Cooking for Two

Eastern New Mexico is being blessed with another rainy day....we need all the rain we can get in this dry area.    H went out early this morning and picked some peppers....bell and hot......so,  we've decided to stay dry inside and do a little cooking.    After cooking for a family for many years,  empty nesters find it hard to cook for two.    I say....why fight it.....cook like I always did!
   

H ran over to the grocery store and picked up 4#'s of meat and we are going to make meat loaf  for today......and  some for the freezer for several more days!

 
    Onions,  celery,  bell peppers, and a handful of yellow tomato's are chopped  and sauted before I assemble the meat loaf.   H bought one of those copper skillets that you see being run over by a car in the commercials.....he loves it!

Salt and paper is added to 2#'s of meat.....2 eggs......a can of tomato sauce,  and about a cup and a half of crushed crackers.   I make it in two batches because my largest bowl will only hold a batch at a time. 

I put my meatloaf in a very large pan....top it with ketchup and bake for about an hour at 375 or until done.

  

While the meat loaf is cooking,   I am going to set the little bar at the end of the island.     I am using paper place mats......my go to! 

H almost refuses to eat on paper plates,  so I am using our every day dishes.    

I cook 10#'s of potatoe's at a time and mash them,   so there is always a bag or two  in the freezer.

H is having some of the roasted and diced hot peppers that he picked this morning with his meat loaf.

All the hamburger meat used for the meat loaf was less than $8 and we have enough to serve two for about 10 meals.

We put the smaller bags in a couple of gallon freezer bags and put them in the freezer to use on a day that we are busy and don't want to cook......the rest went in the refrigerator for a meat loaf sandwich  for supper tonight.  
 As you can see,   I don't know how to cook for two people....lol!    But I do know,    that by cooking the way I always did,  I don't have to spend as much of my retirement time in the kitchen!

The sun came out later this afternoon and it is a gorgeous day!    We have lots of sunny days......about 75% of them are and our average temp is 72...low is 44.....  it's a great place to live!


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