I’m so sorry because I don’t have a picture of the meatloaf to go along with this post. I got so excited at the ingenuity of doubling the meatball ingredients from Italian Wedding Soup to make a bonus meatloaf that I just ate it when it was done. Well, I shared it with my sister and brother-in-law, but we still just ate it with no pictures taken. That’s all the regret I can muster because it was good! So the original Italian Wedding Soup recipe used a ½ pound of each ground beef and spicy pork sausage. They don’t carry ½-pound packaging at my grocery store, so I had extra meat to use. The first idea was to make extra meatballs to freeze or whatever; but then the easier idea of making a meatloaf instead struck! All that’s needed is a sheet pan covered in oiled foil and a meat thermometer. Preheat the oven to 350°. Put half the meatball mixture from the Italian Wedding Soup onto the prepared sheet pan. Shape it into a flattish oblong shape. Cook until the thermometer reads 160°. This was around 30–40 minutes. I didn’t get the exact time; I’m a little sorry about that too but not too sorry. <shrug, grin> Have you ever had fried cabbage? It’s easy and cheap and versatile. Using a ½ cup of cabbage like the Italian Wedding Soup recipe called for doesn’t use very much of the head of cabbage. So I like making fried cabbage when I need to use up a head of cabbage. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat about 1 tablespoon of bacon fat (or butter), add about ½ head of cabbage that’s been cut into thin strips. Toss and stir until cabbage becomes tender then becomes a bit charred. You can add bacon or noodles or onions to it or finish it with a bit of apple cider vinegar, but I usually just add a sprinkle of salt and sometimes red pepper flakes. It can be a main dish or a side dish, whatever you need. If you’ve never tried it, please do. It’s St Patrick’s Day this week and cabbage is on sale, so you might as well! <shrug, grin>
