This Week in Food

This week kind of ganged up on me when it came to cooking dinner.  On Tuesday Emma and Paul had a band competition and had to be there by 6:30 which leaving the house by 6 so dinner was pizza.  On Thursday Paul had work and Emma wanted to check her schedule at work and then thought she had to work so she had to go home to change.  When she got there in her uniform the manager told her that it was a misprint and she didn't have to work.  So basically I drove in circle for an hour.  Luckily Emma works at Steak 'n' Shake and their Frisco melts are dreamy and since I was there I just went through the driveway before heading home for time #3.

When the older 2 weren't being very inconvenient I did manage to get a couple of meals in!

Image: Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour

Outback Baked Potato Soup - how close to Outback's soup this is I can't tell you because I've never had it.  I will tell you that it's super easy and really tasty.  Also, this may be the only thing on earth that red onion isn't better.  Stick with a white or yellow and a small dice.  I've always had problems with the cream cheese melting but this time I used name brand cream cheese and it melted beautifully.  Top with cheese, bacon and chives and it's a great meal for a cold night!

On Wednesday I made meatloaf.  I was never particularly sold on meatloaf until I discovered this recipe from Cook's Illustrated.  It's by far my favorite meatloaf ever.  I don't bother with the ground veal and just use a good ground chuck.  Also, double the sauce because the sauce is the best part.  I use it on my meatloaf and then dip my mashed potatoes into as well.

Of course, meatloaf isn't a meal without mashed potatoes.  The Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes are still my favorite and the extra calories there may be are so worth it.  I lightened it up a bit by only using 1 stick of butter and only a little skim milk instead of the cream and can't really tell the difference between my version and the full fat version.  These mashed potatoes are amazing!  I always put a good dash of whatever seasoning suits me on top.  This is one of only 4 foods that the Tornado will actually eat!

Next week looks less crazy!  Competitions are done, all the appointments that had to be rescheduled when the city shut down due to snow are finished.  So I'm hoping we can eat at home a little more both for my bank account and my waist line!