Irma's meatloaf 101 .....

Most of us came from families who cooked.  Whether they wanted to or not.  There wasn't much of an alternative.  Family gatherings revolved around food.  For the most part, ours still do!

My grandmother, Irma Elizabeth Boyer VanWey was a busy lady.  While her 3 children were preschool, she taught private piano lessons in her home.  There was a Govt. WPA camp near their farm and she took in uniforms, laundered and ironed them for 25 cents a uniform.  Good money for that day.  Once her children were in school she went back to teaching at the one room school they attended.  Her college major had been Journalism.  She was a newspaper correspondent for many years. 

 She not only kept her farm kitchen meals running smoothly but was a professional cook in the sense that she occasionally cooked for the local grade school and cafe.  

Having milked most of their married life, her home cooking was rich with cream.  Creamed vegetables, gravy, cereal with cream.  Most of you have been at that table :-)

Her three most popular meals were Fried Chicken, chicken and noodles (they raised chickens) and her meatloaf.  It's this meatloaf recipe that I am sharing with you today.

Not a complicated loaf ..... Just a well balanced, moist, real deal. 

Irma's Meatloaf

2 lbs hamburger
2 slices bread, crusts removed
1 large egg, beaten with enough milk to soak into bread
 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste
catsup for the top   

Pour milk/egg mixture over bread until bread is well soaked.  Beat bread with a 
fork until it is broken up into small pieces.  
Add bread mixture and spices to hamburger
and mix well.  Form loaf onto a deep platter
(there will be juices running off so be sure 
there is enough room for that) or a loaf
pan.  Bake at 350 degrees covered for 1
hour.  Uncover and bake 30 mins.   
Pour a little of that cream into the drippings 
and you have a fantastic tasting gravy!  
 

New year. New Blog

Having maintained my Broken Prairie Tales Blog for nearly 5 years,  I have decided to retire it.  I have had it made into a "put away on a shelf" type book in the hope that someday other family members may find it entertaining.

My new project is going to be a subject that has been my passion for many years ..... food.  I love food and recipes and cooking those recipes.  I especially love that I have a vast collection of family recipes going back several generations.  Most are plain ingredient dishes that have fit nicely on a family farm table.

Over the years I have collected a file of "Not so Ordinary" recipes.  Teaching an international 4-H cooking class opened this file.  Determination to cook some of the dishes Mark and I have been served in restaurants as we travel has expanded the file.  Right now, I am obsessed with learning French cooking.

As with Prairie Tales, this blog will hopefully appeal to my family.  I will include some history and pictures of people and places who have contributed to these recipes.  Hopefully, some of it will interest you all too.