Our first “bird who left the nest” came home from college this past weekend… and it was SO good to see him and to have his presence back in our house! Boy, have we missed him!!! {BTW, he tells us he is really enjoying school… he says it’s been like one big long summer camp! [Keep face normal, Mom! Just keep face normal, so he’ll keep talking! Keep breathing, don’t freak out and keep face normal!] Hmmm… We had a talk about that, and he assures me that he’s “got this”… so we’ll see when grades come out… Exhale. Moving on…} 😉
Like any mom is supposed to do {what my mom did – and what I read about on Pinterest} is that (especially for this first trip home) you make/provide what speaks the bird’s love language most. For my big bird, it was food. Food is his love language. Seriously. So I made meatloaf – and lots of it!
On Friday, I posted this on Instagram/Facebook:
And though the picture of the raw meat really is gross, (and actually to me, so is the word “meat-LOAF’ – but I digress) some of you asked for the recipe, and I’m delighted to share. It came out of the oven beautifully – and was D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!
If you need to serve a crowd (or a hungry boy or two) this is the recipe for you. I guess you could cut it in half… but what’s the fun in that? 😉
PS: It also makes super leftover meatloaf sandwiches!
Smelling Coffee’s Easiest Meatloaf Ever!
5 lbs ground chuck
5 large eggs
1 can of chicken broth*
2 packages of dry onion soup mix*
½ cup of water*
2 boxes of Chicken-flavor Stuffing Mix*Stir the chicken broth, onion soup mix, and water together.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a LARGE bowl. (I wear rubber gloves to do this.) Divide the meat into two even loaves, and place on (or in) desired pan. (I cook mine on a broiler pan.) Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Then, pour topping on top, and bake for 10 more minutes.Topping: (Mix together. Keep some for leftovers.)
2 cups catsup
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup mustard
¼ cup vinegarThis meatloaf freezes well, too. Bake both loaves without topping before freezing, then add topping when you reheat.
It was a good meatloaf, and a great weekend with the whole family back together in the house again. It felt “normal” to have Nathan home with us, and then in the strangest way, it felt “normal” for him to head back to school. (I may or may not have dripped just a few little tears as he drove off.) With the Lord’s help, I guess we are figuring out how to do this “college” thing, one baby step {and one meatloaf} at a time. 😉
