I would do anything for Meatloaf. But I won't do that. Nah naaaaaaw.

I had to do it at one point didn't I? Ye canne beat a bit of Meat Loaf.
Slag him as you may but Meatloaf  sure writes a great Rock song.

Now I'm not from America so I never ate meatloaf as a child. But I did have some excellent meatloaf in Seattle once. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 I grew up on mince n tatties, spicy mince, lasange,well basically anything that could be made with mince. Yes, my mother was a big fan of ground up cow. I guess it was cheap, we were poor and  she was bringing up twins in the desolate ghetto of Possil Park. " .....can you the violins calling your name".

Regardless of that. Now the weather is fair drawing in, it's time for comfort food and what's better than a plate of steaming hot meat loaf with mashed potato and gravy. Yum, yum yum.

Pauline's Mum kindly gave me this recipe. Thank you very much. I ate it for four days running.
I've tweaked a couple of the ingredients as I can't help myself. It's in my cheffy nature but mostly it's the exact same recipe.






Meatloaf by Pauline's Mum

Serves 4 greedy portions

1 or 2lbs mince

1 grated carrot

1 finely chopped onion

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 large egg

dollop ketchup (optional)

garlic

paprika

pepper

(or whatever seasonings preferred)

Put everything in a large bowl and mix it all in using hands. Just keep mixing and kneading until it all comes together then put it on a board and slap it around and shape it into a loaf.

then put it into a roasting tray (not a loaf tin).

Before putting in the oven boil some water and mix with some cooking oil and pour over the top of the loaf. You might need to do this again half way through cooking if it starts to look dry.

put it in oven at 190 for approx 1 hr 15 mins. When cooked leave sitting for about 15/20 mins then you should be able to cut it in slices. 

My bit now......

Mashed potato

4 to 6 large potatoes (Maris Piper are good)
50g butter
Splash milk
Pinch salt and white pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg

Peel and wash your potatoes and cut into large chunks.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil then pop in the potatoes.
Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are tender but not overcooked.
Drain and leave to sit for 2 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients then mash away to your hearts content.

Mushroom gravy

I cheated and bought a large tub of fresh beef gravy as I was feeling very lazy. So........

1 large tub fresh beef gravy
2 large flat cap or Portabello mushrooms sliced
Small splash vegetable oil
Splash milk

Put  the oil into a pot and put onto a medium heat. Add the mushromms and cook for a few minutes until softened but still with a bit of a bite.
Add the gravy and milk, bring to the boil then serve over the meatloaf and mashed potatoes.



While the meatloaf is cooking peel and wash enough potatoes for 4 people and cut into large chunks.