Keeping my hands clean

Thursdays are usually leftover days, but since I hadn’t cooked all week, I ran into Trader Joe’s after work for inspiration and came out with some lean ground beef (90/10). I was thinking of some quick Bisquick casserole, but then came up with a better idea of meat loaf. When I got to the house, a quick inventory of the fridge showed that I did indeed have the necessary fixings for meat loaf. I started by chopping onions, carrots, and garlic and then sautéed them up. Jim was assigned the task of actually touching the dead animal bits. I measured out the bread crumbs, beat the eggs, etc. and was coming along with great timing until I reached for the ketchup and realized that there we were practically out. However, M and his habit of always getting ketchup packets with his fast food (when he doesn’t eat the stuff) saved the day. I ended up squeezing out every single one of those ketchup packets and had exactly enough! Jim was a trooper, mixing the meat loaf with his hands. I spooned the stuff into a muffin tin, which cut the cooking time down to only half an hour (really one of the most appreciated tips I learned from Cooking Light). While that was baking, I tossed a potato into the oven and steamed up some broccoli, and voila, an all-American dinner courtesy of a Cooking Light recipe! Jim apparently liked it since he ate three muffins. I’ve tried somewhere around 4-5 other meat loaf recipes, and he’s liked them all. I have not yet attempted his mother’s version, but that’s only because I don’t have it. I packed up another three for his lunch, plus some crab his sister had given him, another baked potato, and a yogurt.