Cooking for others

This week I have time. No deadlines. No big meetings. So, time to do something for someone else.

I took inventory of supplies and decided to make chicken pot pies, meatloaf, and banana bread.

The pot pies are a variation of Ina's . I don't add the pearl onions. I don't have homemade stock in the freezer. I use puff pastry, not pie dough for the topping. Ina's chicken pot pie filling is really delicious - like a warm hug.

My meatloaf is really a combination of a bunch of recipes I have tried in the past. This time, I had 1.5lbs of ground beef and about 3/4 lb of a variety of pork sausage bits from the freezer including sweet and spicy Italian sausage and ground pork. I chopped two onions and two stalks of celery that I sauteed in 1/4 c of melted butter. I added a teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme, a couple of teaspoons of oregano and a generous amount of salt and pepper. I scooted the sauteed veg to the side and squeezed two tablespoons of tomato paste in the pan. I cooked it a bit to get rid of that "tin" taste, then blended it in with the veg. Set it aside to cool. In a small bowl, I mixed 1/2 c of bread crumb with just enough milk to moisten it. In a large bowl, I mixed all the meats, added two eggs beaten, the sauteed veg and the breadcrumb. Lightly mix with hands but make sure it's well combined. I made a small patty and cook it in the pan that had the veg. Taste for seasonings and adjust.

I filled small loaf pans - it's just enough for two people. If you like a "topping" try a combination of ketchup, brown sugar, and a bit of horseradish. It's yummy.

Bake at 375° for about 35-40 minutes.

I put four bananas in the freezer last week. Thawed bananas are very goopy. Instead of one big loaf, I made two smaller ones. I followed this recipe just because I didn't want to pull out the kitchen aid and cream butter and sugar. They look great and the house smells amazing.

Time to pack up and make deliveries!