Meatloaf. Mmm.

I had a pound of hamburger, and I wanted to make something simple with ingredients I had just sitting around the house that I could eat on for a few days.  What to do, what to do ....

First, I got some fresh bok choi from the garden and chopped it up into small pieces.  Mmm, bok choi.  I had a portabella mushroom, too.  Chop chop chop into cubes.  Bergenost cheese in the fridge.  I'm briefly tempted by smoked gouda, but I realized that bergenost is just the thing to go with the portabella mushroom.  I grated a whole bunch of it.

By now I had a whole pile of non-hamburger stuff, way more than I had hamburger.  Not a biggie.  I set the oven for 350 degrees F and put a small cast iron pan in there to heat up.  Then I put the hamburger into my bowl.

Seasonings.  Hmm.  Salt, but not too much because there's already cheese in there, and I squeezed in some ketchup, which is also salty.  Can't have meatloaf without horseradish.  I got a tablespoon from the drawer and scooped out a big glob.  Of course I have a big enough jar of horseradish that I can get a spoon in there.  Who doesn't?  A tiny bit of mayo, a sprinkling of mesquite seasonings, and then I stirred the ingredients together.  When they were more or less even, I washed my hands with soap and hot water.

The hot water feels good.  Have to scrub under the nails, of course.  And then it's mushing time.  I kneaded the hamburger like dough.  It was cold, and it made my fingers cold, but it was fun, like playing in mud.  When it held together more or less, and the mushrooms were nice and pink from absorbing blood, I washed my hands again and got that hot pan out.  I rolled the hamburger out of the bowl into my hands and made a loaf.  When it hit the hot iron it hissed and sizzled beautifully.  I loaded it into the oven, and washed my hands in that lovely hot water, and waited.

When it came out, it was delicious.  I had it for lunch and dinner for two days, and it never got boring.  And ... best meatloaf sandwiches for work, ever.