Family Meals

Yesterday I made a meal my mother would often make on Sundays when we were growing up; Meatloaf, baked beans and cottage potatoes. This meal was one of my favorites! I didn't use her recipes because when she makes this particular meal she doesn't follow a recipe, she just does it. I did use recipes out of Mennonite cookbooks that used to be my grandmother's. While preparing this meal I thought of both my mother and grandmother a lot, two very important women in my life.

I don't very often make this much food for just the four of us (well three of us since Carson couldn't eat the Meatloaf or cottage potatoes). I am more of a one pot meal kind of cook. I felt like I was cooking all afternoon! In fact I WAS a lot of the time, in between getting interrupted for providing snacks, preparing a bottle, changing a diaper, redirecting the boys.... I think I would enjoy cooking more if I could just do solely that! Part of the time Carson was sitting on the kitchen counter watching me. I know- Bad Mother of the Year award goes to Kristi. But this way he isn't clinging/pulling on my pant leg whining. But I guess that if part of motherhood - multitasking! How did my mother cook for the 6 of us all those years, especially with the appetite of my two brothers?? And now how does she cook for the 12 of us?

Andrew really gobbled up this meal. I think he had at least three pieces of meatloaf. He normally loves any kind of potato but he didn't like the onions in these potatoes, they were still a little crisp. He said "I don't like salad!" Little did he know that there were onions in the meatloaf and beans, as well as many of the dishes I routinely make. I enjoyed watching him gobble up a meal that was one of my favorites as a child as well.