Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes for supper is a truly amazing meal. Finding the right meatloaf recipe is the hard part.

By Carolyn Roberson - Thursday 01 Sep 2011

Growing up, I was fortunate to have a stay-at-home Dad. Daddy was a firefighter with rotating shifts. He worked 24 on and 48 off. During his 48 off, he was a stay-at-home Dad. He did the cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, and all of the other things that needed to be done.

Meatloaf was a rare thing in our house, and I am thankful for that. Our most familiar meal was Roast, Rice, and Gravy; the standard after-church-on-Sunday meal. And, on Saturday nights, we had homemade Chef Boyardee pizza with ground beef, followed by popcorn, and a 12-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola while watching Adam-12, and Emergency on television.

Mother, on the other hand, made meatloaf often. She would make a nice little loaf, bake it in the oven, and when it was almost done, pour a little ketchup on the top. Everyone fought over the end pieces, and there never seemed to be enough sauce for everyone. Also, even when using low fat hamburger meat, there still was some icky grease on the bottom, which ruined the flavor of the meatloaf. Needless to say, meatloaf wasn’t my favorite entrée, until….

Nanny Henry was an older woman when she moved into our neighborhood. She loved children, thus the title “Nanny” was almost demanded by her. The woman loved to cook, and share it with her neighbors. We were the next-door neighbors so we became fast friends. Nanny also happens to be my son’s great-grandmother. That is how close our families became.

She had some standard dishes that she cooked most frequently: chicken potpie, green beans and potatoes, spaghetti, cornbread, and meatloaf. Her meatloaf was the best I have ever eaten. I used to stand beside her and watch her cook, trying to remember everything she did. Then, I’d go home and try to recreate it. It took 10 pounds of cornmeal to finally get her cornbread right. Let me tell you, the birds didn’t even like the first few batches.

Nanny made her meatloaf, and rolled it in flour. Then, she would fry it in a little oil, drain off the oil, and cook it on top of the stove in a Dutch oven. She used a cast iron Dutch oven, but I am not a fan of the flavor left behind by cast iron, so I use a stainless steel Dutch oven. After she poured off the oil, she would add her sauce and let it cook for an hour on a medium-low heat. It was an amazing experience for your taste buds.

Here is Nanny’s meatloaf recipe. I’ve made it many times, and have always been told it is the best ever.

Meatloaf Recipe

 

To a pound of ground beef, add 2 eggs, 1 cup dry oatmeal, a dash of garlic powder, pepper, and finely grated onion. Roll in flour, and fry in about an inch of oil, turning the loaf, browning it on all sides.

When it is nice and brown all over, even on the ends, remove the loaf, and drain the oil. Return the loaf to the Dutch oven, and add the sauce.

Sauce: 1 small bottle Heinz ketchup, ½ cup Heinz 57, 3 Tbsp French’s Worcestershire sauce, and 1 Tbsp A-1 Steak Sauce. Mix well, and add to Dutch oven. Cook on medium-low heat until sauce thickens, about an hour.

Enjoy!

Cornbread: A southern staple

Cornbread, cornbread, greasy, greasy, making this cornbread is easy, easy! A recipe for fluffy cornbread with a crispy crust!

By Carolyn Roberson - Monday 07 Nov 2011

Most anywhere you eat in The South, you find cornbread as a side dish. Cornbread is truly southern cuisine, and a base in many dishes such as cornbread dressing, chili pie, and cornbread salad.

Herman Cain, the presidential candidate from Atlanta, Georgia shared with People Magazine that Cornbread was his CB handle in the 70s, and would probably be his CODE name should he be elected President. Not to mention, he loves to eat cornbread! Breaker, Breaker 1-9, I love cornbread too!

Momma made very thin cornbread. It didn’t have a fluffy middle: basically, it was a crust on top and bottom. We ate it buttered, in buttermilk with minced onion and lots of pepper, in vegetable soup, or covered with turnips or black eye peas. Sometimes, she would use mayonnaise or sour cream instead of egg. It was good, but it was all that I knew.

My sister brags about the time mother used a half packet of Ranch Dressing powder and sour cream, and made the best cornbread she ever ate. I missed that batch.

Daddy, or Dutzy as I called him, didn’t make cornbread much, but made little corn pups, even before Krystal ever thought about corn pups. He would slice a wiener in 3 sections, insert toothpicks, dip them in a cornbread mixture, and fry them until golden brown. Yummy!

Cornbread comes in many shapes, sizes, and tastes. Different people prefer different cornbread. I’m just a cornbread connoisseur: I like it all.

The first fluffy cornbread I ever ate was at my friend’s house. Her mother made it for supper one night, and we topped it with butter and honey. Wow, I loved that!

The first sweet cornbread I ate was made from Jiffy Mix, and from then on, I sought out sweet cornbread versions. My mother-n-law used yellow cornmeal, which gave her cornbread dressing the best flavor.

My husband loves cornbread too! When he was little, his mother made cornbread for supper every night. When it would come out of the oven, he would smell it. While her back was turned, he would dash through the kitchen, pinch the middle out of the cornbread, and take off like Forrest Gump – Runnin'. His mother would be yelling his full name as he ran out the door. You know, the FULL NAME when you know you are in trouble!

“Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes” introduced my readers to Nanny. Nanny was an elderly, grandmotherly-type woman who lived next door. She was a wonderful cook, and I sought out her companionship especially when it came to learning to cook. Nanny’s cornbread was the bomb! I HAD to learn to cook Nanny bread. I was on a mission.

Nanny made her cornbread in a square skillet, and finding one was difficult. When I did find them, I bought three. One skillet was for me; one was for my brother, and one for my sister. She also had a square plate that she dumped her bread out on. It was a 1959 square calendar plate. I’ve never seen one at an antique store, or on E-bay. I did find a square Corel plate at Wal-mart that I purchased.

The day I learned to cook Nanny bread was a bright spring day. I was sent to the store with a list of items needed for my bread. I purchased two 5-pound bags of Martha White Hot Rise Cornmeal, a small 2-pound bag of yellow cornmeal, baking powder, egg, vegetable oil, buttermilk, and sweet milk.

It took 4 or 5 attempts that day to even come close to Nanny’s cornbread. I’d make a batch, we would try it, and out to the birds it would go. The back yard was full of bricks of cornbread, and one batch of bread the birds wouldn’t even eat because it was so hard. How funny was that day, and what memories it holds of Nanny and me.

Nanny’s Cornbread

 

1 cup Martha White Hot Rise Cornmeal
½ cup White Lily Flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
Buttermilk to mix
Sweet milk to make soupy

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray skillet with Pam, pour in 1/8 cup vegetable oil, and insert into preheating oven.

Combine cornmeal, flour, and baking powder. Add partial beaten egg, and stir to mix. It will be dry. Add just enough buttermilk to mix. It will be thick. Let sit while skillet is heating.

Just before removing the hot skillet from the oven, pour in sweet milk to make the batter kind of soupy. It will have started rising from the baking powder. Sit aside.

Remove hot skillet from the oven, and sprinkle the entire bottom of the skillet with yellow cornmeal.

Pour in batter. The grease and cornmeal will bubble up around the sides and onto the top. This gives it a wonderful crust. Bake at 425 degrees until golden brown.

This is the ultimate cornbread recipe! The hubs says, “it’s better than cake.” I get all kinds of raves over my bread. I hope you enjoy making Nanny’s cornbread, and eating it.

Recipe substitutions:

For Gluten Free:  substitute brown rice flour for wheat flour, and add 3 tsp baking powder instead of one.

For Milk Free:  substitute with Rice milk, or your choice of milk substitute.

For Egg Free:  substitute with Egg replacer, or veganaise.

For the teetotaler: Seabreezer non alcoholic cocktail

 A non alcoholic drink that satisfies thirst and a sweet tooth.  It's a great summer time refreshment!

By Carolyn Roberson - Tuesday 15 Nov 2011

Alcohol based beverages are numerous in number. Slo Gin Fizz, Tom Collins and White Russian, to name a few, can be ordered at any bar or made at home.

Although I’ve had my share of adult beverages, I just don’t understand the attraction of drinking alcohol. It literally makes me nauseated. And, I don’t like that “Buzz” feeling you get from drinking.
My grandmother, Nancy, wasn’t a drunk, or an alcoholic, but you knew she enjoyed a drink every now and then. During the Christmas season, she would bring home a bottle of Mogan David wine and we would cook the annual Lane cake.

First, she would have to taste the wine and then she would measure it out and add it to the icing. She would taste the icing only to say it needed a bit more, so she would pour herself, and the measuring cup some more. By the end of the night most of the Mogan David would be gone, and I never saw it again after the New Year until Christmas time once again.

Nancy was invited to the wedding of a co-worker and not being a driver, she asked me to take her to the wedding. I did, and she enjoyed the reception. She was so snockered by the end of the evening, I had to have help getting her to the car.

Another wedding Nancy, my mother and I attended had a flowing champagne fountain. Nancy parked herself at the fountain, put that cup on her finger, flipped it under the fountain, and would fill it full. By the end of that wedding she was so tipsy we practically had to drag her to the car. Nancy was a hoot.

Because of my mother’s family history of alcoholism, she never touched the stuff. However, in the end of her life, a diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver came with doctor’s orders to drink red wine. She didn’t like the wine. And, for someone who never drank alcoholic beverages, she was upset about that diagnosis.

Mother’s day 2006 provided us the opportunity to eat the buffet breakfast at the Officer’s Club at Randolph Air Force Base. My sister’s hubby is an officer in the US Air Force. Mother was given a glass of what she thought was orange juice, but it was a Mimosa, the champagne orange juice combination. She loved it, and before mid-morning, she was snockered. And, by that time in her life, and with the diagnosis, she didn’t care!

Sandra Lee, the budget friendly chef, always provides a cocktail on her TV shows. Unfortunately, they are alcoholic versions. I love fruity drinks and have been experimenting with my own versions.

One non-alcoholic drink I have developed came as the result of a trip to Tampa, Florida. Breakfast came with this drink called a Seabreezer. And, after experimenting, I think I have a close enough version to name it Seabreezer.

Seabreezer:

1 cup Fresca
½ cup Ocean Spray ruby red grapefruit juice (the restaurant used blood grapefruit juice & slices)
¼ cup orange juice
1 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
1 maraschino cherry

Serve with crushed ice and a straw! Yummy, and it’s non-alcoholic. My children LOVE these too!

Put that lid down! The key to perfect rice

Black, white, long, or short, avoid clumpy sticky rice. Learn the key to cooking rice and enjoy perfectly flaky rice every time.

By Carolyn Roberson - Monday 14 Nov 2011

Oh, those little grains of goodness. In my childhood home, rice was a Sunday dish. Mother and Daddy would put a roast on, and we would leave it cooking while we went to church. Arriving home to the scent of a warm roast in the oven was such a cozy feeling.

Rice went into a medium sized pot of water, and before you know it, the white foam would be oozing down the side of the pot, and dripping into the drip pan of the electric eye on the stove. You could hear the lid tinkle as the steam would lift the lid and it would slap back down. I have to add how difficult it was washing all of that steamed on starch off that pot.

Next, it would be poured into a strainer, and rinsed with hot water. Served with gravy made from the beef stock off of the roast, the gummy rice was the second “R” in RRG, or Roast, Rice and Gravy, our Sunday dinner. If for some reason we didn’t have RRG, my brother would be in a state of panic because it was tradition and expected. To this day, RRG is my brother’s Sunday meal.

A TV reporter once asked Cate Blanchet to name her favorite food, and her reply was rice. I’m not at all surprised considering her tiny sized frame. Rice is a nutritionally great food.
Complex carbohydrates, such as rice, supply energy for the body, and brain. And, rice contains iron, helps alleviate indigestion and nausea, and lowers cholesterol. However, white rice is stripped of much of its nutritional value.

Rice comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors! Black rice is considered the forbidden rice and, at one time, was fixed only for the emperors meals. Arborio, Basmati, Jasmine, Wild, Long grain, Short grain, and Brown rice provide a host of choices.

After years of eating rice, Jasmine has become my favorite because of its sweetness. Next would be Arborio, and Basmati. If I knew I was eating my last meal, it would include rice.

Years ago, I was helping my mother-in-law in the kitchen while she cooked. I inadvertently picked up a lid on a pot to see its contents. She sharply turned in my direction and said, “Do not lift the lid on my rice.” Well, I didn’t know it was rice. After all, there was no foam running down the side of the pot, nor was the lid tinkling! I quickly recoiled my hand, and apologized.

I learned something that day. To my pleasant surprise, my daddy had been cooking rice wrong all along. Nana’s rice was so fluffy, and wasn’t all stuck together. And, NO sticky pot to clean.

The secret to cooking rice is steam. Rice steamers can be purchased, but I just use a pot with a clear glass lid. I do enjoy watching the rice steam. If done right, rice will turn out perfectly every time. And, I think I’ve got it down pat.

Steamed Rice!

Use 1 cup of water to each ½ cup of jasmine rice. Add salt to your liking to the water. Bring water to a boil, stir in rice, cover with lid, adjust heat to low, and let sit for 20 minutes never lifting the lid to allow the steam to escape. Perfect flaky rice, every time.

However, cook time varies for each type of rice, so read the directions on the package. But, lifting the lid on the pot is a “no no” for any type of rice. So, “Put that lid down!”.

Welcome

Welcome to "The Burn Queen!"  The site where perfection isn't always the end result of a recipe. 

I've always been amazed at how people could take a recipe, or even create a recipe, and it turn out to be perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked, perfectly displayed, and perfectly tasty.  Although my efforts are well intended, my experience has been more the charring of food, than the cooking of deliciously, exquisite meals.  Thus, I was awarded the title, "Burn Queen" by my young family.

Yes, I have even burned water.  Well, the water evaporated, and the pot all but melted. 

The Burn Queen will be my blog to document my continued journey into the world of cooking, baking, and homemaking.  It might not be pretty, but it will be focused on love, respect, and dedication to the most important people in my life!  My family!

Get whisked away with me by reading, responding, and sharing your less than perfect moments.  I welcome any tips on perfecting techniques and constructive criticism, but I appreciate you leaving out profanity, and derogatory remarks.

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