I’m a food addict, so I come by my love of cooking through necessity.  While my tastes are very mainstream, I love trying to make the great dishes I’ve enjoyed at restaurants and many simple dishes I’ve enjoyed since childhood.  But not being able to afford to eat out very often has encouraged me to become a better cook.  I’m 50+ years old and I’ve been cooking for myself for over 30 years, and I still can’t make a decent cup of coffee.  And even my hamburgers are nothing special.  So I don’t hold myself out as a great cook.  I’ve also had my fill of fast food.  I can’t tell you how many times Maggie and I would be on our way home from someplace and I couldn’t decide where to stop to buy something for dinner.  The little California town we lived in had two McDonald’s, a Taco Bell, and a handful of take-out places.  And coming home was usually on a Sunday, which meant our favorite Chinese deli was closed, so I’d almost always end up cooking something simple and satisfying.  But I have a couple of simple dishes that just tickle me because they taste good and look impressive.  I’ve often said that if the dish looks good, you’ve got the battle half-won.

If you’re reading this and you do any of your own cooking, I’m sure you’ve found as I have that the Internet has an enormous store of recipes for beginners.  That’s where I found the recipes for two of my go-to dishes: meatloaf and cinnamon rolls.  Okay, so it doesn’t take any great talent to make meatloaf, but this is apparently a pretty famous recipe called “Clyde’s Meatloaf” by Clyde’s of Reston VA, that I stumbled across several times.   I like it because it’s very sweet.  It uses honey and grated carrots, and it comes out gorgeous with the carrots giving small bits of color.  Here we go…

Clyde’s Meatload

1/2 cup regular oatmeal (not “quick” or “instant”)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbl honey (or light corn syrup in a pinch)
1/2 cup milk
2 tbl vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onions (1 medium onion)
1-1/2 tsp minced garlic
2-1/2 lbs ground chuck
3/4 cup grated (1 or 2 good-sized) carrots
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper as desired

Combine the oatmeal, half-cup of honey, and milk in a large mixing bowl.  Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Heat the oil in a saute’ pan over medium heat, and add the onion and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste, and saute’ until the onions are just translucent and softened slightly.  (I prefer a little caramelization on the onions, so I wait to see a bit of color ).  Add the onions to the oatmeal mixture, along with the meat and grated carrots.  Add salt to taste and a good dose of black pepper.  Mix thoroughly and place in a non-stick 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.  Place the loaf pan on a foil-lined cookie sheet to catch any spills and place in oven.  Bake for 50 minutes.  Remove from oven and carefully tip the pan to pour off excess fat and liquid, then turn the meatloaf out on the cookie sheet.  Turn right side up.  Combine the ketchup, mustard, and 2 tsps. of honey and spread the mixture over the surface of the meatloaf.  Return the meatloaf to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Another great Internet find.  It is a bit different than my Mom’s classic meatloaf.  The first time I made this I had to substitute Karo syrup for the honey and a tsp. of Grey Poupon for the ground dry mustard.  It still turned out great with a glossy finish.  Definitely on the sweet side, as you would expect, but pleasantly so.   Very satisfying and easy to make.  Works well with a leaner ground beef than most meatloafs can stand because the carrots and oatmeal keep it moist.  A real confidence builder because it’s yummy and looks fabulous.  And you can have the kids prepare the veggies and mix everything together with their hands, and have a fine time right at home.   I just made the batch shown in the picture for a pot-luck dinner at a neighbor’s house (hence the bed of romaine – hey, I watch the cooking shows!  Presentation is everything!), and it was a real hit.  I was asked several times for the recipe.  But the point is that this is such an easy and reliable recipe that I was confident that I wouldn’t be embarrassed by a poor showing in a crowd of strangers.

Growing up, the classic sides were always mashed potatoes and a vegetable.   You can balance out the sweetness by using a coarse-ground black pepper.  My mom always bought the same pepper that came out of the shaker like a gray mist.   I was hooked on Popeye cartoons, so I grew up liking canned spinach, but we’d also have green beans, creamed corn, or (of course), Niblets.  Kids will enjoy pickled beets with this, too.  The short cooking time means they don’t have to wait very long to enjoy the fruits of their efforts.
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