I was making a super quick and easy dinner for Sasha and Alec so I decided to make Meat Loaf, but I forgot onions at the store. We had a tomato so I used that instead and added some garlic- totally channeling the 1950s way of making something "I-talian." But whaddaya know, it worked out pretty well. I think in the future the right move is to do the onion AND tomato AND garlic.


Ah, shrinkage is always an issue.


I-talianized Meat Loaf
The original bones of the recipe are from a hilarious cookbook called "Dinner for Two" that my mom got when she was first married.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 slices white bread, ripped into little pieces
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped finely
• 1-2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp garlic powder or garlic salt (if you use garlic salt, lower the amount of regular salt)
• couple splashes worcestershire sauce
• herbs if you own them (oregano?)
• salt and pepper

Method:

• Crack egg into a bowl and scramble lightly with a fork. Add milk, mustard, garlic powder, worcestershire, herbs, salt and pepper.
• Put bread in mixture and let sit a few minutes to soften.
• Add onion, tomato, garlic, and meat and mix with a wooden spoon or with your hands (easier.)
• Put in a loaf pan or ceramic dish and bake at 400 for about an hour.