Meatloaf, smeatloaf

"Meatloaf, smeatloaf. I hate meatloaf..."

You know that scene from A Christmas Story? The one where the little kid won't eat his dinner, and the mom gets him to eat like a pig?

Well, his sentiments about meatloaf could not ring more true with me. And yet, I'm sharing a meatloaf recipe with you today.

You see, growing up, my mom was not the most creative cook. My mom can cook, it's just not something she enjoys. I get it. So we had a lot of the "staples". Meatloaf (dry). Spaghetti (with onions! the horror!). Grilled steak or chicken with canned green beans. Ick.

So you'd understand if, when I moved off to college, I never wanted to eat meatloaf again. Spaghetti is easy and cheap, so I came around to liking that. Grilling is fun and we prefer fresh or frozen veggies in my house.

But meatloaf was just one of those things that I couldn't wrap my head around. It never appealed to me, and the thought of the physical prep involved seriously grossed me out.

Until I saw this recipe from Mother Thyme. Hawaiian meatloaf? Hmm. I like pineapple. I actually do like all the ingredients that go into this meatloaf. Plus, the picture on her website was seriously drool-worthy.

I mean, that looks pretty darn tasty. Right?

So I pinned the recipe to try for later. I kept putting it off because while it's supposed to cook in the crock pot, it only goes in there for 6-7 hours. I like recipes that I can throw together in the morning and let sit for a whole day. 10+ hours. But then I thought "why not just make it in the oven?"

So that's what I did:

Obviously my photography skills aren't on the same level as Mother Thyme. Far, far below. But I'm not a food blogger so I get a pass. Seriously though? This meatloaf was great.

Yes. I said that. THIS MEATLOAF WAS GREAT. It was sweet, and yummy, and my daughter ate all of hers without complaining. My daughter is a pretty good eater - far more adventurous than most kids her age. But she still needs some prodding or encouragement for a lot of meals. When there are no qualms about what's on her plate at all - that's a win in my book.

The only changes I made was using a beef & pork mixture, rather than all ground beef. I baked it at 350 for about 50 minutes, then cranked it up to 375 for another 20 min. So next time, I'd probably cook it the whole time at 375 for probably 60 minutes just to get it a little firmer and well done.

Try this and tell me if you like it!

Do you like meatloaf? What is a food from your childhood that you dislike as an adult?