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Hearty Home Cooking - Meatloaf, Potatoes, Berry Cobbler

© Jerri Brooker

I trust you're all getting a good start to this New Year. As I write it is January 1, 2005. As this goes to press it is the middle of the month. Wow! Where does the time go?

My heart goes out to folks suffering and gone from the tsunami; may the survivors find peace in the year ahead. As I think of the families involved I think of my own and how blessed I am. I decide to call them to come to dinner today. I'm cooking comfort food; it brings joy to my heart to eat foods that make me feel good; it's especially comforting to feed my family. Nothing fancy, mind you, but just delicious, hearty food.

My New Year's Day menu holds no superstition; we aren't eating black-eyed peas for good luck. We're having a solid warm meal: Jerri's Meatloaf, Slow Cooker Creamy Scalloped Potatoes, Green Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing, Rolls and Berry Cobbler with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. I'm doubling the meatloaf recipe as I cook for 11 when all my family is here. The rest of the recipes should serve that many fine.

I take pause as I write to make sure the ingredients are right, as I'm a cook who uses a dash of this, a bit of that. Don't hesitate to make these recipes your own with your own touches of extra spices. Let me know how you like these recipes if you get a chance.

Hope this menu brings you pleasure.

I started out the day making the potatoes, as they take the longest:

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Slow Cooker Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

8-10 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
Sprinkles of dried parsley
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the potatoes and onion. Mix the soup and milk together. Begin layering the ingredients in this order in your slow cooker a few potatoes at a time:

Potatoes
Onion
Parsley
Salt and pepper

Then pour the soup mix over the potatoes. Bake 6-8 hours: begin on high and turn to low as the potatoes start getting done.

Tip: You may want to add some rosemary for a different taste. Sprinkle lightly over the layers.

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Are you a bread, oatmeal or cracker meatloaf maker? One of my sons-in-law likes meatloaf with bread, as it's fluffier. The oatmeal makes a heavier, firmer meatloaf. I have used crackers when my cupboard was bare. The neat thing about meatloaf is you can experiment and come up with different tastes.

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