get that son-a-gun off my tractor!
The news of the morning is that Emily’s notoriety continues to grow all over the Interwebs, now that The Gamer Gene and Grrr have hopped on the “look how cute these are!!” bandwagon. Em’s knitted mushroom desk pals are pretty much the most adorable desk pals ever created so there’s really no surprise there.
In other news, my mother emailed along the recipes I asked for the other day. Unlike last night, today I’m posting super secret family recipes that you or I might actually want to eat, and that might actually go together. I don’t know about you, but prune whip and meringue cookies seems to me like the food combination from hell. Or worse?
Anyway, see the legitimately tasty recipes after the break.
Grandpa Broeckl’s Meat Loaf
(adapted from James Beard)
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- (You can also buy a meat loaf blend, which includes veal. You can play with the blend, even include a little sausage meat if you like.)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs (optional but helps it stay together)
- 1 bay leaf, crumpled
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 2 TBLS finely chopped green pepper
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 slices bacon
Mix all ingredients except bacon in a large bowl with your hands until well blended. Pat firmly into standard size loaf pan. Lay bacon strips across the top. Bake at 325 degrees 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, until top is browned and meat shrinks away from sides of pan. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Also fabulous for sandwiches the next day.
If your clientele is not counting carbs, baked potatoes are a nice accompaniment, as they can go in the oven at the same temperature for about the same amount of time. (Don’t forget to poke holes in them!)
Grandpa Broeckl’s Pea Soup
- 1 one pound bag split green peas
- 1 ham slice with a small round bone (in meat counter) OR leftover ham bone OR a smoked pork chop
- 2 onions, one coarsely chopped the other left whole and stuck with six CLOVES
- 4 carrots
- 1 bay leaf
Put all ingredients in a large pot with 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then cut heat back to simmer for four hours, covered. It is done when most of the peas have become mush rather than distinct peas. Remove onion and cut up carrots and ham pieces into bite sizes (you don’t have to remove them, just do it in the pot with a knife-they will be mushy and break apart easily.) Best made a day ahead. Gets much thicker the next day. You may have to add water. Freezes well in individual portions.
Variation: My father would add sliced hot dogs (”pennies”) to mine when I was a toddler.
You could also use kielbasa or French dry salami.
“Looks pretty green in there.” Abby, age 2.
Having never made them myself, I can’t attest to the simple/easy factor of these recipes, but having sampled them both myself on numerous occasions I can definitely attest to how good they are.
Answer: really good.
-@
One Response to “get that son-a-gun off my tractor!”
Hungry. extremely.
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