This is the first time I’ve made a meatloaf in years.

My mother used to make meatloaf fairly often, but left to my own devices I haven’t made one in so long that I can’t remember what year it was, lol. Growing up in a household devoid of brown gravy, she never missed an opportunity for food that could be smothered in it; not that pasta sauce and meatloaf isn’t delicious, it very much is, lol. I don’t really do brown gravy, but opted to buy a few packets planning ahead for tonight’s meatloaf.

The pair of potatoes that didn’t make it into this weekend’s vegetable soup got baked, mashed, and turned into pure deliciousness. I forgot how much work it is to mash potatoes, and just how incredibly worth the effort it is! That I’ve switched from cooking with milk to using half & half hasn’t hurt any. Licking the potato masher was enough to prove my efforts were successful 😁.

Because I’m weird: the side is roasted brussle sprouts. My mother would usually make green beans out of a can, or in later years some mixture of green, white, and red vegetables cooked until soft, mushy, and seasoned Italian style. The latter was always far better than the former, and probably played a large part in why veggies are a focus of many meals around here. You can bet my habits of roasting sprouts and carrots share seasoning characteristics with my mother’s cooking, lol.

Also I think it’s time for Willow’s nails to have a trim.

To compensate for the time spent in the kitchen, I gave the hungry minions a regular treat before I started cooking. Then some of their meat and gravy goodies after dinner; usually they have to wait until after dinner for their weekday treats.