Ridin Out The Recession With Dub and Deb “Miz Judi’s Kitchen!”

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Speakin of cold weather, any of ya'll seen that ole Al Gore feller lately? If you do, how bout telling him for me, ole Dub's got a bone to pick with him! That scoundrel's been a talking about this "Global Warming," I guess he calls it a "theory," but I cain't tell ya what I call it now...not here in the kitchen anyway! That "dude" had me convinced our whole planet was a warmin to the point, well, let me just say, I ain't cut the first cord a wood this year, and Deb's been a letting me have it! On top of that, Deb and I live in Florida and most of our state ain't much above sea-level. Between you and me, because a ole Gore, my next major project was a sand baggin around the house, that's right! Heck, all the guy could talk about was them dern glaciers meltin and the sea levels a risin, and Deb and I sittin here on low ground...I was scared to be honest with ya! Lo and behold though, the only hot air we was experiencing was just what was a comin outta his mouth, thank goodness! Between you and me, Deb woulda killed me if she came home and I'd a sand bagged her house! Lordy...it a got ugly in a hurry! This is but one reason I'm gonna enjoy doing this feature, I can "slip in" a political barb from time to time, in my "story tellin" and invite you all to do the same! To all you men, especially you young "whipper-snappers," who happen to drop in from time to time, let me say this. In the above paragraph, please note, I used the term "her house." This is a very, very important fact, whether you want to "own up" to it or not! Simply, it is, their house! Let me stress this once more...it is their house! You can kick, stomp, jump around, and dispute this till "the cows come home" and you don't have to take my word for it, but I promise you, this is the end result. So once again, if you don't believe me when I tell you this matter of factly, then I invite you to ask someone with a little more authority and experience in resolving these types of disputes...like the Judge!! I'm sorry if I've bored any of ya'll already this fine morning, but I've kinda got the house to myself at the moment. "Lil Hitler," er, I mean my lovely wife Deb, is still in bed this morning, and I know all you "men folk" understand, if you truly want to be able to relax and express your own opinions, it's gotta be done when your wife ain't around. Nuff said! On a serious note, Deb and I both thank you for taking the time to drop in and visit with us here in "Miz Judi's Kitchen." As you've read in our introductory page, we'll be discussing numerous topics, all of which we're doing in the attempt of sharing knowledge to help one other in today's tough economic times. Any knowledge our readers, our friends being the much more appropriate word in this instance, would like to share with us are greatly appreciated! Together we can make a difference in each other's lives, so please come in and give us a hand here in "Miz Judi's Kitchen," as the well will surely run dry quickly if depending on just Dub and Deb's limited "knowledge." Tell ya what though, let's cut the gab and "fire off the cookstove!" Granny Margaret, was my Grand-daddy Troy's wife, and are my Dad's parents. Though both gone now, I think of them quite often. In all honesty, these two may have been the best cooks I've ever been around. I know Grand-daddy would make a pot of "pork and rice," that all who knew him raved about! I'm telling you all, it was fabulous, what a great meal! It's a simple dish, and I know he always went heavy on the black pepper, though not overbearing by any means, but when we lost Grand-daddy, we lost that as well, and what a shame. We always asked Granny, "How'd he do it? What'd he do that made the flavor so unique and delicious?" Sadly, she didn't know, she would only tell us that this dish was his, and when he made it...he made it, she was never involved in the preparation. So in honor of my Grand-daddy, I'd like to ask all you cooks out there, please, if you have a good recipe for pork and rice, we here in "Miz Judi's Kitchen," would be thrilled to see, and share them. Don't be shy now, you know who you are, write em down and send them to us please! The first recipe, I personally would like to share with you, is from my Granny Margaret, and is called Granny Margaret's Meatloaf. Granny knew I loved to cook, and knew I loved her meatloaf, but everyone else did as well. That being said, let's kick-off Dub and Deb, in "Miz Judi's Kitchen!"

Granny Margaret's Meatloaf:

• 3-1/2 to 4 lbs. hamburger (I prefer ground chuck, less grease, but any will do)
• 2 lbs. Jimmy Dean "Hot" Sausage (again, mine and Deb's preference)
• 2- sleeves Saltine Crackers
• 2- cans Carnation evaporated milk
• 2- onions (optional, if you have any of the "I don't like onions," in your house...Deb...we just use one pan, but have one side with onions, the other without)
• 2- eggs

One large baking pan: (we mix all ingredients in the pan we'll be baking it in...less clean-up) Combine hamburger and sausage, and mix well using your hands. Mix thoroughly. Add your eggs, onions, and carnation milk. Then add your Saltine's, crumbling them as you're adding them, all the while hand mixing all ingredients. During this time add your salt and pepper to taste. Again, mix thoroughly. After mixing and forming the meatloaf to the shape of the pan, I then coat the entire meat with Heinz Ketchup. Just squirt straight from the bottle, then I spoon it over the entire meatloaf, same as icing a cake. Cover the meatloaf with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, take out and drain the grease. Re-cover, and bake an additional 45 minutes, drain once more. At this point, I bake the meatloaf 15-20 more minutes, un-covered. Cooking times may vary, and depending on your preference as far as doneness, this will increase or decrease your cooking time as well. Deb and I like our hamburger dishes well-done. Just checking from time to time is the best way to gauge the dish for your own preference. Next step..."Dig in!" When giving the amounts we use in this recipe, you may have asked yourself, "why so much?" The answer is simple, and let me explain. Convenience! First, Deb and I both like to have meatloaf sandwiches the next day. Secondly, with the remaining meatloaf, Deb's learned that she can then "divvy up" the remaining meatloaf into meal size portions for the two of us. At this point she takes the food saver and "food-savers" these portions, and then freezes them. This enables her to, at a later date, simply thaw a pack of the already cooked meatloaf out, heat it, even in the microwave, and I swear to you, it tastes as if you'd cooked it that day! We've had meals such as this that were 6 months to a year old, honestly, and again they're as fresh as the day you'd cooked them! To all of you who don't own a Food Saver, I have only this advice...Get One! The Food Saver literally "vacuum seals" whatever you use them for. What does this mean...Freshness! Even just using them for your store bought meat that you're planning on putting in the freezer anyway, Food Saver it. Deb and I both feel you'll be glad you did!

From the better half...

Hi, I'm Deb, the better half of this combo...Welcome to "Miz Judi's Kitchen!" First off, I see Dub's got the jump on me already in regards to our column, that's about par for the course. I also see he's told you I've been in bed, and this was the reason he was "holdin down the fort" for me, huh? Well, I'm back at the house now, so I'll set the record straight. Instead of in bed, I was at the grocery store gettin DUB some groceries...maybe next time though, I will stay in bed! I don't know about the rest of you women in regards to your spouse, but I gotta watch mine, and let me tell you, he's a handful! Also, as you'll see in our column, he does love to cook, BUT his first love is to talk, and boy CAN he talk! In reality though, that's my Dub, and you have to love him! While I was gone this morning I see Dub gave ya'll his Granny Margaret's Meatloaf recipe, and it is good. Last night though, we'd talked about his recipe, and at that point it wasn't going to be a hamburger dish, as I knew mine would be. So, as his buddies like to say, "How do ya tell when Dub's lyin? His mouth's open! I thought about another recipe, but you know what, I feel hamburger is one of the better meat buys today. There's no waste, it's still fairly inexpensive, and it's so versatile and can be used in many, many different dishes. With that the case, I'd like to share this recipe with you, it's a recipe our children just absolutely loved growing up, and we still enjoy it from time to time today. We always just called it "Hobo Steak."

Hobo Steak:

With this recipe you have to judge the quantity by the size of your family. The example I'm using today is what I make for Dub and myself.

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 3-4 mid size potatoes
• 1 large onion

Patty out your hamburgers (I make two patties, one for each of us). Slice your potatoes and onion into round discs (You can also add peppers, mushrooms, asparagus, squash, eggplant, etc.) Tear off two good size pieces of aluminum foil. Layer your potatoes on the bottom of the foil. Next lay your hamburger patty on top of your potatoes. Finish by laying your onion and whatever else you may want to add, atop the burger. This allows the flavors of the onion and whatever else you use, to cook down over the burger, while the grease from the burger cooks the potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Close packets up, and place the foil packets on baking pan. Cook for approx. 45-minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees, depending on how rare or done you like the burger. Once the burger is cooked to your individual preference, take out, drain the pack, then serve. A quick tossed salad goes well with this to complete your meal. Very little prep and cleanup time involved. If your family enjoys this meal even half as much as ours always did, I promise you, it'll be a hit! So until next time, we wish you all the best in everything you do! Please stop back in and visit with Dub and I...here in "Miz Judi's Kitchen!" God Bless each, and every one of you!

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