Ok it was Saturday and I decided to make another attempt at meatloaf. My computer had crashed earlier in the week so I couldn't print the recipe. I went from memory which meant I remembered to totally leave out the sage. I just know this one is going to be good and I'm looking forward to it. I put the meat in the bowl (1lb GB) added an egg, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 pack onion soup mix then used teaspoons to measure salt (I never add enough since I'm not used to adding any at all) pepper, oregano, basil, and a host of other things but no sage. I swear my kitchen looked like a science project!!! It smelled great in house while it was baking. When it was finally done I excitedly took the first bite and to my dismay it was once again aweful. Better than the first one but still pretty nasty. My conclusion is that I need to stick with just one or two herbs on top of the obligatory garlic and onion instead of trying to add the whole spice rack. The good news is that I won't be eating meatloaf all week. Once again I'm going to have to try to figure out what to combine pieces of it with to make an edible meal.

Last night I took a piece and stir fried it with some frozen stir fry veggies and it was pretty good. For lunch I'll have it mixed in lettuce for a salad. I'll have it with pasta and alfredo sauce at least once for dinner. I''ll try making one more in the near future but after that I'm ready to give up. I'm starting to remember why I haven't cooked since I was 17.

jas, don't give up, just stick to basics and follow the recipe and it will turn out fine. Then, once you get comfortable with the recipe, you can add one thing at a time til you get it the way you like it.

Jas,
Hang in there....you will get it.

jas,

I feel sorry that you are having a hard time w/ meatloaf, but it is giving me a chuckle. It makes me remember some of my own and some family member's kitchen disasters. My favorite is my Dad's story about my Mom making biscuits just after they were married. He said they were so hard that even the dog wouldn't eat them. That was in 1952 and my Mom never made biscuits again to this day...and she is a good cook!

Don't give up. Third time's the charm!!!

TRY TRY and TRY again.....its fun just getting in the kitchen and doing something we all can remember a time that we had a flop at a recipe or at least I do many so your not alone I love to cook and love to try new things but seem to forget something and have to remake it again another day oh but what fun times I have using my family as a ginnie to try new things.....hugs

Hey Jas -
It always amazes me that a little spice/herb goes a long way.
I've also had to learn that different spices complement each other.

Cooking is overwhelming for me too - so I follow recipes pretty much verbatim.

There may even be a meat loaf recipe on the onion soup mix box.

We learn by experimenting -

You'll get it right next time

Sometimes, it's just best to keep it simple. You might find some good meatloaf recipes on foodnetwork.com. Just eliminate the breadcrumbs (or substitute it with crushed pork rinds). Also, make sure to get a good meatloaf blend at the grocery (you might have to ask the butcher to make it up for you).

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I had fully intended to follow the recipe this time but since my computer was broken I couldn't print it. Heck I couldn't even look at it. I won't give up yet because I admit I'm kind of having fun with trying to cook. To bad the anticipation usually tastes better than the end result. The interesting part about a severely over spiced meatloaf is what you can do with it to make it eatable. Tonight I made a soft taco with it using a low carb tortilla, a little lettuce, cheese and sourcream. I found a quiche recipe that I think I can sub the meatloaf into which should be pretty good too. I don't use bread crums in the meatloaf, instead I use a Tbs of soy flour. I'm not sure what the bread crums are for except to absorb liquid so I figured the soy flour would work. I'll give it a week or so then I'll try again following the recipe.

BeJean, I am glad you are getting a chuckle at my expense. It's funny to me too now but it wasn't this weekend when I was rapped up in getting this computer back online and I realized I didn't have anything tasty to take to work for lunch.

I'd give up on this one, jas. Not worth it to have a freezer full of icky meatloaf!

Sandi I can't give up now. I"M on MISSION to make and EDIBLE MEATLOAF! It WILL happen .....I just don't know how many years it will take.
There is not one piece of icky meatloaf in my freezer. When I make something big like that I eat it for the whole week. If any is left by friday I toss it then. Which actually brings up a good point. How long is it safe to keep food in the fridge without freezing. I'm running about 6-7 days. It's bad enough to eat my own cooking much less get sick from it. On a positive note, my cooking is excellent for weightloss as long as nothing else is in the house. I can only stomach it in very small portions.

Ok, I hear you, but I feel your pain. I'm just glad I have two really helpful doggies....

Thanks Sandi. Hmmm hadn't thought about feeding it to the dog or the cats for that matter. Don't know if I could afford the vet bill though if they got a tummy ache.

Instead of meatloaf next time, try making the salisbury steaks from the weekly recipe Kaye sends out (2/17/08). I just made it tonight and it was delicious!

Jean