fanfare’s mom liked to cook - I think each week, we would have the same meal on the same day from the previous week. It might have looked like a taco salad, fried chicken cooked up in her electric skillet or cast iron one, meatloaf, roast with all the Fixings, or maybe occasionally, a pot of spaghetti. There was always meat and potatoes...never much salad in any way shape or form. 

I always enjoyed smelling the aroma of the roast cooking in the crockpot on Saturday nights. Just before we'd leave for the church - she'd clean and wash potatoes as well as carrots. Then she would add them to the crock. Once home, she would make a brown gravy and we'd dive in... I miss momma's pot roast - but I must admit, I think I make a pretty good one myself. I never understood the reasoning behind her seasoning, flouring it and simmering it off before putting in the crockpot, but now I do. It holds the flavors, the juices and once one starts eating - it just melts in your mouth! 

My least favorite item mom cooked and still is very MUCH my least favorite today is meatloaf! I cannot stand it anyway, shape or form. I'm not sure why that is...meatloaf is one of my husband's favorites, but he doesn't get it cooked in our house! If he wants it, he must order from a restaurant.  

Honestly, I think it's the texture of the meat, the juices, the seasonings, the ketchup, or lack thereof...I don't know, but nevertheless, you won't find it in my oven! 

Meatballs and meatloaf - hamburger meat is so versatile. From chili to tacos - too stuffed baked peppers. Hamburger meat can be manipulated to create many wonderful recipes. 

Over the course of the last several years, I have been the Admin of two Facebook crafting swapping groups (both which I have stepped away from now due to life happening). In the Spring - I would post swaps that would give the members an opportunity of sharing recipes with one another through the beginning of the holiday season. We'd have themes, we'd have specific content, we'd have drinks, appetizers, entrees, desserts, baked goods - anything and everything one could think of in the form of a recipe. During one of the last swaps I held, the participants had to create a 3 x 5 cards highlighting the name of the recipe on the front with ephemera depicting the recipe and on the back or a separate 3 x 5 card, the actual recipe, cooking times, etc. 

During the last swap, we did at the end of summer in 2019, I received this...

Old Fashion Meatloaf by Alfie Krause

I've not cooked this one yet and I doubt I ever do...but I will cherish the recipe that was sent to me as it did bring a smile to my face.

It's not meatballs, but it's meatloaf! If you try the recipe, let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you. 

Enjoy!

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