Not cooking tonight, just drinking big bolshy mugs of strong black cha with molokko and honey while I paint. Tomorrow, though, it's meatloaf. I have some some ground beef to use up.
No mushrooms in it, though, or tomato paste. I do add tomato paste to my lentil soup with kielbasa, because it helps the color and brightens the flavor a little. No, my basic meatloaf is as follows:
For a pound of ground beef (or meatball mix-ground beef, pork, and veal), I take 2 kaiser rolls, ground up for fresh crumbs; 2 eggs; 1 small onion, minced; 1 Messerspitze crushed garlic; a little black pepper and dried parsley, to taste; a dash of Worcester sauce; and a half-teaspoon of dried mustard; mix these in a bowl until thoroughly and evenly mixed.
Here's the fun part-I line a baking pan with strips of streaky bacon, covering the bottom and sides, and hanging the ends over the edge of the pan. I fill the pan with the meatloaf mixture, then fold the strips back over the top.
I place this pan in a larger dish, and bake it in the oven at 350, for about an hour or until the top is nice and brown. The larger dish is to catch any fat and liquid that comes off from the bacon.
I let the loaf rest a little before cutting. It's good fresh, or cold the next day for sandwiches.
I'll make mashed potatoes with dill, and red cabbage, to go with it. That, and a glass or two of a good dark beer, and that'll be good for the day.