weather radar: The proof is in the pudding

Hubby can cook. Not that offers to do it very often. You think the man would want give his lovely bride a break and make her a scrumptious meal once in while. **Sigh** It doesn't hurt to dream. Of course, it doesn't hurt to dream that he would cook for me dressed like that! Rowr!

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Anyhoo . . . we once had a discussion about who made the bestest meatloaf. He claimed he had the most rockin' recipe ever and, of course, I'm quite proud of my meatloaf. So, we decided to have a meatloaf competition.

We both started with the same basic ingredients . . . meat, onions, breadcrumbs, egg . . . but diverged from there. He added cheddar cheese and brown gravy . . . and in theory that does sound pretty darn kickin' . . . but the proof is in the pudding.

Let me digress for a moment. What exactly does 'the proof is in the pudding' mean anyway? It is actually a bastardization of 'the proof of the pudding' which is shorthand for 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'. The longer version makes some sort of sense. But the shortened version really doesn't mean much of anything. And the more common 'the proof is in the pudding' doesn't mean squat. The meaning becomes clear when you know that 'proof' here is a verb meaning 'test' . . . as in to proof yeast to make sure it's still active. Basically, it means “the quality, effectiveness or truth of something can only be judged by putting it into action or to its intended use”.

Now back to the meatloaf competition. My meatloaf recipe was a derivation of my mom's recipe which uses tomato sauce and a tomato topping. I drool just thinking about it.

Anyhoo . . . we proceeded to prepare and cook our meaty loafs. And then the taste test. At this point, I should say that we both agree that meatloaf must always be served with mashed potatoes and corn.

So the slices of meatloaf were plated and the decision was clear. Mine was awesome. He's came out kinda pate' like . . . the texture ruined the whole thing.

But, now I make his version of meatloaf more often than I make my mom's . . . only I make it better.

Personally, I think it was a way of getting me to do more of the cooking by proving I'm a better cook. Obviously, his diabolical plan succeeded.

But the bestest meatloaf ever??

Little Meat Loaves Two Ways

1 lbs Beef - Ground

1 lbs Sausage (Italian), Ground

2 Eggs, Beaten

1 1/2 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1/2 Cup Milk

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2 Cup Brown Gravy

1/2 Cup Sugar - Brown

1 1/2 Cup Ketchup

1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, Cubed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place equal amounts of ground beef and sausage meat in two bowls.

To one bowl add half of the eggs, bread crumbs, milk, and a 1/2 cup of the brown gravy.

To the other bowl add half of the eggs, bread crumbs, milk, and a 1/2 cup of the ketchup.

Mix the ingredients in each bowl together well and form into six individual loaves; three of each. Place three each of the respective loaves into a loaf pan. Press equal amounts of cheddar cheese into each of the loaves so that the cheese is completely surrounded by the meat mixture. Separate each loaf by a strip of tin foil.

In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Mix this together well and spoon some of this sauce over each of the loaves that were mixed with ketchup loaf.