My name is Chelsea, but you may know me as BF4E… Blog Friend 4 Ever. Lauren and I traded places today. You should probably head over to my blog to check her out, but not yet! I know I’m not Lauren, but if she deems me worthy enough to write on her blog, you should find me worthy enough to read. And besides, if you don’t behave and give me a warm welcome, I’ll tell Lauren on you. And trust me, you don’t want her wrath.
The first time Lauren and I met, she sweat for the entire 4 hour date. It’s not her fault. We sat outside in the Texas heat for brunch because I don’t feel temperature. The second time we met, I was boring. I had a migraine that eventually led me to stay up all night throwing up in the bathroom. The third time was successful. Maybe it was because we had a buffer. A buffer in the form of a sweet Canadian girl named Corlene. So this weekend was a big test for us. Can we have a normal date? If you put the two of us in a room together, can we make it out without either of our bodies having adverse effects?
The suspense is killing you, I know.
We started our date at about 10:40 on Saturday morning because I had to drive across the country to see her and I don’t believe in waking up before 8 a.m. on a Saturday even if there is a promise of homemade Sangria. I was greeted by Lauren, Michael, and their two vicious pups. We immediately decided that 11 a.m. was not too early to start drinking our Sangria because we were going to be cooking… and cooking is normally done in the evening, so we were allowed to participate in any evening activity without guilt. So she measured and poured and measured and poured, and her masterpiece was complete.
Each of us had chosen a few recipes to prepare. I chose Spaghetti Bolognese (which Lauren calls Spaghetti Bologna and makes me want to hurl), Chickette (which Lauren pronounced “Chick-et” even though it’s supposed to be pronounced “Chicketti”), and Mini Meatloaf (she knows how to say that). With a wine glass in one hand and a spatula in the other, we rocked the kitchen. Naturally.
Lauren was a bit nervous at first. She had never done this before. She asked a lot of questions and, although she hated to admit it, she doubted our ability to complete such a monstrous task in a reasonable amount of time. I understood her reservations. I felt the same way the first time I committed to a day in the kitchen. But let’s just be honest for a second. You know us, right? How could we fail? We don’t fail. Not in the kitchen. No ma’am.
Well, only the one time.
So after Lauren caught her wooden spoon on fire, we moved on. We cooked our little hearts out and talked about really important matters like blogging, our husbands, and our dear friend Julia Child. Four hours came and went in a flash. 27 meals. She kept 13 and I kept 14. Either I’m extremely selfish or she’s extremely generous. You be the judge. We stood in front of her refrigerator and beamed over our accomplishment. Then we made Michael beam over our accomplishment since he was so lazy all day. All he did was lift a few weights, ride his bike a couple hours, and then run a few miles. Freaking slacker.
We felt productive. We felt proud. We felt relaxed. Lauren no longer thought that Once A Month Cooking could kill her. In fact, she was so relaxed that all hell broke loose and she mixed up the second batch of sangria without.measuring.anything. My heart almost burst out of my chest, I was so proud of her.
We’d originally thought we’d need to be in the kitchen for about 6 hours. So when we finished after 4 hours, we weren’t sure what to do. Calling it a day and heading home wasn’t really an option… even if that’s what she wanted me to do. (And I have no idea if that’s what she wanted me to do because I didn’t ask her. Instead I refilled my glass, laid under a blanket on her couch, and watched an episode of Obsessed where this chick was scared of her poop.)
Lauren decided to take me around her great little city. She showed me the local Blockbuster, Spec’s, HEB, and (get ready for it) a drive-thru Little Caesar’s. It blew my mind. I felt like I was living in the future. Scientists had perfected a way to speed cook a pizza and serve it hot and fresh through a window. But instead, it was just mass produced pizza stored in a hot drawer for the next lazy customer to pick up in exchange for $5 and their dignity. We gladly gave them both and convinced them to throw in an order of crazy bread because we hadn’t yet had our required daily portion of food soaked in butter.
In case you can’t tell, we had a fabulous day. I know you’re all really jealous of me because you think Lauren is pretty awesome. And you should be. She is awesome. And she makes great Sangria and thinks I’m funny. I’m not sure if those two are correlated… I don’t want to know. Let’s just forget I said anything.
We finally called it a night at about 8:45. I loaded up my food and when they weren’t looking, I grabbed this guy and took off.
We decided that we love yall so much that we’d like to share our recipes with you. I can’t give you the Spaghetti Bolognese recipe because it’s in a cookbook that a family friend wrote and I feel like that’s stealing. And I’m just not down with that. So you can go here to learn more about the cookbook. (The entire cookbook is freezable recipes, I highly recommend it!)
The Chickette recipe is a family favorite. My Meme used to make this in bulk and keep them in the freezer. Everytime I make it someone asks me for the recipe. I’ve posted it here, on my sad excuse for a recipe blog, in an effort to support my laziness and not ever have to write the recipe down again.
I’ve always thought that Meatloaf is an amazing food with an unfortunate name. Don’t be a food snob. There is nothing wrong with loving a lump of ground meat mixed with ketchup and other outstanding ingredients that can be purchased for under $1 each. I’m a meatloaf lover. However I’m also a firm believer that not all meatloaf should be created equal. No worries, I’ve done the work for you. This one is the best. Straight from my mother’s recipe basket.
Chelsea’s Mom’s Meatloaf
2 c. breadcrumbs
3/4 c. chopped onions
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 c. ketchup, plus more for the top
2 t. salt
2 lbs. ground meat
Beat eggs. Mix in crumbs, onions, and meat. Add milk, ketchup, dry mustard, and salt. Mix up. Please don’t be a wuss, use your hands. Don’t overmix. I’m not sure why. But they always say not to overmix on Food Network and I think they are a reliable source. Shape into loaf, pour 1/2 c. ketchup on top. Bake 50 minutes at 400. If you want to freeze this, I prefer to shape these into mini loafs… meatloaf balls, if you will. I put two (uncooked) in an 8×8 pan and double wrap the pan with foil. Perfect meal for Stephen and me.
If you actually made it to the end, thanks for sticking around! The pressure was intense but I persevered. Blogging is not for the weak.
Comments on Not For the Weak
From Kyla Roma:
Good more on stealing the puppy- what a cute little guy! This sounds like such a fun project- and I’ve been wanting to make sangria all summer and still haven’t! I might need to steal your recipe. Jealous of the bloggy cook off, but I’ll live vicariously through you in the mean time =)
From Kathleen:
Y’all are adorable in your aprons and pearls! I’d love to try this sometime but I’d definitely need a buddy. Also, my husband hates leftovers so first I might have to convince him. Hmm.
From reen:
This is so great! I love your (her?) humor and am now totally going to read/creep on your (her?) blog.
PS: Lore- DECEMBER. SANGRIA. MY HOUSE.
From Kelly:
Looks like a very successful, fun day! Happy eating!
From Lyndsey:
I would like to hear more about Lauren’s spoon.
From Kristin:
Can you guys come over and make some meals for me? Ah ha ha
From Blond Duck:
Popped in from SITS! What a great idea!
From Samantha:
That Sangria looks delicious. Mmmm! How did Lauren catch her wooden spoon on fire??
Haha, Pancho is too cute. I would have taken off with him, too. :)
From mom:
Yummmm…I bet those recipes are good! :)
From debbie:
What a great story! I love it.
From The Husband:
Chelsea, I’m so glad you got to cook these meals with a friend rather than with me staring at you with awe and bewilderment.
I’m a little worried that you guys were drinking sangria and had a fire accident; also that you are going to try and do this at our house next!
Love you and thanks for being a great cook!
From Melissa B.:
As a native Texan, I have to say that I’m a BIG sangria fan! And meatloaf. Don’t forget the meatloaf. Thanks for sharing this groovy recipe…
From Marlena:
LOVE this idea!!! I mean LOVE it. I’ve never thought to cook ahead like this b/c I too assumed it would take 65 hours to do so BUT – I will definitely have to plan my own list of freezable meals. You guys are also inspiring me to start my own blog I do believe. :)
From Cio:
I was always afraid to attempt Meatloaf, even though I do love it…
Looking at this recipe, it doesn’t seem so bad.
Good job ladies!
p.s. AHAHAHA Lauren! How did you burn the spoon??
From Kitty:
Any chance you might share your Sangria recipe? There are so many, and I need a really good one for an upcoming party.
PS: Don’t worry Lauren. I TOTALLY did the same thing this week, and my spoon didn’t look nearly as pretty as yours afterward.
From Darla Baerg:
Whew! I’m glad you gave us the link today. I checked the blogroll too and couldn’t find it.
And you should know … my husband had only one thing to include in a pre-nup. That I never, ever cook meatloaf. Not even once. I think it’s because his mom made it every Thursday night of his entire life. I kind of feel like my kids are missing out though so maybe, just maybe … next time he goes out of town I’ll make your recipe. As long as the kids never tell!