Ground beef brings back many memories. When my cousin and I were younger, we’d open our Grandma’s freezer, and sure enough, there was a package of ground beef. It never failed! The reason why we always laughed about this is because in Ukrainian, g.b. is “farsh,” which is a funny sounding word, whether you’re Ukrainian or not.

Once I was a wife, I decided that I should buy some g.b. since it is always cheap! Unfortunately, it would sit in my freezer for weeks, with no plans of being used, since I had no clue what to do with it! Well, last week, as my sister-in-law, our friend and I were cooking for our New Years trip to Lake Placid, I was introduced to the idea of meatloaf! Now, I know that meatloaf goes way back, past my Grandma’s freezer, but it never occurred to me that it’s a tasty and easy dish! So there I was at The Met grocery, looking at a $3 pack of ground beef, thinking “meatloaf!”

Now, Jazzy Meatloaf didn’t earn the name because I was listening to Jazz (which I was:) It’s because it’s not your Grandmothers meatloaf! It is jazzed and spiced up to leave your tummy satisfied and wanting more!

Step 1:

~Make sure the beef is defrosted! (a step I overlooked, thus had to defrost in microwave).

~Place g.b. into large bowl (I used almost 2lbs of beef)

~mix in:

   *1 egg

   *1 Jalapeno pepper (chopped)

   *about a tablespoon ketchup

   *about a tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

   *about a tablespoon Mayo

   *salt/pepper to taste

   *Black pepper sauce (I found some at Trader Joe’s)

   *about a tablespoon Dijon Mustard

   *1/2 chopped onion

   *2 cloves garlic (shopped)

Mix with your hands (wash them first…and take off any rings 🙂

Place onto a large enough pan and form into a loaf shape.

Sprinkle salt/pepper/herb poultry

Step 2

Place uncovered into pre-heated oven (350 degrees)

Let it bake for 1 hour

Once this was in the oven, I cleaned up dishes/kitchen, peeled potatoes and got them on the stove.

With the oven on, the stovetop going, my hubster snacking on cabbage (weird..I know), I put together a salad.

The salad was a mix of whatever I had in the fridge…some lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red apple, starfruit (one of my favorites…my hunny spoils me with them at times), salt, olive oil and vinegar. It wasn’t the best salad I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t too bad. If you’re really burning to know the logistics…just ask 🙂

I also made some garlic bread- I used “10 wheat” bread and spread a mix of olive oil and minced garlic on top, popped into the toaster over, and bam!

So the meatloaf came out, and the potatoes were mashed (with sour cream, salt and butter), the salad created, and my baby starving to death. I was not sure what to expect, since I didn’t follow any particular recipe for the loaf, but it looked and smelled good! After all of this talk of butter here, salt there, etc., you might be thinking “it’s so unhealthy!” Well, my argument is that no matter what, it is still healthier than any fast food joint!

It turned out wholesome, cheap (about $10 for entire meal!) and jazzy alright!! The jalapenos left a little fire in my mouth that was the perfect temperature. Being on “fire” isn’t a bad thing 😉 The hubs was satisfied and proclaimed for all to hear (happened that I was the only other person around) “Dear, you are the best! I just love you so much!” Well, I guess it’s true: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!