MEATLOAF!

That picture always cracks me up. Oh goodness. Ok, onto the meatloaf.

Meatloaf is another one of my favorite comfort food dishes and we go way back. As children we usually aren't very big fans of meatloaf, but we typically grow into it as adults. And if you don't, what's wrong with you? Your mom serve you hockey pucks or something? When you think about it though... it's kind of an odd food. A literal loaf of meat. Kind of grosses you out for a second, but once you get that thought out of your mind, you move onto the greatness that it is! This is another one of those dishes you can make a million different ways. Some people are turkey people, I'm a beef girl all the way. All kinds of other meat mixtures are used, different veggies, some people do the hard boiled egg thing. The possibilities are really endless! 

I always loved the way my mom cooked hers- seasoned meat then a layer of sauteed spinach, tomatoes, and garlic with some cheese, another layer of the seasoned meat, and then the same sauteed mixture on top. That's how I always remember having it and I still quite like that version. My dad makes his exactly like he makes meatballs- very yummy! The meat mixed with bread and all necessary herbs and spices. The meatloaf I make comes as a surprise to everyone that knows me, myself included. Why? Because it contains green peppers. And I hate green peppers. Goes to show you how good this really is! This recipe is from my Grammie, who got it from... Im not sure where. Probably a magazine? 

I have yet to find a meatloaf that tastes more comforting than this one, so try it out!

-1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (any fat content works, more fat is more grease to clean up though)

-1 sweet onion

-1 green pepper

-1 sleeve Saltine crackers 

-2 eggs

-3/4 cup ketchup (divide into 1/4 and 1/2 cup measurements)

-2 tbs brown sugar

-1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Chop the onion and green pepper into small pieces and saute until soft and delicious (Side note- make sure you get all of the seeds out of the pepper, you don't want them floating all around in there anyway. Plus in my house growing up, if you were on pepper chopping duty and my dad found a seed... you are never to be trusted chopping peppers again. It's good to be a bit particular about things though, makes for a better end product. And now I'm the same way, you have to earn my trust with the peppers!) When these are done, set aside to cool a bit.

3. Smash up the saltines into crumbs, leave some pieces bigger though, give a little texture.

4. In a large bowl throw in your meat,  the slightly cooled onions and peppers, egg, saltines, 1/4 cup ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and some salt and pepper to your liking.

5. Wash your hands and get in that bad boy- Ina Garten always told me your hands are your best tool! Mix well enough to combine, but don't overmix. No one wants tough meat.  

6. Grab a baking dish, line with parchment paper, and plop your meat mixture into the pan and form it into an even loaf. (Or you can use a loaf pan, whatever works!)

7. Combine the remainder of your ketchup with the brown sugar, this will be a glaze! spread it on top of the loaf evenly. 

8. Pop it in the oven for about 1 hour, check at 50 minutes.

9. At the end of cooking switch the oven to a low broil to let that topping get all nice and bubbly. 

**Make sure you watch this carefully, very easy to burn! Only leave it under the broiler for a few minutes. When it starts to get darker in color and look like the most delicious molten lava you've ever seen, you're good.**

Look at those bubbles!

10. Let this sit for a few minutes to let the top set up, then dig in!

And of course, chose whatever sides you like! I always go for some gold 'ol rice or some pasta with garlic and oil. But I understand if you're a purist and stick with taders. The expression is, after all, meat and potatoes. 

This meatloaf is sweet, salty, meaty, crunchy, just all around good. So so ahead, make some meatloaf and cozy up on a cold winter night!

-Meaghan

Disney.

I think everyone who knows me knows I'm a little obsessed with Disney, what 20 something female isn't right? I mean, I grew up on all the classics and I can appreciate the newer movies, but I still stand by saying kids these days will never know what it's like to grow up on the real Disney! I have a few trips to Disneyworld and one to Disneyland under my belt, but my most recent trip to Florida with three of my oldest nieces topped them all! Two nieces were seasoned veterans and one had never been before- it's the best of both worlds!(see what I did there) And of course, it's December and that means Christmas at Disney! I've never been during this time of year and it's everything I'd hoped for! Lights everywhere, fake snow, Christmas music blasting... you get the picture.

It all started a few months ago when we booked the trip, I had booked with two of my nieces as well as an extra ticket as a surprise for another one of my nieces- we planned it so that she wouldn't find out until the morning we were leaving. Keeping this secret for 3 months was brutal, but we did it! Naturally I had a list of things to do and eat while at Disney- topping the list was of course seeking out pickles and devouring them all, to eat at the Be Our Guest, get Dole Whip, and to find myself a prince charming, duh.

This isn't a very food specific post, but it's always fun to share experiences : )

Our Magic Bands.

Disney isn't a typical "vacation". It's something you need a vacation from when you get home! Days start at 6am and end around midnight and on it goes. I wanted to chop my feet off and throw them away by the time the week was done, but hey, it's Disney. Last time we made the trip down to the happiest place on earth it was March... in a snow storm. Not a good idea. Long story short, got a call from the airline the night before departure letting me know that that our flight was cancelled, a trip to Portland the next day to see if we could book something else, a speeding trip to Manchester we got on a flight, missing our connection in Philadelphia, finally catching a flight the next morning, then we barely made it to Florida, but we made it! So obviously, this time flying from Maine in December made me kind of kind of nervous, but our flights went off without a hitch! Plus this time our connection was in Washington DC and so naturally we hob knobbed with local politicians and sipped imaginary cocktails.

Being patient. 

I needed Five Guys.

Onward to Florida.

Arriving quite late at night we were off to our hotel- we stayed on Disney property- seriously the best thing you can do. The Art of Animation was our home for the next several days and it was cute as a button. The themes of the hotel were The Lion King, Cars, Finding Nemo, and The Little Mermaid- we were in a Little Mermaid room. Only downside to these rooms? It's a hike across the grounds, but they made it fun with things along the way... like a dinglehopper, a big Ursula showing us the body language, and quite a nice statue of Prince Eric- very exciting!

 Drawings all along the wall at the hotel. This was my favorite.

 Swoon.

 Little drawing classes are offered at the hotel- I drew this one.

Here's that dinglehopper I was talking about.

So now the trip kind of gets consolidated into one blob because we then hit Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. Here are just some pictures of the rest of the trip, enjoy : )

 The chocolate croissant I ate every day for breakfast. It was delishhhhh.

This will have to do until I get to Africa. 

Hogwarts.

 Epcot ball on the way in to see IllumiNations. There is a ride in that ball and it's one of the best ones! No it's not a fast roller coaster or even fast at all. However, it brings you through the history of civilization! I know it's weird to get excited about this, but I love it!

 The Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop in Downtown Disney is a must- this is a salted caramel sundae. It was amazing. I got a couple of these on this trip. Walked it off. No big deal. 

YES. PICKLES. These are seriously the best pickles in the world and you can't get them anywhere by Disney! I admit, I mayyyy have looked into trying to get these shipped to me... no luck. They are huge and cold and crunchy and perfect. Just perfect.

 Christmas at Disney? Better bring my sweater!

 My vacation home at sunset. Be jealous.

My vacation home at night. Be very jealous.

Because it was Christmas time, Disney made this Queen Elsa's castle and went all out with the lights and fireworks. 

While in the land of Harry Potter my nieces stopped and got their Butterbeer on. I opted out, but it looked pretty!

*Confession: I've never read the books or seen any of the movies, I may have to indulge because this place was seriously awesome.*

This was an exciting moment. I never thought I'd see my name spelt correctly on a Starbucks cup. Yes, they had to ask me, but I still count this as a win.

I used to have to watch Jurassic Park on mute, so obviously this scared the daylights out of me. Petrified that something was lurking in the bushes waiting to jump out at me, I made it through unharmed. Take that you terrifying dinosaurs. Quick update, I can now watch this movie normally because I have it memorized. Go me!

Quite possibly my favorite part of the trip- eating at Be Our Guest. It's apparently quite difficult to get a reservation, but we got in on this trial run of a FastPass system. I felt like I was in the movie and it was so amazing. We had some quick service fast food including, but not limited to, French onion soup, croquet monsieur, and...

...the grey stuff! We asked the dishes, and it was delicious.

Feeling sneaky, we went off to the West Wing and caught a glimpse of the rose. Just kidding, it was in a room off to the side, but it was still exciting! The entire place was right out of the movie, I felt like a kid again.

No shortage of Mickey snacks. They all taste like magic, sugar, and screaming kids. It's amazingggg. I'm still waiting for Mickey shaped churros. Get on it Disney!

Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios.

Magic Kingdom is my favorite park because it has everything, including this statue that is just the best ever. When I was at Disney earlier in the year(yes I went to Disney twice in one year, don't judge), I took this shot of my niece and it's one of my favorite pictures:

We're all just kids when we get to Disney.

 Sadly the trip had to come to an end, I was ready though. I needed a nap, some home cooked meals, and a foot bath pronto. All in all though, the trip was successful- we hit all the parks and then some and we pretty much did all we wanted to do! We saw someone get engaged in front of the castle. Amazing. I got Rapunzel to sign a frying pan. Amazing. My niece got her sparkly shoes in a picture with Cinderella. Amazing. Another Disney trip in the books and I can't wait for the next one because it seriously never gets old. I definitely suggest going with a child who is old enough to enjoy and remember the experience, but in my mind, you have to go at least once as an adult. I think it's ten times better and you can then go on all the fun rides! And you don't have your parents in your ear the whole time telling you can't eat all the junk food, I gave myself the guilt trip all on my own thank you.

Last thing on my list- get my first Chick-fil-a! And it was a win! I know, I'm not hard to please, but we don't have these in Maine!



 Home again, home again.

“Laughter is timeless.
Imagination has no age.
And dreams are forever.”  

-Walt Disney

-Meaghan





Table For Two...

...who am I kidding, table for one.

So Valentine's Day is coming up, are you ready? If you haven't gotten your reservations by now, you may be out of luck. In any case, you don't have to go out! You can have a nice evening in. This can easily be adapted for Galentine's Day, or you can go all out and get fancy, dress up with your significant other or maybe just by yourself... you don't have to be attached to have a nice night, or hunker down in your sweats and get cozy on the couch with some Netflix. So hot. 

This year, I'm on my own and so I want to make it as good of a time as I can. And after all, in the words of Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford... treat yo self! I'm thinking of a good meal that can be enjoyed by one or two, that feels like something special, but also gets the job done. Steak is what comes to mind, as always. 

On the menu for my Valentine's Day: filet mignon, broccoli au gratin, cute little potatoes (because what's Valentine's Day without something cute?), and something yummy for dessert of course! Treat yo self. 

When preparing this masterpiece you could get yourself in the kitchen to impress your man and visa versa- get him in there and have him cook you a nice dinner for once! But the thing that would work best, of course, would be if you got in the kitchen together and whipped up the meal! Couple who cook together stay together!

Plus, if you have a man who wants to feed you meat and potatoes... marry him.

How precious are those little heart shaped potato slices? I only did two because quite frankly I wanted to eat and if I did all the potatoes it would take me for-ev-er. It's the thought that counts after all. But if you have someone to cook for- go for it!

For dessert I thought something easy would be best. Something maybe you can make a day or two in advance so you don't have to fuss with it. Ice cream! There is always room for ice cream. I had some ingredients kicking around so why not make it yourself! The base to the ice cream is just two ingredients and you can make it with a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or by hand (impressive) if you're feeling strong. Then you can add virtually anything you want! 

Base:

-14 oz can sweeten condensed milk

-2 cups heavy cream

1. Pour the cream into a large bowl.

2. Get your mixer (or your strong arms) out and whisk it up until the cream is thick and silky- usually takes 3-5 minutes.

3. When the cream is thick, pour in the sweetened condensed milk and mix to combine.

4. Here is where you can add whatever you want! (I had red velvet oreos hanging around so that's what I was going to use!) Smash them up and set aside for later.

5. Now that the mixture is done, pour it into an air tight container and stick it in the freezer.

6. Every half hour or so, give it a stir.

7. Once the ice cream gets thicker to the consistency of really soft soft serve, now you can put your extras in. (If you add them too early, they will just sink to the bottom.)

8. Leave the ice cream in the freezer overnight for best results and then enjoy when you want!

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Whatever you plan on doing this Valentine's day, do what you want! 

Just remember to treat yo self!

-Meaghan 

 xo