Cooking : An Ode to Onions and a Great Meatloaf Recipe

Chopping Onions

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I cannot, I simply cannot, hand-chop onions.

Yes I watch those cooking shows that demonstrate competent hands on knives as they chop into tiny morsels what had been a big bulb type of vegetable.

I am not very good at chopping anything with a knife but onions?  Folks they destroy my lovely eyeballs.

Yes I know that onions affects most people's eyes but mine burn with massive tears running down my face, not to mention that horrible burning pain.

Above is a chopping device I purchased just for chopping onions.  It works quite well but I have a touch time putting it together to chop onions and taking it apart to retrieve the chopped onions.

I would not use it to chop celery or other vegies.  I do not mind purchasing my vegetables already chopped even though they cost the equivalent of $85 a pound.  But I am cooking for only one person, me, and I prefer to pay more money then to be bothered with purchasing large bunches of leafy vegies with most of it going in the trash.

But onions?

For all the pain they bring, you need onions in every thing.  Onions go in salads, chili, meatloaf....damn near everything we cook.  Onions are the only thing I buy in a 3-5 pound bag and use it up within two weeks.

For all my glorifying of onions, they still cause me great pain to gain their use.

It's just not fair.
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A Great Meatloaf Recipe

This is not my personal meatloaf recipe, not that I have a personal meatloaf recipe.

I love meatloaf.  Who doesn't?

But it's a somewhat tricky thing to make, what with admonishments not to use too much of your hands in forming the pre-cooked loaf for the density that might come upon.

The link for this recipe is below and below this, the actual recipe.

I will cook this recipe within the next few weeks and will report in.

https://www.thewholesomedish.com/the-best-classic-meatloaf/

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg beaten
• 2 tbsp. ketchup
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. dried parsley leaves
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• For the Topping:
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Fahrenheit.
• In a large bowl, add the beef, bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, 2 tablespoons ketchup, worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Use your hands to mush and mix these ingredients together until well combined.*
• Add the meat mixture to a loaf pan. Pat the meat down into an even layer.
• In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup ketchup, the brown sugar, and vinegar. Stir to combine. Pour the sauce on top of the meatloaf and spread it into an even layer.
• Bake uncovered for 55 minutes.

• Let the meatloaf rest for 8-10 minutes before serving (or it may fall apart).**

Notes

*Be sure to mix the meat really well.  This is a very moist meatloaf recipe so under mixing can cause the meatloaf to be too soft/mushy. 

**I use two thin spatulas to remove the meatloaf from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. You could also slice and serve the meatloaf directly from the loaf pan, or use parchment paper to line the pan for easy removal.---------------------------------------Worst cooks in America

In the TV category of this Blog I report on one of my favorite cooking shows, Food Network's "Worst Cooks in America".  A link to one such Blog post...

https://patfishblog.blogspot.com/2020/02/tv-bachelor-worst-cooks-and-americas.html I hope to be on this show one day.  Maybe I'll learn how to peel  onions.

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Time for a Smile
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The Garden club gathers, discusses, and straightens out the women on the planet