Winter is still in full swing here in the United States and after feeling a bit under the weather for the better part of a month, I decided some good old-fashioned comfort food was in order. 

I asked The Mister what he was craving and all I got was “meat” as a response. Pressing harder, he narrowed it down to beef so I set off in search of a relatively quick dinner – so many of the beef recipes in my Good Housekeeping cookbook take quite a long time. There is one recipe in particular (involving, beef, bacon and dill pickles) that I am especially intrigued by, however it takes a full 2 hours of simmering time and a busy business housekeeper just can’t pull that off during the week. 

So, I gave the Mister three options – Beef Curry, which he vetoed; Creamed Beef on Toast, which he so eloquently referred to by its military nickname of S**t on a Shingle; and meatloaf. He enthusiastically chose the meatloaf, so meatloaf it was. Not quite as quick of a turnaround time as I had hoped, but we still managed to eat at a respectable hour.

I, of course, have made many a meatloaf in my day and tried many recipes – sometimes I’ve used no recipe at all. Meatloaf’s saving grace is that it’s pretty darn hard to screw up. Even a “bad” meatloaf is usually still salvageable with the right condiments. One of my favorite recipes for meatloaf comes from a famous YouTube chef and includes mushrooms, celery, and Worcestershire sauce. It’s divine. It is also extremely time sensitive and also somewhat expensive, making it a special occasion meatloaf. And, somehow, special occasion and meatloaf just don’t belong in the same sentence.

Anyway, of all the meatloaf recipes I’ve tried I’ve never made one with horseradish and I was mightily intrigued. 

It took me about half an hour to get the meatloaf prepped and into the oven, and I was able to prepare the mashed potatoes and lima beans while the meatloaf baked. The mashed potatoes were just average run-of-the-mill. I didn’t use a recipe. 

The lima bean recipe,  however, is also from my 1944 cookbook. I LOVE lima beans. I feel like lima beans are much maligned as a boring bean, not that there’s necessarily an exciting bean I suppose. But I do love them and usually eat them plain, maybe with a touch of salt and pepper for seasoning. Come to think of it, I don’t believe I’ve ever made a recipe out of lima beans. So, I was very excited to try this dish out.

I didn’t time myself making the lima beans, but I would say it took roughly 20 minutes from start to finish. I used frozen beans and microwaved them, so that cut down on the cook time. They were very, very easy to make. I also learned a new cooking term – bean liquor. Who knew? I always call the cooking liquid bean juice. Bean liquor is definitely a more sophisticated term than bean juice and is now firmly entrenched into my vernacular.  

Right at 60 minutes, the meatloaf was done as were the mashed potatoes and the lima beans. At first blush, the meatloaf looked…like it imploded. I was a little worried as I lifted it out of the pan and onto a plate. As I cut two slices for the Mister, the meatloaf started falling down like a brick wall without mortar. Yes, I realize it may have held together a bit better had I let it cool down for 15-20 minutes instead of 2. But we were hungry and I wanted to enjoy dinner while it was still hot. 

And the result?

After one bite of the lima beans, the first word out of the Mister’s mouth was “Wow!” followed immediately by another “wow” and “these are awesome!”.

And they were. The scallions gave a nice hint of onion flavor but were not overpowering. Lima beans, much as I love them, can be a bit flat but in this dish they were elevated to a new dimension. I’m not sure the paprika added much flavor but did lend a nice color to the – ahem – bean liquor that formed the sauce. Perfectly seasoned, creamy, and unique, this dish will most certainly make it into my permanent recipe file. The Mister and I each gave it 5/5 stars (my Maman did not try them). In fact, the recipe was supposed to serve 4-6 but the two of us devoured them all in one sitting – that in and of itself, should tell you how delicious they were. My dedicated carnivore husband loved them more than the meatloaf. 

Speaking of the meatloaf…

The meatloaf, as I mentioned, was so moist it fell apart. Nothing is worse than a dry meatloaf, and this recipe didn’t disappoint in that regard.

As to the taste, well, the results were a bit shocking. Who knew horseradish could be so controversial?

As a backstory, the Mister loves wasabi (and most wasabi sold in the USA is essentially green horseradish). My Maman hates horseradish. I like it, but it wouldn’t necessarily be the first condiment I reach for when I’m rooting around the refrigerator. That being said, my Maman and I loved the meatloaf. We both thought the horseradish gave the meatloaf a really nice flavor and voted it 5/5 stars. The Mister, on the other hand, said the meatloaf was good but the horseradish “just hangs on”. He said if I use the recipe again to skip the horseradish entirely. Then he got up and retrieved the ketchup bottle from the refrigerator. After squirting America’s favorite condiment on his meatloaf, he pronounced it better balanced and finished his serving. He did not go back for seconds of the meatloaf and voted it 3.5/5 stars. He also firmly declined the opportunity to take a meatloaf sandwich to work the next day. So perhaps 3.5 stars may have been pushing it.

Overall, I enjoyed dinner quite a bit. Regardless of what the Mister thought, I would personally make the meatloaf again exactly as it was written. And the lima beans? They were unequivocally the star of the show and I cannot wait to make them again soon.

I highly recommend both recipes and the dinner menu as a whole. 

Bon appetit!