Mom's old New Cook Book

Most people have a favorite recipe, or several, that they consider an old family specialty. Our mom was not one of those moms that passed on old family recipes. I think I've mentioned that she didn't cook much, but she was a good cook. She really didn't have the time much to cook. She worked full time and raised the four of us. We had standard meals that we would eat each week. For example, we always knew that Monday was spaghetti night. I think that's how you get through sometimes. A routine is a means of survival. We didn't mind. Once, dad fixed dinner on a Monday night and it was not spaghetti. He heard about it from all of us for years after that.

Sunday dinner was usually the most adventurous meal of the week. I know there were roasts and chicken dishes, but I don't remember them. What I do remember was her meatloaf. She only had one cookbook to speak of, and I have it today. I had a collection of cookbooks at one time, but it has always been the jewel in the cookbook crown. A Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book with a red and white plaid cover, printed in 1968. She didn't use it much but recall the Fluffy White Icing page being dog-eared. Her meatloaf was not from a cookbook or recipe, though. It was simply from memory. She never even wrote it down, so we didn't have something to pass on.

Worn and stained from 49 years of use. It's still mom's New Cook Book.

She always used the biggest blue and white pyrex mixing bowl from her set. When we emptied out the house, that was one of the few things that I wanted to keep, but we couldn't find it anywhere. At some point, dad must have given it away or let someone borrow the set. There were four nesting mixing bowls in blue and white, with a pattern of farmers and their wives on them. I have a set today that I found at an antique store. It's missing one of the bowls, but I don't mind. I was driving by an antique store a few months after my dad had passed, and out of the blue, I decided to stop. I had passed it many times, but I had never been in it. I walked in and the first booth I entered had the set of bowls. I picked them up and took them straight to the counter. They were asking $50 for the set of 3. I didn't have any money, but I didn't squabble about the price. Things were tight. I didn't care. I wanted the bowls, so I pulled out a credit card. I got home and cleaned them up. Set them on the counter and just looked at them. I was excited to have a set just like moms. Not even an hour later I got a phone call from the executor of dad's estate. He called me to let me know that he and my brothers had talked and they were going to go ahead and disperse part of the inheritance. I paid the credit card off when the bill came in. Mom made sure I got a set of mixing bowls. The rest of the estate was settled after the house was sold and the appropriate time had passed. The first thing I made in my new old set of bowls was mom's meatloaf.

Each bowl has the farmers with the wheat pattern and they alternate blue and white backgrounds as they nest down. These may not be mom's, but they feel like it and that's good enough for memories.

I learned how to make it from just watching her, which is the best way to pass a recipe down. She never measured anything for it. She just knew how much to put in. That's when you know something is going to be good. It's tried and true. Sometimes she would let me mix it all up. You had to get your hands in there and squish the meat, ketchup, oats, and eggs through your fingers. It would be so cold that you had to keep the hot water running so you could warm your hands up and then dig back in for another minute. She told me a few times about our great grandmother's (on dad's side) meatloaf. Mom was never sure how she did it, or even why she did it, but she had an egg in the center of her meatloaf. She would cut it and there was a hardboiled egg in the middle. Thanks to the internet and Food Network, I've been able to look that up. It's something that has been done for a very long time, and it's making a comeback. You make your meatloaf and put half in the bottom of the pan. Then you line two to four hard boiled eggs up and cover them with the remaining amount of meatloaf. Then you bake it. Most of what I read said it was a German or Jewish recipe. We are neither that I know of, but I am sure great grandmaw Edge learned that somewhere. Mom never tried it, but I am tempted to sometime.

I made a meatloaf tonight for Mick to take to his parents tomorrow. His mom needs to stay off her feet for a few days, so we wanted to make sure she didn't try to get in the kitchen to cook, and we want to make sure they have something to last them several days. I was talking to her a few weeks ago and she was telling me how she makes her meatloaf. I make mine the exact same way. I follow what my mom did, but I started adding a little bbq sauce a couple of years back, which is what she does as well. Neither of them followed a recipe. Their hands just know.

Here is my mom's recipe for Meatloaf:
2-3 pounds of ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
ketchup
mustard
Worcestershire sauce
oatmeal
1 egg
a splash of milk
salt
pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well with your hands. Sometimes she would use a small can of tomato paste instead of ketchup. Transfer to a baking dish and pat the meatloaf down into a solid loaf. Cover and bake at 325 degrees until done. Uncover and top with more ketchup and return to the oven for 5 minutes longer to brown.
Like I said, I add a little bbq sauce to mine now. The amounts of ketchup, mustard, oats, and such are just to feel. I honestly have no idea how much I put in. When it looks and feels right, I know it.

Get all of your ingredients together and just mix it until it holds together and feels right. Too soft and it will not hold up, too dry and it will fall apart. I need to make this with some of my nieces and nephews. I don't know if my brothers make mom's meatloaf, so we need to pass on the recipe.

Now there's a loaf!

Just top it off with ketchup and back in the oven for 5 minutes more!

When I make it with the hard-boiled eggs in the middle, I'll put up a quick post. I don't remember much about my great-grandparents, so I need to connect a little to them. I just know they came down from Pennsylvania and settled in Buckhannon, WV for the rest of their lives and raised a family. And, they ate meatloaf with a hard boiled egg in it, or so I was told.