the review: meatloaf with roasted winter vegetables (and broccoli)

“More broccoli please, Mom!”

You know your kids have been eating too much junk when you hear this. And I heard it not once, but twice from each kid on Monday night. What? Are you kidding? Gus ate thirds of broccoli and seconds of meatloaf. Protein and vegetable starved? I think so. Mid-way through his seconds, he said, “I don’t like this dinner, Mom” as he stuffed another bite of meatloaf into his mouth.

Of course, I did not follow either recipe. Meatloaf is one of those things that I just wing. Except Mario Batali’s “fancy” (as my kids call it) meatloaf. You should definitely make that. There was beef, an egg, some breadcrumbs, milk, Tony Chachere, Lea & Perrins, a little ketchup, and chopped yellow onion. I may have thrown some parsley in too, but can’t remember. Just dump it all in. Or try these instructions.

The roasted vegetable recipe was far too large for my tiny group of four. I improvised, reducing the vegetables down to one carrot, one parsnip, one sweet potato, and half of a small butternut squash. I drizzled the mix of veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper, tossed them about a bit and substituted dried thyme for fresh flat leaf parsley. Because I was baking my meatloaf at 400°, I also roasted the veggies at 400° instead of 450°, but added a little bit of time. At the last minute, I steamed some broccoli. Hands down, the favorite of the evening. Plain, steamed broccoli. My kids are weird.