1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 lb. hamburger

1/2 cup chopped onion

Storage Ingredients

1/2 cup quick oats (I used my regular oats and ground them up for 2 seconds with the onion in my food processor)

1 teaspoon salt

Topping:

2/3 cup ketchup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard (I used Dijon)

In a bowl, beat the eggs and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion and salt. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 6 mini loaves; place in grease 9 x 13 pan. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard; spoon over loaves. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (Note from Kathy: My boys eat two mini loaves each so I double this recipe to serve 6 people. Serve with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. What makes this so good is the sauce to meat ratio.)

I hesitate showing the pictures of what happened.

The story is…that about a week ago I prepared this lovely family dinner BEFORE leaving for another presentation. Adult daughter “A” was left in charge of taking the pans out of the oven.  We’ll call her Gidget. That’s the name I use for daughters when I’m really mad.

Right as I was pulling into the parking lot for my presentation, Gidget phoned to say that the meat was still a little pink on the inside. I told her to leave it in a little longer and then I turned off my phone and went inside. Imagine my surprise when I phoned almost 2 hours later, on my way home, and learned that she was just then taking the dinner out of the oven. WHAAAAAAAT?

(I blame most of this disaster on their good dad, Mike, because he’s such a nut about ordering every single hamburger WELL DONE in order to avoid sure death.) By the time I got home I was starving and so disappointed. Gidget kept saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” and I kept saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” Kids just don’t get the pain of a failed meal.

(gutting the deer…)

(elephant graveyard)

But it wasn’t really a failure. After carving off all the burned bottoms, we sat down to enjoy a very late supper. Maybe it was just the fatigue talking but Lizzie, our 13 year old, told me she thought the mini meat loaves were “really good”, and gobbled down almost two. She doesn’t even like meatloaf.

And Kathy was right about the sauce. Nothing fancy about catsup, brown sugar and mustard, but the sauce makes all the difference…

and burns on like no other.

Fresh Ingredients

• 1 c. butter

Storage Ingredients

• 10 c. dehydrated apple slices
• ¼ c. bottled lemon juice

Topping

• 1 c. oats
• 1 c. flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. salt

Butter a 9 x 13” cake pan. Fill with dehydrated apples and drizzle with lemon juice. Then pour in 6 cups of hot water and allow apples to soak for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. For topping, cut butter into ¼” pieces and toss with remaining dry ingredients. Carefully spoon topping onto re-hydrated apples. (Pan should be very full but will bake down.) Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or until lightly toasted on top. Best when served hot with vanilla ice cream.

This dessert can be prepared hours ahead of time, stored in the refrigerator, and then baked while your guests enjoy dinner. This recipe is totally foolproof, easier than apple pie, and tastes like something from your grandmother’s kitchen.