Our Monday Meal: Meatloaf

We had meatloaf for dinner tonight. The recipe I use is seriously the simplest you will find. And its full of flavor too. Growing up I never would have thought I'd be caught dead saying that I love meatloaf. I guess I never fail to surprise even myself.

The ingredients:

Anywhere between 1-2 lbs ground beef

1 box of Stove Top stuffing (I prefer savory but any flavor works)

2 eggs

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine ingredients

Press into baking dish

  

Bake for 30-60 minutes

I somehow ended up without a picture of the cooked loaf. I swear I remember taking it so I'm not sure what happened, but it looks pretty much the same except...dryer. A little crisp at the edges. It is also a fairly inexpensive meal. I can make it for a little over $4 if I buy the stuffing during sales!

 

 

Resolutions

I have never been fan of New Years Eve. After years of something always going terribly wrong and the night turning out a complete disaster I have grown to pretty much avoid all things New Years Eve related. But Monster is old enough now that given the opportunity, she could really have fun with it.

When I was a kid my parents always had a platter of crackers with meat and cheese and sparkling grape juice. My sisters and I would take turns "serving" everyone, as if we were at a fancy party. Maybe I will run to the store this afternoon and pick some stuff up to pass down the tradition.

Thanks to YouTube we can even watch a video of the ball dropping from a past year. This way she won't have to miss out on it entirely. There is no way she is staying up late enough to watch the real deal.

This afternoon we can make party hats and noise makers.
I will teach her: What makes a year? What is a resolution? And why do we make them?
(Confession: I think New Year's resolutions are a bunch of B.S. Maybe that's because I have never been able to keep one (I know I'm not alone here). I have just never liked the idea of making promises to myself just to break them a month or so later).
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to come up with something. After all, I'm going to be explaining to her that everyone has room for improvement. Goals to work towards. There should be no reason I can't make a promise to her to better myself in some way. Let her hold me accountable.

Now to come up with a realistic resolution...

If you are looking for a book you can read your preschooler/kindergartener on the subject, Amazon.com has a digital copy Barn Yard Betty's First Ever New Year's Resolution by Claire Wynne as low as free with Amazon Prime.

Our Monday Meal: Pasta Fresca

I while back I found a recipe on Pinterest for a knockoff of Noodles & Co. Pasta Fresca. I decided to give it a try tonight. It was very easy to make and it didn't taste bad but it didn't taste exactly like Noodles & Co.

Ingredient:

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1/2 box of Farfalle Pasta

1 Roma Tomato, cubed

1/2 Red Onion, Sliced

3 Handfuls Baby Spinach

3 Tbs Minced Garlic (probably would have been better in I used fresh)

1/4 c. Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 c. White Cooking Wine

1 c. Olive Oil

Directions:

Saute 2 Tbs olive oil, cooked pasta, tomato, and onion

In a separate bowl combine balsamic vinegar, wine, and olive oil

Add Spinach and 1 oz. sauce mixture 

Heat until spinach is warm

Serve topped with feta or parmesan.