Loafing Around

Meatloaf was on the menu...and more accurately Meatloaf in the crock pot was on the menu...
but I kept putting off making it and putting off making it and well, 4 o'clock rolled around and I realized that this would be regular ol' meatloaf...

...or would it...

I then remembered a recipe a friend had sent me...

Mexican Meatloaf...

...yes it was a recipe for the crock pot, but heck, I take regular recipes all the time and make them crock pot recipes so why not the other way around...

so the original recipe from my friend, Jesica Wright, looked like this
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Mexican Meatloaf-crock pot style
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups crushed corn or tortilla chips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup salsa
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespons taco seasoning

Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Shape meat mixture into loaf and place in slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Tip: For a glaze, mix together 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon dry mustard. Spread over meatloaf, cover, cook on high 15 minutes

~~~~~~
I had just looked at the recipe a few days ago, but when it was time for me to actually make dinner I couldn't bring myself to walk ALL the way up the stairs...
log onto the computer...
open up my recipe folder...
find my crock pot recipes...
find the Mexican Meatloaf recipe...
print or write it down...
and then walk ALL the way back downstairs...

So instead I relied on my memory...and this is the recipe I ended up with...
~~~~~~
Mexican Meatloaf-oven style
1 lb of ground beef or turkey
1 cup tortilla chips crushed up
1/2 cup corn (canned-drained, frozen-defrosted)
1 cup mexi style pre-shredded cheese
1/3 cup salsa
1 carrot finely grated (use the fine side of your grater)*
1/2 cup spinach chopped finely*
1/3 cup ketchup
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 egg

Mix all together form into loaf and bake in loaf pan or pie plate for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees...

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*I like to add extra vegetables to dinner dishes this way, no one at the table knew they were eating carrots and spinach...

My family liked it, they all ate their original serving and Madison and I both had seconds...the whole family had been expecting regular meatloaf...
yes, my family LOVES meatloaf...
so, when they couldn't cover it in A-1 sauce and ketchup they were all a little disappointed...but they still liked it!

Serving Ideas
choice of salsa, sour cream, avocados/guacamole, and chips...
Refried beans (home made-so easy...future blog)
Spanish rice
Corn

Recipe variations you could try
add 1/2 cup of beans (pinto or black) to the meat loaf
chop up some broccoli really fine and "hide" it in the meatloaf
a can of Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes w/ green chilies in them)
use Mexi corn instead of regular corn
a can of green chilies
a sm can of sliced or diced olives
and more cheese...

Lessons learned from ChambersMade Meatloaf...
next time I won't spring on my family at the table that I made "special" meatloaf...and they will probably LOVE it, rather than just liking it!

you can put off making dinner all day and still end up with a pretty darn good dinner...

you can feed your family extra veggies and they'll never know (unless my husband reads my blog...)

I don't need to walk up the stairs (although my Wii fitness trainer tells me more stairs would be good for me) to get my recipe off my computer...

when I have my dream kitchen my computer will be on one of the islands...(so I can check recipes and so I can blog while cooking!)...