meatloaf and cornbread

So I have a few meatloaf recipes but one of my favorites is almost identical to my meatball recipe, but with one minor addition: cheese. 

 

 

I preheated the oven to 400, and started with a family-sized pack of hamburger: 2.83 pounds for $5.60.  I thawed it in my microwave and mixed in what you see here: 2 slices of wheat bread, torn by hand into itty bitty pieces, about 2 Tbsp of "Italian seasonings", 4 raw eggs, and 1 cup of shredded mozzerella.  I also added about 1 Tbsp garlic, 1 tsp onion powder (just eyeballing it, you could also use diced onion but my boys have been picking out the onions) and about 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 tsp salt.  Again, just eyeballing it.  I mixed it thoroughly by hand, put it in a loaf pan and packed it down, put spaghetti sauce on top to keep it moist (you can also use ketchup or gravy.  Whatever floats your boat.)  I used about 1/4 of a jar of Francesco Rinaldi, on sale last week for $1 a jar.  You only need a thin layer of whatever.

 

 

Then I mixed up the cornbread: I used 2 boxes of Jiffy mix, on sale this week at 2 for $1.19.  I needed to add 2 eggs and 2/3 cup milk to make 2 mixes, but I've found 1 mix is only big enough for my family, and I had invited a few guests.

 

 

The cornbread was done in 25 minutes, and the meatloaf was cooked on the outside but raw in the middle, so I cranked up the heat to 450 and gave it another 20 minutes while I mixed up the honey-butter (2 parts generic butter spread, 1 part honey) and set the table.  It actually needed a total of an hour, 40 minutes at 400, 20 at 450.  My oldest 2 asked for "grownup sized" plates, and that's what they got.  I thought they wouldn't eat it all but they did!

 

 

My youngest got a half-portion but he cleaned his plate.  In fact, he wanted his meatloaf ("hangabur") on a "sammich", so I put it on a roll. 

 

 

 

Dessert was microwave popcorn.  And yes, that one bag was enough for all of us.  That's a disproportionately large bowl.

 

 

So tonight's prices are: $5.60 of hamburger meat, 6 eggs (4 in meatloaf, 2 in cornbread) or half of a $1.89 dozen = 95 cents, 2/3 cup of milk = 15 cents, 2 packs jiffy mix = 1.19, 1 cup cheese = 80 cents, 2 slices of wheat bread (20 slices = 1.99, so 2 = 19.9 cents) = 20 cents, 1/4 of a $1 jar of Francesco Rinaldi = 25 cents, 1 "hangabur" roll = $1.49/8 (They're cheaper at Dollar General but I bought this pack at Costas to avoid the hassle of two stores) = 19 cents, and one bag of generic popcorn = 67 cents.  So, our total is: $5.60 meat + 95 cents eggs + 15 cents milk + 1.19 mix + 80 cents cheese + 20 cents bread + 25 cents sauce + 19 cents roll + 67 cents dessert =  

 

$10 even. 

 

Wow.  I couldn't have done that if I tried.  Of course, there was 1/2 of the meal leftover, (1/2 of the meatloaf and 1/2 of the cornbread) so tonight's was a $5 meal and tomorrow's will be a $5 meal.  Because my guests were delayed, and decided to eat at home.