unholy meatloaf

DESCRIPTION

this is a bit of a combination between a meatloaf and a shepherd's pie. the measurements are not exact as i kind of improvised.

the package of potatoes au gratin i used had been sitting in the cupboard for approximately 20 years. it was still okay. it required milk and butter, but you'd have to follow your own package directions.

for a vegetarian version, there are a lot of vegetarian ground meats available; though if you're a vegetarian, you probably aren't a big fan of "meat loaf". (the man or the food item.)

this was a good solution for using up the potatoes au gratin and some old bread that i turned into breadcrumbs with the food processor.

i'm not a big meatloaf afficionado, but i'm pretty sure you can add all sorts of odd things into the mix. it's a classic "throw in all the leftovers" kind of dish. the use of breadcrumbs is a classic stretching mechanism.

INGREDIENTS

package of potatoes au gratin, cooked, leftover
about half a pound to a pound of ground meat (turkey/beef/whatever)
1 egg
2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbls. hot sauce
1 tbl. salt
1 tbl. ground pepper
some ground sage
some ground rosemary
1 cup shredded parmesan (leave some for topping)
extra virgin olive oil (e.v.o.o.)

DIRECTIONS

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

simply dump everything (except the potatoes au gratin and the e.v.o.o.) into a big bowl and squish it all together with your (clean) hands.

grease a mold pan with e.v.o.o. spread meat mix into the pan. press it in nicely. cover with the leftover potatoes au gratin. sprinkle with any shredded parmesan you've got left.

pop into the oven for about 45 minutes.

you've just made yourself a fuckload of meatloaf, bub.