National Meatloaf Day - Oct 18th

I love meatloaf!! When I saw this event at Serious Eats, I knew I was in. Plus, I've been feeling bummed, with the weather being super hot and not knowing what I'm doing with my life. AND I have a cold. So I made meatloaf, and then it rained, and the weather cooled off a little, soon maybe I'll be able to wear jeans and hoodies like I want to.

Being from New England, I love cranberries, maple syrup, and everything else that apparently no one else appreciates. I bought cranberries at Wholefoods the day they came out, and have been thinking about what to do with them. When deciding what to put in my meatloaf, I spotted them. Cranberries are beautiful and magical. When you cook them whole, they pop, like popcorn, letting you know they're done. You don't want to eat them raw. The insides are weird looking. They are grown in bogs, which are then flooded and the cranberries skimmed off the top of the water. Only about 5% are sold to consumers, the rest going into juices and other things like sauces. I love cranberry time. I keep bags in my freezer because I know I can't get them after Christmas.
This meatloaf was just what I wanted. Mixing the meat with my hands, then eating it with some cheesy scalloped potatoes made by my boyfriend, perfect comfort food. Plus, it made a killer leftover sandwich. I wish I had some cranberry sauce to spread on the bread, but there's always next time. Happy Meatloaf Day!


Gluten-Free Cranberry Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs beef
1 onion, diced
2/3 c chopped cranberries (you could probably use dried, use 1/3 c of them)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
3/4 c GF breadcrumbs*
1 T room temp butter
Handful fresh parsley
2 T tomato paste

1 c stock
1/2 onion, diced

Mix everything except 1/2 onion and stock together with your hands. I used to hate this when I was a kid, I love it now. Press meat mix into a loaf shape, place in a pan, put remaining onions around loaf, pour in stock, and stick in a preheated oven at 350. Cook about an hour, depending on size/shape of your loaf, basting often with the stock. Serve with onions from the pan on th sliced pieces of the loaf, they're deliciously caramelized.

*To make GF breadcrumbs, buy some of that crappy GF bread they sell at the grocery store, toast it, then pulse in the food processor until its crumby enough for you. Or crush some crackers, or cornflakes in the same way.