The Meat Heart

I Love meatloaf, I mean I really love meatloaf, I always asked for it for my birthday dinner. Imagine my surprise as a newly married woman, when my husband told me that he Hated meatloaf and that he would appreciate it if I didn't make it for dinner! As every loving, newly married, stuck in the 50's kinda gal, I never made meatloaf for my family. That is, until 2005 when I really needed it. I decided that I had 3 children that may like meatloaf and I love it, so that would be 4 out of 5 liking the dinner (that is great odds in this house). That day, I went to the butcher to get the best meat and spent my time making the loaf. All of a sudden it hit me! Who really would want to eat something made out of meat that was named loaf? That sounds really gross to me, so that night I shaped my loaf into a heart.

Mr. Fantastic comes home and even comments on how good the house smells. I'm introducing something new I tell him. The anticipation was mounting as dinner draws near..... "What are we having Mom???" I tell them all, "It's new and it's good!" The meat heart was covered in foil waiting to be unveiled.

At the dinner table we all sit down, I am as excited as a girl finding a sweaters worth of cashmere yarn on sale. After saying Grace, I stand up (everyone is really giddy at this point - smiles everywhere) and announce: "Fantastic family..... I give you The Meat Heart!!!"

Mr. Fantastic was not amused, I think he went to bed hungry that night. The Fantastic children loved it, and it now is in my rotation. It comes out about once every 3 weeks or so, a compromise my beloved has made in our marriage (I always called him and tell him to load up on lunch on meatloaf nights). The meat heart has taken lots of shapes and forms over the last few years: footballs with ketchup laces for the beginning of football season, Easter egg decorated with different patterns in ketchup, a witches hat, Christmas tree with ketchup garland.... this St. Patrick's Day takes the cake!!

The pot of gold with carrot coins..... and to toot my own horn, my ketchup writing skills are sweet!