Meatloaf, Potato Cakes and Yellow Squash

If you are on a diet or in to really healthy eating, do not read any further! This post contains frying, carbs, and red meat. I should not eat these things either, but from time to time I crave the comfort foods from my childhood and indulge.  I came across my grandmother’s meatloaf ingredient list, a bit different from what I make today, but as soon as I read it, I remembered it well. When I made it I included sides of Potato Cakes and Yellow Squash with Onions. 

My Grandma’s Meatloaf (Helen Mundis Steiner)

• 1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
• 2/3 cup Mothers Oats*
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup Chopped Onions
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1 cup Tomato Juice*

Mix well and put in loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour  Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

8 servings

NOTES:

• When I mixed this it seemed too moist and then I remembered she did not shape hers in to a freestanding loaf like I do, rather she put it in the loaf pan and spread it to the side. My mother made it this way too. If you don’t want it real moist you can cut your liquid back to 3/4 cup.
• * I made a few slight modifications. I am not sure what Mothers Oats are, possibly a brand back then, her cookbook was dated as started in 1932. I used Quaker Quick Oats. I used V-8 Juice instead of the tomato juice, personal preference and I also added a little fresh parsley. But this came out very close to what I remembered it tasting like when I was a kid.
• While her recipe called for 1 hour, I baked this at 325 for an hour and a half. I drained the fat from the pan, then inverted the meatloaf on a serving platter to let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving with brown gravy.

Potato Cakes

Potato Cakes

This is one of those dishes there really isn’t a set recipe for. It is from leftovers so you work from that!

• Leftover Mashed Potatoes
• Egg(s)
• Flour
• Salt and Pepper
• Oil  (I use Mazola Corn Oil)

I had about 3 cups of leftover mashed potatoes so I used one egg. Beat the egg and add to the potatoes and stir until workable. For this amount I added about 2 scoops (about 1/2 cup) of flour. Depending on how much you season your mashed potatoes, you may need to add a little salt & pepper. Work this until it stays together, add flour as needed to accomplish this, but don’t go overboard on the amount of flour you add to the potatoes. Form potatoes in to balls. I got 6 from this amount. Add some flour to a shallow dish and roll balls in the flour. Pat to make flat cakes. Dredge in flour again to completely coat. Place on a dish, if you need to stack them, put wax paper or plastic wrap between layers. I found that it is better to make them a little ahead and let them chill in the refrigerator before frying. When ready to fry, heat oil over medium high heat. Dredge potato cakes in flour once more and add to hot oil. Let them brown and flip them to brown on the other side. About 5 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

Add other ingredients to the potato mixture if you like such as chives, finely chopped onion or grated cheese.

Squash and Onions

• 1 Large Summer/Yellow Squash
• 1 Large Onion
• Oil
• Dab of Butter
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Again, there is really not a set recipe. I slice the onion and then cut the slices in half. Peel the squash and scoop out the seeds. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Cut these two pieces in half lengthwise and slice in to bite sized pieces. Place the onions and squash in a pan and drizzle with a little oil. Cover and cook on low until tender. Transfer to serving dish and add a dab of butter along with salt and pepper or a non salt natural herb blend, to season. Simple but tasty!