Inspired by Julia

After watching the movie Julie and Julia I decided I should put more thought into my meals. I love cookbooks and have many, many good ones. So last weekend I sat down with a couple of them and made my grocery list. I picked out approximately 6 recipes to make and bought the ingredients. The first one I made was Swiss Meatloaf. It came from "Cooking from Quilt Country" by Marcia Adams. It turned out very tasty, with a nice texture. My family loved it with an average score of 8 out of 10. Here is the recipe:

Swiss Meatloaf

1 egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup cracker crumbs (round buttery ones) approx. 24
3/4 cup grated swiss cheese
1/4 fine chopped onion
2-3 strips bacon

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Beat the egg in a large bowl. Add evaporated milk, sage, salt and pepper, mix together. Add beef, crubs, 1/2 cup of the cheese and the onion, blend together. Form into a loaf and place in a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange bacon pieces on top of the loaf. Bake for 40 minutes.
Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of swiss cheese on top and bake 10 minutes longer.

My dear friend Colleen in Georgia sent me a book by an author she had discovered. It was Run by Ann Pachette. We send books we have read to each other. I always tell how good the book is by how fast I read it. This one was a 3 day read. It was about a family that had this beautiful Mary statue that has been passed down in the family. The last family that had it the mother passed away and siblings had wanted it back. It was not given up though because this statue resembled the dead mother. I was so taken by the book that I bought my boys a Mary statue each for valentines day. She is standing in prominent places on their desks and the statues faces are quite beautiful. I bought one myself of Our Lady of Fatima because I love her clothing and face. It is beautiful. She stands on my window sill with my Saint Francis statue that our dear family friend Angie brought back from her pilgrimage from Assisi.
Daily Simple Pleasure, Big Lots. I can find the most random items there, from my favorite laundry detergent, to scrapbook supplies, to books,and have found the best ones there. One that I just read was "The Other Side of Me by Sidney Sheldon. It was a 4 day read only because my reading time is limited. The best thing about it......Large Print. It was wonderful!