Ahhhh…….January! Truly the only redeeming thing that I like about January is that it is my best friend’s birthday month and for that reason, and that reason only, I won’t eliminate the month completely from my calendar. (Happy Birthday Kathy Moore!)

Usually January raises its ugly head with cold, bitter temperature, snow and many dark and gloomy days. The buzz and energy of the holiday season is over and life seems so, well so “daily”! Enough already—the pity party is over. We must pull ourselves up and enjoy the simple pleasures of January. Here is a sure fire cure for chasing those blues away.

How can we do this anti-blues dance? One way is to prepare warm, hearty comfort food. What comes to the top of my mind is meatloaf. Not any meatloaf but mom’s meatloaf. It is the perfect cure for the common blues that January inevitable brings.

When I prepare this, I usually double the recipe so that I can have an extra meatloaf to freeze for busier days on the horizon. Nothing hard, nothing fancy, just good ole food like my mom made for us growing up.

I guess the only difference from my days of youth would be that my mom would always serve this with mashed potatoes. Truth be known, I would prefer meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but we have the youth of today at our home and our 16 year old can never get enough pasta. This particular night we had meatloaf with arugula pesto….ahhh yes, there is a light at the end of the January tunnel.

Mom’s Meatloaf

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, diced
1-1/2 pounds ground chuck
1/2 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 egg
1/2 to 2/3 cup dry Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
3 or 4 heavy dashes of Cajun seasoning
1/3 cup chili sauce

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil or with regular aluminum foil that has been sprayed with a nonstick spray.

In a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook until tender but do not allow to brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Combine ground chuck, tomato sauce, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cooked onion in a large mixing bowl. Combine well and form into a loaf.
Place loaf on prepared pan.

Spread chili sauce evenly over the top of the meat loaf.

Bake for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 165°F.

Allow to stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing into thick slices.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Tip:

In a hurry, skip cooking the onion and add 1 to 2 tablespoons dried minced onion to meatloaf mixture.

Substitute ketchup for chili sauce if desired.