I did it. No one died. Everyone seemed to like it. I’ll put my recipe down here first & the shenanigans after that… because Threads gave me some shenanigans. Trigger warning for Nonnas worldwide:I put brown sugar in jarred sauce. Proceed with caution.
Preheat oven to 375ยฐ (Next time I may do 350ยฐ for a longer time, but we were in a but of a hurry.)
Brown the beef in a pan on the stove with some of all your spices to taste. (I could/should have included onion here.)
Mix the ricotta, one bag of the shredded cheese, the grated parmesan, a bit of the shredded parmesan, the eggs, fresh parsley, & shredded zucchini in a large bowl, again with all the spices including the garlic.
This filled two 9×13″ glass baking dishes for me. I think I layered them both a bit different. Follow your heart. Put sauce on the bottom, sprinkle in some brown sugar, the dry lasagna noodles, the ricotta mixture, the ground beef, some more shredded cheese, more sauce, more noodles, and just keep going. I did put a very little bit of water in the jars of sauce to swirl around & empty more.. and put that into the dishes too. Sprinkled cheese and made sure there was lots of sauce on top of each.
Cover them tightly with foil & put them in the oven for 50 minutes.
Take out, sprinkle on some more of the shredded parmesan, cook for another 10 minutes.
Pull out, rest for a bit, then serve.
Notes:
Like I said, lower & slower next time. Maybe 350ยฐ for an hour then uncover & go for another 15 minutes?
Carrots may be good in with the ground beef… and/or mushrooms?
Maybe spinach in the cheese mixture or as another layer. Let’s get some fiber up in here.
I don’t generally like sausage, but if you do it’d be good here for sure.
What would you do?
๐
Readers, let me tell you… people have feelings about calling that strip of pasta a “lasagna noodle.” There is also the fact that “American” lasagna has ricotta, but traditional does not. I was even told that because I added shredded zucchini it is no longer lasagna. I have made it replacing the pasta with long thinly-sliced zucchini planks and still called it lasagna.
People have lost their damn minds. No one knows that food and language evolve over time and across regions and even households?
I did plug my ingredients list into Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, & Copilot to see what they would churn back out, but honestly I didn’t follow through with any of their advice.
I look forward to your thoughts about lasagna, your tips, tricks & recipes, and the nuance of semantics involving pasta naming conventions in the comments. How do you layer yours? I feel like I need a way deeper pan. Do you go “traditional” and eschew ricotta? Do you call lasagna noodles lasagna noodles or are you pretentious?
If you want beef, then bring the ruckus! My mushroom meatloaf ain’t nothin’ to โโโโ with.
With the likely chance of repeating myself, I like to make meatloaf different all the time. I make “normal” ones often, and made a crazy breakfast one one time. I think I have even crushed up CheeseโIts or Doritos in lieu of breadcrumbs. I blame Chopped. I forgot that I made one VERY similar to this not too long ago. The blog post was kind of sus as I was using LLM as I cooked to keep track of what I was did in hopes of having a coherent recipe for a post, & had 4 of them pop out interpretations of my recipe. I put the examples there. That may be overwhelming. I’ll do all the writing for this one. I sort of half-plan and wing it with meatloaf. This time I wanted to do some mashed potatoes & acorn squash with it too… so I did.
Mushroom Meatloaf Mayhem
This was an absurd amount of meatloaf, but I like leftovers and I’ll probably freeze some for later too. This is what I bought or had on hand this time. Most of my ingredients nowadays come from Aldi, & we do get some stuff at Giant Total Eagle.
I used a lot of processed ingredients, so I didn’t add any salt… other than what was in the season salt. I forget if we have McCormick or the Aldi brand. Of course you could use fresh mushrooms like I did last time… but this is what struck me to use this time. Also, you can use any kind of cheese or meat you want. If you don’t like, mushrooms, or onions… I will say “Bean Soup” to you and you can find other meatloaf recipes where they’re not the focus. If you don’t like meat… I would be interested to hear your suggestions for substitutions here.
You know… if I put shredded green beans in this, and maybe bacon pieces… it would be green bean casserole meatloaf. ๐คฏ
Here are all the parts to the meal, and what I did to bring it all together at the same time…
The Mushroom Mayhem Meatloaf
Ingredients:
ยฝ stick unsalted butter (OK, maybe ยพ)
A splash of EVOO.
A splash of milk.
ยฝ Spanish Onion
1 cup French-fried onions.
2 4-oz. cans of mushrooms
2 10.5-oz. cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1ยฝ cups panko breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded Havarti cheese.
2 tsp. jarred minced garlic (oh I know some of you hate it)
4 lbs. ground beef (As it worked out I had exactly 4 lbs., 2.54 of 80/20 & 1.46 of 93/7.)
A1 (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
Seasoned Salt (like Morton’s Season All, Lawry’s, or Stonemill to taste)
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend (to taste)
Black Pepper (to taste)
Ground Mustard (to taste)
Paprika (to taste)
4 slices of cheap spongy white bread
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375ยฐ.
Drain & dice one can of mushrooms, dice the onion, and crunch up some of those french-fried onions to throw in there too.
Hit the onion with garlic powder & onion powder.
Melt some butter with a splash of EVOO on medium-high heat in a frying pan, then add the mushrooms & onions, sautรฉ on medium-low for a while until the mushrooms are translucent & almost starting to caramelize. Toss in some of that minced garlic once it gets going. Set aside.
Mix 1 can of the cream of mushroom soup, the breadcrumbs, about a ยฝ cup of the French fried onions, & 2 splashes of A1 in a bowl. (Would this count as a panade?)
Whisk the eggs, the splash of milk, & all your spices in the bowl. Or use a fork. Be whimsical. Improvise.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground beef, about ยพ of the sauteed mushrooms & onions, the sort-of panade, the egg mixture, about 1 cup of shredded Havarti, & another tsp. of that minced garlic. Mix it all up. (I started with a spoon spatula, then just used my hands.)
Form the meatloaf into two loaves placed on top of the slices of white bread on a sheet pan. (You had that ready right? I mean, you read this all through before you started and knew you needed to have that ready before you got your hands all raw-meatloafy, right?)
Sprinkle Seasoned Salt & whatever other spices you want on the top.
Cover with foil, & put in the oven for about a ยฝ hour-ish? I cooked to temperature, not time. (The USDA says ground beef should hit 160ยฐ to prevent all kinds of potentially horrible things.)
Mix together another can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, some more shredded Havarti, some French-fried onions, a small can of mushrooms, about half of what you have left of the sauteed onion/mushroom mix, & some A1 & spices.
Open the oven, take the foil off, insert your thermometer probes, slather on the mixture, and slide it back in. Cook for about an additional hour. Maybe? (This is where I slid it to the side & popped in my golden acorn squash.)
Take it out when it hits the 160ยฐ, let it rest for a bit, and have at it!
Notes:
I add whatever spices at each step as I go.
Of course, use fresh mushrooms or different onions, or whatever speaks to you.
Monitor your meatloaf, if cooling alone maybe do an hour covered, then uncover a bit, put in the probes, & slather the stuff on top later. I didn’t want to keep opening the oven.
I rarely measure when making stuff like this… these are suggestions at best.
I was originally going to make one long-ass loaf, but I decided on 2 smaller ones at the last minute. I should have put them side by side, not end to end.
Use a loaf pan or two if that’s your thing, or a glass baking dish, or whatever works for you. I like the freeform loaf on bread, it works for me. Just maybe don’t do feetloaf or faceloaf. Really, don’t do this.
I start with an empty dishwasher and just rinse & pop everything in there as I use it because I have a small kitchen.
Your oven is already at 375ยฐ with the meatloaf above, right?
Melt the butter, spices, & sugar in a microwave safe bowl.
Cut the acorn squash in half with a sharp serrated knife from the stem to the tip on both sides, then pop it open.
Scoop out the seeds & strings with a spoon.
Score the insides with a cross-hatch pattern or whatever floats your boat.
Put the 4 halves open side up in a glass baking dish in about ยผ of water.
Try to evenly distribute the sugary melted butter in the centers, being sure to drizzle some on the top too. I used a small gravy ladle.
Let it ride in the oven for about an hour or so, maybe an hour and 15 minutes. You want it to just slightly start to burn on the edges.
Notes:
If I was not sharing the oven with meatloaf, I probably would have put these in at 400ยฐ or 425ยฐ. I am here to tell you that recipes are merely suggestions and you are free to adapt on the fly and use your own free will.
Lots of recipes have you start acorn squash face down, then turn them over, do the hokey pokey & all that. I am here to tell you that you absolutely do not need to do all that. Save your time & energy for other meal prep or solving one of my mazes.
Use whatever spices or sweetener you like. I find maple syrup overpowering sometimes, but it is popular here. I actually in hindsight should have tried hot honey on one. It seems to be all the rage. Some cayenne would really work well here.
Instead of a cross-hatch pattern, you could make a face, carve a list of your enemies, or this.
Squashes sounds weird. Can squash itself be plural?
Nashed Tapaters N’ Gravy
This may be controversial. I like boxed instant mashed potatoes. They’re quick. I can control the consistency easily. They are a blank canvas upon which you can paint your flavorful dreams. On holidays? I am doing real potatoes. Typical dinner? Flakes are fine.
Mashed Potato Ingredients:
Boxed Mashed Potato Flakes
Milk
Butter
Beef Bouillon Cube
Shredded Havarti
Black Pepper (to taste)
White Pepper (to taste)
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
Mashed Potato “Recipe”:
Make the potatoes according to the directions on the box. Their suggested serving sizes are a lie. Go big, or go home.
I pop a beef bouillon cube or two in the water instead of the salt. It ties it in to the meatloaf nicely and adds salt & flavor.
Stir in some shredded Havarti cheese at the end. Measure with your heart. Or your appendix. Whatever organ is speaking, just listen.
Add some more butter.
Gravy Ingredients:
1 brown gravy packet
1 mushroom gravy packet
1 4-oz. can of mushrooms
1 10.5-oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Some of those sauteed mushrooms & onions from waaay back up top
Black Pepper (to taste)
White Pepper (to taste)
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
Gravy “Recipe”:
Mix the gravy packets both at once according to the directions on the pack… adding in your preferred spices.
Once it is fully simmered & not clunky… pop the burner back up to medium and add in the soup, the canned mushrooms, and some of your sauteed onion & mushroom mix.
Keep that going until it’s all heated through, you shouldn’t need to let it boil again. Let it rest a bit.
Notes:
I’m an anarchist when it comes to instant potatoes. Toss in buttermilk, sour cream, cheese, garlic… whatever you want. Use chicken stock or vegetable stock instead of water. I try to tie it in to the main dish.
You could make a gravy from scratch… but it’ll be almost the same stuff that’s in the packets. And, I wasn’t about to collect the drippings from the meatloaf to make a gravy like you would with a roast. ๐คฃ
๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐ฅ
There you have it. What would you do differently? Have anything you picked up that you might try? What are your meatloaf go-to recipes, tips, & tricks? Have any other meatloaf styles, or do you do it straight-up old school ketchup glaze? Most importantly, what are you rocking out to as you make meatloaf?
We can talk about meatball club. We can share recipes & secrets. A meatball sub is great, but a meatball club is epic. (With a small shout out to the meatball melt.) Stack or you’re whack.
๐ด๐ด๐ด
You have to check out this design on TONS of STUFF at TeePublic & RedBubble. Get a T-shirt, a hat, a pink, a sticker, a magnet, an apron, a mug, a clock, socks… and you’re in the club. No questions asked. Maybe share some photos of your homemade meatball clubs.
We recently went camping, and one of my favorite things to do when camping is cooking over a campfire. We did hobo packs the first night and mountain pies the second night. Both nights were a hit with the whole family.
Pretty much anything you throw in foil packet and toss over a campfire will work here. You can go right on the coals, but this was a recent fire, so I put them on a grate on top. There’s 2 layers of heavy duty foil here, but you don’t want it over a direct flame. These would work great on the grill too. I went for 30 minutes, flipped it, & let it go another 30 minutes.
I was looking for stew meat or cubed beef in the grocery store, but the Aldi on the way to the campground had beef that was marked as “Good for Carne Asada” and it looked perfect.
Ingredients:
Beef
Onion
White Mushrooms
Russet Potatoes
Red Bell Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Carrots
Zucchini
Butter
Spices!
Black pepper
Season salt
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend
What would you put on yours?
Mountain Pies
I have made mountain pies many different ways, but this time we went with the classic pizza ones, and some Italian sub ones for dinner. Everyone went rogue for dessert.
Mine were done up proper…
Pizza Mountain Pie
White bread
Pizza Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella
Pepperoni
Roasted Red Peppers
Black Olives
Mushrooms
Italian Sub Mountain Pie
White bread
Ham Lunch Meat
Salami Lunch Meat
Pepperoni
Turkey Lunch Meat
Sliced Provolone
Roasted Red Peppers
Black Olives
Italian Dressing
Banana Split Mountain Pie(This is the one I had!)
White bread
Jif Choclolate/Peanut Butter Spread
Sliced Banana
Mini Marshmallows
Strawberry Chocolate Mountain Pie
White bread
Sliced Strawberries
Hershey’s Choclolate
Powdered Sugar (on top)
In the past I’ve made Mountain Pie Reubens (on rye), baked bean pies, leftover vegetable soup (thickened up) pies, apple pies, peach pies, peanut butter cup pies, breakfast (eggs & ham) pies, and probably more. The possibilities are endless. Sloppy Joe? Chipped ham BBQ? Grilled cheese? Ham n’ cheese? Turkey melt? Cheesesteak? Hot PB&J? Hot dog & baked beans? Biscuit dough around something? How do you do yours?
Of course, this doesn’t cover all the possibilities of campfire cooking. There’s hot dogs, s’mores, campfire banana splits, campfire corn, baked potatoes, & more. What do you do over your campfires?
I was hungry for meatloaf. I typically just wing it. Sometimes it’s the classic ketchup/mustard/BBQ (or A1) glaze. Sometimes there’s cheese. Sometimes it’s breadcrumbs. Sometimes it’s chunks of bread soaked in milk. Sometimes there’s shredded veggies like carrots or zucchini. Sometimes there’s hardboiled eggs inside & it’s wrapped in bacon. One time I made it in a crock pot just because someone said you shouldn’t, and meatloaf on the smoker is absolutely a win.
This was a win with the wife & kids, so I;’ll definitely be making it again!
I guess I like leftover meatloaf sandwiches enough to post about it on Threads not just once, but twice.
Tonight I had the idea to throw a bunch of stuff together, then tie it in to gravy & mashed potatoes. I could have sauteed onions & mushrooms, but this was quick easy weeknight dinner chaos. After the fact, I asked AI language models to help me write the recipe from the ingredients & prompts that I fed it, and this is what I got:
That’s fantastic! Thanks for the extra detailsโthis sounds like a truly unique and delicious meatloaf. I’m especially impressed by the use of bread on the bottom to absorb grease and the beef bouillon in the mashed potatoes. Those are great pro tips!
Based on your ingredients and methods, here is a formatted recipe. Since you eyeballed a lot of the measurements, I’ve provided my best guess for the quantities. Feel free to adjust as you like for your blog post, since you’re the true master of this creation!
My “Crazy Good” Mushroom & Swiss Meatloaf Dinner
This recipe takes classic meatloaf and elevates it with a secret ingredientโa creamy mushroom sauce that’s mixed into the meat and used as a savory glaze. Served with cheesy mashed potatoes and a mushroom-loaded gravy, this is the ultimate comfort food meal.
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. lean ground beef
ยฝ cup panko bread crumbs
ยฝ cup regular bread crumbs
1 cup crushed French fried onions
1โ3 can (10.5 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
ยฝ can (4 oz.)) mushrooms, stems & pieces, finely diced
ยผ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyรจre cheese blend
3 to 4 glugs of A1 steak sauce
1 tbsp. Mrs. Dash Table Blend seasoning
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt
3 slices of white bread (for placing under the loaf)
For the Mushroom Glaze:
The remainder of the can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 to 4 glugs of A1 steak sauce
ยฝ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyรจre cheese blend
The remainder of the can of mushrooms, stems & pieces
ยฝ cup whole French fried onions
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375ยฐF (190ยฐC).
On a sheet pan, arrange the three slices of white bread in a row. These will absorb the grease from the meatloaf.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, lean ground beef, panko and regular bread crumbs, crushed French fried onions, cream of mushroom soup, diced mushrooms, shredded cheese, and A1 steak sauce.
Add the Mrs. Dash, ground mustard, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Using your hands, mix all ingredients thoroughly until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place it on top of the three slices of white bread on the sheet pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160ยฐF (71ยฐC) with a meat thermometer.
While the meatloaf is baking, prepare the glaze by mixing the remaining cream of mushroom soup, A1 steak sauce, cheese, and mushrooms in a small bowl.
After 1 hour and 15 minutes, remove the meatloaf from the oven. Spread the prepared glaze evenly over the top, then sprinkle the whole French fried onions on top.
Return the meatloaf to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the glaze is bubbly and the onions are golden brown. Let rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Suggested Sides
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Prepare a box of instant mashed potatoes according to the package directions. For a savory twist, use a beef bouillon cube in place of salt. Add buttermilk along with the milk, and season with black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir in shredded cheese until it melts.
Mushroom Gravy
Prepare a packet of brown gravy mix. Once finished, stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of mushrooms, and a handful of crushed French fried onions.
Sweet Paprika Carrots
Cook canned carrots with a bit of butter, a pinch of brown sugar, and a dash of paprika until heated through.
Your dinner sounds incredible! Would you like me to draft a more detailed blog post introduction or a full recipe card for you, or do you have enough to get started?
That sounds like a seriously comfort-food feast โ meatloaf, cheesy potatoes, mushroom-onion gravy, and sweet carrots. Perfect blog material. I can help you format this into a clean recipe write-up, with estimated amounts for the “eyeballed” parts so itโs easy to follow but still keeps your personal style.
Hereโs a draft you could paste into WordPress and tweak to taste:
Crazy Good Meatloaf Dinner ๐ฝ๏ธ
This is one of those meals where everything came together just right โ a loaded, flavorful meatloaf with a cheesy mushroom glaze, creamy mashed potatoes, savory gravy, and sweet carrots on the side.
Meatloaf
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb lean ground beef
ยพ cup panko bread crumbs
ยฝ cup regular bread crumbs
ยฝ cup crushed French fried onions (plus more for topping)
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup (divided)
1 small can mushrooms, stems & pieces or sliced (divided, finely dice half)
1 cup shredded Swiss & Gruyรจre cheese (divided)
2โ3 Tbsp A1 steak sauce (plus more for glaze)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Table Blend
ยฝ tsp ground mustard
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp season salt
3 slices white bread (to go under the loaf, absorbs grease)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ยฐF. Line a sheet pan with foil and place the 3 slices of white bread in the center.
In a large bowl, combine:
Ground beefs
โ of the mushroom soup
ยฝ the can of mushrooms (finely diced)
A couple glugs of A1
About ยฝ cup shredded cheese
Bread crumbs, crushed fried onions, and all seasonings Mix gently until just combined.
Form mixture into a loaf on top of the bread slices.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the glaze: Mix remaining mushroom soup, the rest of the mushrooms, a splash more A1, and ยฝ cup shredded cheese.
Spread glaze over meatloaf, top with more French fried onions, and return to oven for 15 minutes.
Check with a thermometer โ internal temp should be 160ยฐF.
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
1 box instant mashed potatoes
1 beef bouillon cube (use in the water instead of salt)
ยฝ cup shredded cheese
2โ3 Tbsp buttermilk (in addition to milk called for)
Black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder (to taste)
Instructions
Prepare potatoes according to box, replacing salt with beef bouillon.
Stir in cheese, buttermilk, and seasonings.
Mushroom-Onion Gravy
Ingredients
1 packet brown gravy mix (prepared according to directions)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
ยผ cup crushed French fried onions
Instructions
Prepare gravy mix.
Stir in mushroom soup, mushrooms, and fried onions. Simmer until thick and rich.
Brown Sugar Carrots
Ingredients
1 can sliced carrots (drained)
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
ยฝ tsp paprika
Instructions
Warm carrots in a pan with butter.
Add brown sugar and paprika, stir until glazed.
๐ฅ Plate it up: thick slices of meatloaf with mushroom glaze, a scoop of cheesy mashed potatoes covered in gravy, and sweet carrots on the side.
Do you want me to make the recipe section blog-ready with your voice (like you did with your pretzel blob post โ casual, funny, irreverent), or do you prefer the cleaner, โrecipe cardโ format for this one?
Perfect โ what a feast! Letโs capture your meatloaf dinner in a polished, blog-ready recipe format. Iโll give you a structured version of your meatloaf (with estimated measurements based on typical ratios), plus your mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots as sides. You can edit the amounts if you think theyโre too light or heavy compared to what you actually eyeballed.
๐ฝ๏ธ Mushroom-Swiss Meatloaf Dinner
This hearty meatloaf dinner is rich with beef, mushrooms, Swiss and Gruyรจre, and topped with a savory mushroom glaze and crispy onions. A full comfort food plate with cheesy mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, and buttery carrots.
Meatloaf
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef (80/20 works well)
1 lb lean ground beef
ยพ cup panko breadcrumbs
ยผ cup regular breadcrumbs
ยฝ cup crushed French fried onions
โ can (about 10 oz can) cream of mushroom soup (approx. โ cup)
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Table Blend (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground mustard
ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
3 slices white bread (to set loaf on while baking; absorbs grease)
Mushroom Glaze
Remaining cream of mushroom soup (~โ cup)
Remaining ยฝ can mushrooms (~ยฝ cup, sliced)
ยผโยฝ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyรจre cheese
1โ2 tablespoons A1 sauce
Handful of French fried onions (for topping)
Instructions
Preheat ovenย to 375ยฐF. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the 3 slices of bread in the center (to act as a base for the meatloaf).
Mix the meatloaf: In a large bowl, combine ground beefs, breadcrumbs, crushed onions, mushroom soup (โ can), mushrooms (ยฝ can, diced), shredded cheese (ยฝ cup), A1, and seasonings. Mix until just combined โ donโt overwork.
Form the loafย on top of the bread slices.
Bakeย for 1 hour 15 minutes, until nearly cooked through. Internal temp should be around 150ยฐF.
Make the glaze: Stir together mushroom soup (remaining โ can), mushrooms (remaining ยฝ can), cheese, and A1. Spread evenly over meatloaf, then top with French fried onions.
Return to ovenย for 15 minutes more, until internal temp reaches 160ยฐF and glaze is bubbling.
Rest 10 minutesย before slicing.
Cheesy Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
1 box instant mashed potatoes (prepared according to package)
1 beef bouillon cube (used in place of salt in boiling water)
ยฝ cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Swiss, or blend)
ยฝ cup milk + splash of buttermilk
ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Prepare boxed mashed potatoes, dissolving beef bouillon in water before adding potato flakes.
Stir in cheese, milk, and buttermilk.
Season with pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste.
Mushroom-Onion Brown Gravy
Ingredients
1 packet brown gravy mix (prepared according to package)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
ยฝ cup French fried onions, crumbled
Instructions
Cook gravy mix as directed.
Stir in mushroom soup, mushrooms, and fried onions. Simmer until hot and thickened.
Candied Butter Carrots
Ingredients
1 can carrots, drained
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
ยฝ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
Heat carrots in a skillet with butter.
Stir in brown sugar and paprika.
Cook until glazed and heated through.
โ Serving suggestion: Plate a hearty slice of meatloaf with a scoop of mashed potatoes topped with mushroom gravy, and a helping of sweet carrots on the side. Donโt forget extra crispy onions on top for crunch!
Would you like me to keep the recipe in a conversational, cozy “blogger” style (like a story around the dinner), or a sleek cookbook style (straight to the recipe)?
Absolutely, Ericโthis meatloaf sounds like a punk rock symphony in casserole form. Letโs immortalize it with a blog-ready recipe that captures the chaos, comfort, and culinary swagger. Iโll format it with clear sections, estimated measurements, and your signature storytelling flair.
A meatloaf so good it deserves its own zine spread.
๐ Meatloaf Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb lean ground beef
ยฝ cup panko breadcrumbs
ยฝ cup regular breadcrumbs
ยฝ cup crushed french fried onions
โ can (about 4โ5 tbsp) cream of mushroom soup
ยฝ can mushroom stems & pieces, finely diced
1โ2 glugs A1 steak sauce (about 2 tbsp)
ยฝ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyรจre cheese
3 slices white bread (for under the loaf)
๐ง Seasonings (eyeballed, but hereโs a guess)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Table Blend
ยฝ tsp ground mustard
ยฝ tsp black pepper
ยฝ tsp onion powder
ยฝ tsp garlic powder
ยฝ tsp seasoned salt
๐งช Glaze Ingredients
Remaining cream of mushroom soup (~โ can)
Remaining mushrooms (~ยฝ can), roughly chopped
1โ2 more glugs A1 steak sauce
ยผ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyรจre
Handful of whole french fried onions (for topping)
๐ฅ Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ยฐF.
Form the loaf: Mix all meatloaf ingredients (except the white bread) in a large bowl. Shape into a loaf and place it directly on top of the 3 slices of white bread on a sheet pan. The bread will soak up grease and prevent burning.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Make the glaze: Combine remaining mushroom soup, mushrooms, A1, and cheese.
Top and finish: Spread glaze over the meatloaf, sprinkle with whole french fried onions, and return to oven for another 15 minutes.
Check internal temp: Use a meat thermometer to ensure it hits 160ยฐF.
๐ฅ Sides That Slap
๐ง Beefed-Up Instant Mashed Potatoes
1 box instant mashed potatoes
1 beef bouillon cube (in water instead of salt)
ยฝ cup shredded cheese
ยผ cup buttermilk
ยฝ tsp each: black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
Mix per box instructions, swapping salt for bouillon cube. Add cheese, buttermilk, and seasonings. Stir until creamy and punk-approved.
๐ Mushroom Gravy Hack
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
ยผ cup crumbled french fried onions
Prepare gravy mix as directed. Stir in soup, mushrooms, and onions. Simmer until thick and glorious.
๐ฅ Sweet & Smoky Carrots
1 can sliced carrots
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
ยผ tsp paprika
Heat carrots with butter, sugar, and paprika until glossy and tender. Serve with attitude.
Want to add a zine-style intro or a playlist pairing for the blog post? Iโm ready to riff.
๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
Somewhere in there, there’s a tight recipe. Again, I didn’t measure anything, I just dumped. I tried to use common ingredients. Maybe I’ll make it different next time. This was really good though, so I may stick to it.
Do you use any AI language models for anything? Do you ever ask them for assistance combining recipes or for cooking? I wonder if one of them would be better at combining all these than the others? I can’t decide which model did the best job.
On to the meatloaf… What tips & tricks do you have? I always to the bread one. Hit me up in the comments or on social media.
I know dried chip beef is the norm, but it’s so damn salty. If I use that I rinse it off. The jarred stuff is wildly expensive & the lil’ Buddig packs have like 2 slices of meat. (This “ยฝ lb.” was only 7 oz., thanks Hillshire Farms & shrinkflation!)
I added black pepper, onion powder, Mrs. Dash table blend, paprika, & ground mustard. Of course. You do you & add what you like.
Melt your butter on high in a pan on the stove top.
Chop & add the beef as it’s melting.
Crank it down to medium-high.
Toss in the flour, brown it in the butter to cook off the flour taste.
Add a cup of milk, stir until thick.
Add the 2 leftover cups of milk, cook until it thickens… it will thicken more upon standing.
I put the recipe before the story for all you “I DoN’T WaNt tO ReAd yOuR LiFe sToRy, JuSt gIvE Me tHe rEcIpE!” people. Fancy people call this Chipped Beef on Toast and polite people call it S.O.S., I call it “Shit on a Shingle.”
I think traditionally, shit on a shingle is served with dried chipped beef. I have used the jarred Armor or Hormel and the packet of Buddig stuff in the past. I like the pastrami, but corned beef, roast beef, or whatever you want would work. Go crazy with ham, turkey, chicken, venison, bison, elk, rabbit, squirrel, or whatever tickles your tastebuds.
I use the term traditionally loosely, as I have heard others claim it should be made with ground beef. It seems to be a military thing. It may change depending on your branch of service, the time when you served, and the region?
Some unhinged people may even add cheese… and someone on threads said they add peas. I like creamed peas, so why not? We used to have creamed canned asparagus over toast. Sometimes the asparagus was fresh and we used cream-of asparagus condensed soup to make the sauce.
This really isn’t much different from sausage and gravy over biscuits. I prefer bacon to sausage… so I have made bacon in the oven, collected the drippings, & used that instead of butter or sausage drippings to make the gravy for serving over some biscuits.
Perhaps the term shit on a shingle may be like “pigs in a blanket” and mean vastly different things to different people.
I would guess you could make the sauce from corn starch instead of flour if you wanted to have a gluten-free or wheat-free option or alternative? This seems easily adaptable to vegetarian or vegan needs subbing in peas or asparagus.
Well, I’m on my old bullshit again. This is the part where I take an incredibly trivial thing that happened, and blow it wildly out of proportion. This is World (and Lunar) Domination. That joke is so old, the MySpace blog that initiated it is lost to time. I blame it all on my reading Idiot Letters.
I sent an email to Wendy’s the other day… via their customer service email. It was such a canned response, I got it twice. I used Gemini, ChatGPT, & Perplexity to help identify their executives and guess their email syntax, but I suppose I was blocked as spam for trying to email them all at once. And maybe for this attachment.
This is what I wrote…
From: Eric Aixelsyd<aixelsyd13(at)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Jun 1, 2025 at 11:11โฏPM Subject: Wendy’s, are you OK? (Bridgeville, PA) To: <customercare@wendys.com>, <kirk.tanner@wendys.com> Cc: <digital@wendys.com>, <compliance@wendys.com>, <mediarelations@wendys.com>, <privacy@wendys.com>, <InvestorRelations@wendys.com>, <customercare@wendys.com>, <abigail.pringle@wendys.com>, <liliana.esposito@wendys.com>, <carl.loredo@wendys.com>, <mary.greenlee@wendys.com>, <coley.obrien@wendys.com>, <john.min@wendys.com>, <lindsay.radkoski@wendys.com>
Hello Ladies & Gentlemen of Wendy’s,
I write to you today with great concern. Your location in Bridgeville Pennsylvania (which some locals on Facebook & Nextdoor will pedantically yet vehemently point out is in Collier Township and not Bridgeville proper) is in what could be fairly considered shambles. The dining room is not clean. There are no baked potatoes about โ of the time when I try to order them. Wait times for orders in the app can be excessive. Earlier today, we stopped in for what we thought would be a quick early relaxing dinner after catching Karate Kid: Legends at the local movie theater.
We should have ordered in the app. That was my first mistake. We ordered at the register and I asked if I could have a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, then a bacon & cheese baked potato. After a long pause, the cashier looked to the kitchen and yelled to ask if there were any potatoes. A disembodied voice answered “NO!“, so the cashier laughed, looked at me and repeated the rather rude “NO!” Another long awkward pause later, I guessed I would take fries and an Iced Tea. Well, my second surprise was that there is no more fresh brewed iced tea, but the swill that comes from the magical flavor selector Coca~Cola machine.
My wife did the rest of the ordering for her and the kids, and somehow it turned into a debacle much like the famous Abbott & Costello Who’s On First? bit… with items being grouped weird, & lacking a cup for water as well as notes to hold lettuce, tomato, & onion on a Dave’s single. The shift manager had to be called over twice with an “I need your thumb!” while people behind us gathered & were wholly ignored. In this kerfuffle, an employee noted the homemade “We need your $1’s” sign scrawled on an 8″x10″ sheet of paper. The cashier adamantly expressed “We need that!” and a split second later, the shift manager angrily ripped it off the counter to the astonishment of the cashier. This sign has been a feature there and at the drive-through window since COVID. Who the hell pays in cash?
I think we technically stole a cup for water, but at total of $52.68 for four people, perhaps you can forgive us. I mean, at this point who is robbing who? If necessary, I will send a check to make it right. Do people still use checks? Maybe I can Venmo you.
Let me add some more context. We got our burgers, chicken sandwiches, and sad french fries. I chose Cherry Coke instead of tea, no big deal. Since I had to settle for fries, I tried to get ketchup. Both pumps were empty. There was what I can only assume was a store manager sitting talking on the phone at the table literally closest to the ketchup dispensers who made no attempts to correct the issue. I assume this was a store manager as he appeared to interview some poor unwitting soul who came in as I was trying to goad the last salvageable bits of sugary tomato sustenance out of their final home. My wife, who was waiting for the kids’ Frosty shakes, told the cashier that the ketchup pumps were both empty and she was literally thrown some ketchup packets. For the time allotted, it appears that the cows were milked fresh to create the ice cream. I didn’t know there was that much room behind the fryers back there. I commend your commitment to quality.
Now we get to the point that I just can’t get past. I can sadly yet honestly overlook all of the above and chalk it up to a standard fast food experience these days. What though, I’m sure you are wondering, could possibly have lodged itself so snugly in my proverbial craw? Cheese.
That’s right, cheese. How, my friends, does a restaurant that specializes in cheeseburgers… serve 4 sandwiches and not one of them has a slice of cheese that is remotely melted? American cheese too! If you look at American cheese too hard, it starts to melt. I could maybe even give you that the Asiago on the chicken sandwiches had a higher melting point. But, how tepid were those beef & chicken patties that it didn’t melt the cheese? Shouldn’t the buns also be toasted on the grill? Like cheese added to the burger on the grill and covered with a lid so it melts the cheese with steam? Shouldn’t the chicken have come out of the fryer so hot that the cheese melted instantly upon contact? Given the temperament of the employees, you can see why I didn’t dare complain then & there, lest I get cheese melted by being nestled in an armpit (or worse).
I really would like to know step-by-step what process you have for making burgers? It surely could not have been followed properly in this instance.
Also, are you OK? How is this permissible or even passable? Is no one from corporate checking on these locations? Is there no oversight or secret shopper type program? If there is, are these standards being met? If you peep the Google reviews, the people have spoken. It used to be that if a restaurant was out of something, they’d offer a discount for next time, a free item, or literally anything other than a blank stare. I am not looking for free food. I’m looking for a dining experience that matches the money paid, and this was definitely not it.
I have attached a maze for you. It illustrates my frustration while attempting to bring some levity to the situation. Perhaps while you try to navigate the correct maze path, you can contemplate the correct path to get this Wendy’s back on track. Do we need to call Gordon Ramsay or Robert Irvine? I really like a Wendy’s burger when it’s proper. It’s got a great beef taste and used to have consistent quality. The potatoes are great, but sometimes they too suffer from the cheese problem when the cheese sauce is topped with the shredded cheese. I miss broccoli as an option for potato toppings. They used to come out so hot that the steam could burn your face when you opened the container. I miss those days. Are customers too stupid now to avoid the steam?
I still just can’t understand how you can serve a cheeseburger without melted cheese at a restaurant founded on burgers. What happened? I remember the glory days of sun rooms, the salad & toppings bar. How did we come to this?
I thank you for your time, and I appreciate you if you have managed to read this far. I hope you find the time to respond, and I look forward to your thoughts.
From:ย Wendy’s Customer Careย <customercare@wendys.com> Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2025 at 12:21โฏPM Subject: Wendy’s Customer Care [ thread::hsjDn4hRf3SLz4W3oE9RSDc:: ] To: aixelsyd13(at)gmail.com <aixelsyd13(at)gmail.com>
Dear Eric,
Thank you very much for taking the time to let us know about your recent Wendy’s experience.
At Wendy’s, we strive to delight every customer. When your experience falls short, we are committed to making it right.
The details of your experience have been recorded in our system and shared with the franchise leadership team in charge of this restaurant. We hope you experience the quality and service that we expect on your next visit.
We have added a We Got You $ off in-app offer to your mobile account to use at any Wendy’s location. This offer is valid for 30 days from the date it was added. To find the offer from the Home page of the Wendyโs App, tap the โOffersโ option on the bottom menu bar. Then scroll to the bottom of the offers page and select the We Got You in-app offer. We recommend you check that the offer is applied before completing your order.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us and for being a Wendy’s customer!
Regards,
The Wendy’s Company
And then, I had to write to them again! I went a few days later, to a different Wendy’s, in a different state, to get a breakfast sandwich with that credit. Again… NO MELTED CHEESE! What is going on here? Who would happily eat this nonsense? Who would make a sandwich like that and think that’s OK? Apparently, everyone, at every Wendy’s, everywhere.
I did the survey on the receipt, and got this:
From:ย Moundsville 391ย <moundsville00391@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Jun 4, 2025 at 10:15โฏAM Subject: Following Up To: AiXeLsyD13(at)gmail.com <AiXeLsyD13(at)gmail.com>
Hello Eric,
My name is Ryder and I am contacting you on behalf of Moundsville Wendy’s. We got your feedback about a recent visit and just wanted to thank you for the feedback, we strive to serve every customer to the best of our abilities. We would be glad to give you a replacement meal.
Best Regards,
Ryder
I replied to that including my maze, and got nothing. I wrote about it to corporate again, and got THE SAME EXACT RESPONSE as the first email. I got $10 credit the 1st time, and $% the second time. I don’t want free food, I want good food. They won’t acknowledge the maze. Neither will their snarky Threads and ๐Twitter accounts. ๐คฃ No response from FB Messenger, either.
So, @Wendys, how do you get a burger where the cheese is not even melted? Some of your locations need help, or training, or something.@WendysCanada You melt the cheese right up there, eh? pic.twitter.com/1uB4Rm24Od
— แกส๊ โ ษXiA ฦiะฏฦ ๐ธ (@AiXeLsyD13) June 2, 2025
Well then, it’s finally here. I finished maze book number two! This one is better than the last one, I promise. The first was sort of a test run just to see how Amazon KDP works. I wholeheartedly appreciate everyone that bought that book, but this one just objectively looks better and much more time was put into its creation. It ought to be much more challenging and enjoyable, IMHO.
This book a collection of a bunch more larger mazes, and a few small ones that I have been drawing since late 2023. There’s no common theme other than most of the mazes have a silly vibe. A few have no vibe at all. There’s aliens, rodents, yard work, holiday stuff, rock n’ roll, a treasure map, food, retail aversion, gross stuff, & more.
You Can See Yourself Out: A Collection of Fun, Irreverent, Festive, & Wild Hand-Drawn Mazes (Front Cover)
I hope you consider picking up a copy for yourself, & maybe even one for a friend? If not, just sharing the link to someone who you think may enjoy it, or just sharing it in general would be awesome.
The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9Y7SFXS and I’d love if you could share it, review it, favorite it or save it to a list… anything to help even if you’re not interested in a purchase. You could give me a good (or terrible) review or add it to your list on GoodReads too, if that’s your thing.
I had fun making a collage with punk ‘zine vibes for the cover. I busted out the mixed media, printed on weird paper, got two cutting, ripping, & coffee staining… and unearthed the leopard & cheetah print tape.
All of the mazes were hand-drawn, scanned in, edited (& “solved”) in paint.NET, & put together with Open Office. I haven’t stepped into the world of digital drawing yet, and I like my free programs. Someday, I’ll probably dive into GIMP a little more.
I love drawing the mazes, and it’s a great creative outlet like blogging or making music or playing out live. I’m sitting on a pile of old ones that I can convert into a book… but I need to make sure they’re all solvable and do the solutions.
Some are too big to fit on my scanner, and scanning with my phone has less than desirable results… so I’m gonna have to go somewhere like a FedEx Office store and hope they can help before they all disappear. I have a problem picking up any notebook that catches my eye and is the right price, regardless of size & paper type. I like the feel & the calming of pen on paper.
Because I have been excited about this, and I made a small collage with leftover bits, I popped up some new merch designs in my TeePublic & RedBubble stores with that new collage & the book cover images. I do have some older designs there with a few of the mazes that are featured in this book too. If you have an account & follow me on either of those sites, it may help my stuff get seen a bit more. I’d appreciate any form of liking/sharing/tagging if you’re so inclined!
In fact, check out all these designs from or inspired by the book, you can get them on all kinds of merch at each store! (I ordered a sticker, a magnet, a coffee cup, & a hoodie so I’m already in the hole.)
Teriyaki Stuff [November 19, 2023] Why I want this sauce.
La Choy Teriyaki Terror [December 8, 2023] ยท I sent a maze to La Choy (Conagra) to literally illustrate my fristration at not being able to find their sauce.
I made these the other night, and they were good! Here’s a quick & dirty method more than a recipe…
~๐ฝ๏ธ~
For the French dip above, I just sautรฉed a diced sweet onion and canned mushrooms in medium heat in butter, set the goods aside, cranked the heat, seared a roast from Aldi in the same pan, added it, the onions/mushrooms, some shredded carrots, & a can of condensed French Onion Soup to the crock pot on high for 4 hours.
I pulled the roast out to “rest” for a bit before slicing, then put it back into a bowl with some of the liquid for the crock pot
For the buns, I just bought Mancini sausage rolls, melted butter in the microwave, put them in at 375ยฐ for 2 minutes, then pulled them out.
Then I piled on the sliced/shredded beef & mushrooms/onions/carrots and some sliced white American cheese, then back in the 375ยฐ oven for 5 minutes.
I made an “Au Jus” McCormick packet, and added some of the liquid from the crock pot for dipping. Toasting the buns really helped it stand up to the dip so it didn’t fall apart.
The potatoes were just little Yukon gold potatoes boiled in salty water for 30 min., smashed on to an oil-brushed cooking sheet, then baked at 425ยฐ for ยฝ hour.
I spiced the onions, meat, butter, & potatoes throughout all the stops, I think I added chicken bullion to the potato water, too. I used a lot of garlic & onion powder, black pepper, and Season Salt or Mrs. Dash’s table blend.
Well that’s it. Do you make anything similar? Have some tips & tricks? I have made similar stuff before with Swiss or Havarti or Provolone, used all kinds of different beef or even Steak-Ums, whatever buns/bread look good, used the French’s fried onions, etc. Ya gotta change it up and/or use what you have on hand!
What happened? I remember the glory days of sun rooms, the salad & toppings bar. How did we come to this?
World (and Lunar) Domination 