Gulf Coast Family

by Leanne Ely (The Dinner Diva)

Why is it that dinner time at my house has very little in common with those wonderful Norman Rockwell pictures you see of a family around the dinner table?

The most obvious missing element would be the mom in the June Cleaver look-alike outfit. Sweats from Wal-Mart are more my speed. But take a good look at the children in those pictures. They eat with their mouths closed — you can’t see the child’s tonsils and spaghetti at the same time.

When we bow our heads at the dinner table, I silently offer up my own plea to God for some manners from the children. I ask God to help my children speak without a chicken leg taking up the space between their teeth and cheek. I beg him to help my children see that eating a piece of pot roast the size of a gerbil could prove hazardous. And lastly, I ask him, if all of the above fails, please give me grace to remind them again about their manners with a little dignity. Throwing myself on the floor and begging is down-right humiliating.

And speaking of dinner tables, unless you happen to have a Hoover-ish dog in the family that uses the space under the dinner table as a buffet line, there seems to be more dinner given to the floor than to the kids. Why is that? Is the food problematic?

Let’s take a look at tonight’s dinner, for example: meatloaf, check; mashed potatoes, check; broccoli (cut into bite-size pieces, no less), check.

Seems like a simple meal to get on one’s fork and into one’s mouth, right? No rolling, wayward peas or long, slippery pasta on my table. Just simple, forkable food. But in between the fork and mouth is that deep chasm: the dining room floor. And it is there where meatloaf, broccoli and mashed potatoes congregate on a nightly basis until a foot puts them in their place: mashed into the rug.

If I could have a drain in the middle of my dining room floor and a fire hose attachment in the kitchen, I might not complain so much. But sadly, that is not the case, although I do have hardwood floors, thankfully. I am having second thoughts about putting down the antique hook rug again. It’s not meant to hold squished, dinnertime buffets.

And what about meatloaf, anyway? I would love to argue with anyone who even thinks that their meatloaf comes close to being as good as mine. My meatloaf is so good, in fact, I almost didn’t want to give y’all the recipe. I was going to give you my mom’s recipe, which is good; but mine makes hers look like airline food. (but don’t tell her I said that!)

Leanne Ely, a.k.a. Dinner Diva, is the author of the best-selling “Saving Dinner” and “Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way” (Ballantine). What’s for dinner? Go to www.savingdinner.com and find the solution!

MANIC MEATLOAF – Serves 6.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper chopped
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 big cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 pound sausage (not Italian)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup fine bread crumbs

In a skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Cook for a few minutes till fragrant and beginning to wilt, then turn on low till wilted, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the meats and remaining ingredients. Mix well. Add sauteed vegetables and mix well again. Shape into a long oval — resembling a loaf of french bread — and bake at 375 degrees in a baking pan for approximately 45 minutes. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes, (generously add some garlic powder when mashing the potatoes) and steamed broccoli. Enjoy!

For more help putting dinner on your table check out Leanne’s website www.SavingDinner.com or her Saving Dinner Book series published by Ballentine. Copyright 2006; Leanne Ely Used by permission in this publication.