Traditional Tuesday....

When I was little, we had certain days that we always ate the same thing.  On Sundays, we had Sunday Roast at my granny's house (she was British).  On the last Friday of every month, we had Baskin Robin's ice cream.  Tuesday always seems to be the traditional dinner night -- meatloaf, spaghetti, pot roast, etc.  Other nights of the weeks, we were more adventurous.  Tuesday, we ate like the rest of my friends.  In my house now, even though I still try to honor traditional Tuesday, I always add a little bit of something to make it extra special.  For this Traditional Tuesday, I bring you Not Your Mama's Meat Loaf.

1.5 - 2.5 pounds of ground meat -- I have actually grown to like ground turkey, but sometimes you just need some beef
1 package of dried onion soup
1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes   
1 can of tomato paste
1/2 a can of tomato sauce
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup or so of Italian style bread crumbs
Italian Seasoning

Mix together ground mean, dried onion soup, diced tomatoes (if you are using ground beef, you want to drain about 1/2 the juice off the tomatoes -- if turkey I leave it all in), and garlic in a large bowl.  Once they are mixed together well, begin adding the bread crumbs, I start with 1/2 a cup and keep adding more as needed -- you want the meatloaf to be able to stick together, but not be super bready.  Once you have everything mixed together, place it into a loaf pan or a 9x9 pan for a thinner loaf.  Place in the oven at 350.  While the meat loaf begins to cook, empty the tomato paste into a small bowl and 1/2 the can of the tomato sauce, mix together adding some Italian Seasoning to taste.  Once the tomato sauce is to your liking, pull the meatloaf from the oven and spread over the top -- I like to drip it on with a spoon in lines across the top.  The total cooking time for the meat loaf is between 30-45 minutes at 350 -- depending on the size of the pan you use and the thickness of the meatloaf! 


Now you may be thinking, I cannot serve mashed potatoes with this meatloaf -- the traditional meatloaf side dish -- but try a little twist on your mashed potatoes and make garlic ones with Parmesan cheese on top! 

Have a Traditional Tuesday!