Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and root beer floats!

So this past weekend we were down some kids as our middle ones all went to Nana's house for a learning cooking weekend. That means I was stuck in a house full of  boy cooties with the oldest and youngest boy and my darling hubby. My boys all love their meat, so I had the perfect Saturday night dinner - meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I have to give my mom credit for the original recipe, which I have tweaked a bit over the years to make it my own. Funny story, when I first made this for my hubby years ago I had no idea that he actually hated meatloaf. With much anticipation, he was pleasantly surprised and now loves meatloaf - as long as it is mine. I realized we were parent failing when our youngest son informed me he had no clue what a root beer float was, so I had to remedy that quickly and made root beer floats for after dinner. Make this the next time you're looking to please the meat eaters of the family and they will be sure to ask for it again and again!

What's cooking in my kitchen this week:
Meatloaf and mashed potatoes with root beer floats

What you'll need:
Meatloaf
3 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 shallot, finely diced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup BBQ sauce, split in half
2 loaf pans

Mashed potatoes
6 large potatoes
1/2 stick butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

*Note: these amounts are for serving 4, not 8 like normal. 

Root beer floats
Vanilla ice cream
Root beer

How to make it:
First, you will need to pre-heat the oven to 350°. Next, finely dice up shallot and just leave on cutting board.

Put ground beef in large bowl. Put in shallot, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and 1/2 cup BBQ sauce in same bowl.

Before you mix up the meatloaf, grease up loaf pans with cooking spray. The best tool in the kitchen to mix the meatloaf is your hands, so make sure they are clean and dive in!

Mix until everything is well incorporated.

Split meat in half and put each half in greased loaf pans. Push meat down into pan until even loafs are formed.

Put another 1/4 cup BBQ sauce on each loaf and spread with spoon to cover entire top.

Put loaf pans on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 mins, until internal temperature reaches 160°. While the meatloaf is baking, get the potatoes going. I like my mashed potatoes more rustic, so I leave on the potato skins - just make sure to scrub them really well so there's no dirt on them. Cut into big chunks and place in pan with cold water and 1/2 tsp salt.

Make sure water just covers potatoes and put over high heat to boil.

Boil potatoes 20-25 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and put back in pot cooked in. Put butter in with potatoes and swirl around to get butter to melt.

Once butter is melted put in milk, salt, and ground black pepper. Mash with potato masher until potatoes are nice and fluffy. You may need to add a bit more milk to have that nice creamy texture - if you do, only add a splash at a time until desired creaminess is achieved. If you add too much milk, the potatoes will get runny.

Mashed potatoes stay warm for a while, so put the lid on your pot and keep pot on the stove top while waiting for the meatloaf to finish baking and they will be warm still when ready to serve.

Once meatloaf is done baking, remove from oven and let rest 5-10 minutes. Slice meatloaf in pans and serve with mashed potatoes.

Once you're done eating dinner, it's time to make dessert! Put 3-4 scoops of vanilla ice cream in cup, depending on how big it is.

Pour in root beer slowly, so it doesn't fizz over.

Serve with straw and a spoon and enjoy!

Did you know?
On this day in 1932, the Mars Bar, candy bar, was introduced.