My dear friends, if any of you remember me, I'll be more than impressed. Â It has been quite awhile since I have written. Â After giving birth to my daughter I have had quite a few problems that
needed to be addressed which have resulted in three surgeries and a fourth one to come. Â My spirits have been great due to every slurpy smile that my baby gives me through the day. Â I must admit I have not been cooking as much and have been 'loafing' more
than normal due to the fact that my innards have endured a lot lately. Â Of course as with any life event, there is always the humorous side.
My last operation left me in the hospital for six days with a foot long incision and a four hour blood transfusion. Â My dear husband was with me every step of the way as was my mother bear who
did a lot of growling on my behalf. Â I also had a lot of time alone...without cable. Â This gave me time to reflect on my life. Â I looked back at the peaks and valleys and realized that I have been so blessed to be loved and to be able to give love to my friends
and family. Â I also realized that the hospital was not a place to rest. Aside from nurses coming in to medicate you, prick you and find other ingenious ways to make you miserable, other patients can prove to be quite a distraction as well.
I was fortunate enough to have one such patient next door to me. Â Every time I just about closed my eyes I heard a bloodcurling scream. Â "Help me! Â Help me!" Â I felt so bad for the woman as
she must really have been in pain.  Her epic cries occurred every 2 and one half minutes and crescendoed upon the quarter hour.  I felt terrible that she was in such agony and said little prayers for her from my bed.  By  11:30 that evening I used those prayers
on myself. Â I prayed that she could stay quiet for an hour or two so that I could get a little bit of sleep. Â
Finally, when I could stand it no longer I asked the nurse if she could do something for her.  The nurse explained  that she was fine and hadn't even had any surgery yet.  I asked her why she
was screaming. Â She responded by telling me that the woman was perpetually hungry and would scream unless she was eating. Â No offense to the hospital but I was more than willing to offer up my meal plan to support the woman's cause and to receive an hour or
two reprieve from her screams. Â
I am sorry, but no matter how hungry I am, I would never scream for hospital food. Â The screaming would have to come from something worth screaming for- Â like my grandmother's meatballs or my
mother's meatloaf.
Now meatloaf might strike fear in many of you since there are many recipes out there that are just plain terrible. Â These are not my mother's recipe. Â I think in a previous blog I stated that
when my mother would tell my sister and I that we were going to have meatloaf we did the meatloaf dance (That I admitted that once was scary but twice is downright nerdy). Â Meatloaf meant sandwiches the next day and that beat peanut butter and jelly in our
lunch bags any day.
As I realize that I have shared this recipe a couple of years ago in one of my blogs I will share it one more time and then put it to rest. Â I made this last night and it is so good it demanded a blogging encore.
This is what you will need:
1 pound ground beef (preferably lean)
1 pound ground pork
1 1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
Milk
2 eggs
2-3 large carrots
2-4 stalks celery
1 small onionÂ
1 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1/8 cup chopped basil
This is an important step if you want to have moist, tender meatloaf. Â Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl. Â Add enough milk so that the breadcrumbs absorb it and are soft but not soupy. Â Grate the carrots, celery, onion, and basil. Â Add the rest of the ingredients
and mix thoroughly. Â Grease a loaf pan and place the meatloaf in the pan so that is is nice and compact. Â Place it in the oven at 375 degrees until it is fully cooked, but not overcooked. I usually cook it for around 45 minutes. Â About 5 minutes before taking
it out of the oven top with ketchup,
Know that this makes a lot so the next day you can 'loaf' around knowing that there will be leftovers!
