What to do for Valentine's Day. . .

I crave it A LOT of the time. Steamy, hot, and I'll be damned if it's not better the second time around.

What? I'm talking about meatloaf, you freaks!

This is my specialty. I love it. I will tell you any day of the week that my meatloaf is better than your mamma's and your grandmamma's combined. There's not many things I make that I would step up to a mamma or grandmamma about. . .but trust me. . .mine is infinitely better.

As my Valentine's Day (yuck) present to you all, to show how much I love you, I will give you my recipe. Make it with the confetti salad (scroll down for that recipe), and and a side of mac and cheese or mashed pertaters. . .and you will have your man at your beck and call for the rest of the month.

Loaf part:
-1 lb of ground whatever you like. (beef, round, chuck, turkey- whatev; but chuck is the best.)
-1 egg
-1 heaping handful of breadcrumbs
- 1/2 of a good sized onion
- 1/2 of a bell pepper
- load and a half of garlic
- cayenne pepper (powder or flakes, whatever you got)
-ok, here's where the present part comes in. . .I'm telling you my secret ingredient. . . .curry powder. There, I said it. . .curry powder. A liberal amount of curry powder. It gives it this splendid earthy taste.

* Squish this up with your hands. I know, it's totally gross. . .but you want to get all that goodness mixed up.
* Plop it into a loaf pan, and squish it flat in there. I also have a set of mini loaf pans that I like to use for single serve versions. . .or if you don't have that, a muffin pan works too.
* Take the end of a spoon, or a straw or something, and poke several holes in it.

Bake it for 30 mins at 350. (Remember to preheat)

While it's baking, make the topping.

Topping:
- Lots of ketchup
- Several dashes of soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, dale's or any kind of dark salty liquid you might have in the fridge.

* set it aside until the loaf part is done.
* get on the net, read a book, play with the cat.
* When the loaf part IS done, schmear the topping on, and bake it for about 15-20 mins. Drain off any grease before you do.

Meatloaf keeps a little secret from us, and I made it talk. It's actually versatile.

Variations. . .

Meatloaf Italiano:

Use Italian Breadcrumbs, add some Italian Seasoning. The mixed kind is good. . .it's got oregano, basil. . .and other herby goodness. For the topping (after you've poured the grease off the top) lay down some slices of mozzarella, or grated mozzarella and/or provalone. On top of that, smear on a good bit of your fave spaghetti sauce (I like the kind with mushrooms in it), black olives, and parmesean cheese. It's ooey gooey goodness.

Mexican Meatloaf:

Add some taco seasoning to the loaf part when you're in the squishing phase. For the topping, sprinkle on a good bit of that grated mix cheese in the mexican variety. Cover that in either Ro-Tell tomatoes, or your fave salsa. If you like even more heat, add some jalapeno to that.

Wavy Gravy:

Nix the onions in the original loaf part. For the topping, either mix up some gravy from the packet, or get a jar. Schmear it on. Saute the onions until they're getting transparent, but not gooshy.

Can't think of any other kinds. . .<3