Spooky but Delicious Meatloaf

The other afternoon, on a whim, I grabbed a one pound meatloaf pack from the butcher case and threw it into my cart. Later that night, I decided to throw a meatloaf together. I grabbed the Good Enough to Eat cookbook (from the restaurant to turn to in Manhattan for comfort food), and began mixing the ingredients in a bowl. I was working fast, dumping ingredients from their endless list in a big bowl as I read them. It wasn't until I got to the bottom of the recipe that I saw that it called for 4 pounds of meat, and I only had 1.

My concoction looked and smelled good, so I decided to give it a try anyway, making a few adjustments to make it work. An hour later, this delicious smelling, but distinctively orange meatloaf emerged from the oven. It was moist, tasty... and perfect for Halloween!

Ingredients:

1/3 pound ground beef, 1/3 pound of ground pork, 1/3 pound of ground veal

1 cup of bread crumbs

2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 large onion, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 celery stalks, minced

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1 tablespoon of mayonnaise

3/4 cups of ketchup

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

dried or fresh parsley

dried or fresh oregano

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add onions, garlic, celery, and carrots and saute for 10 minutes until tender.Crack eggs in a large bowl and scramble. Add all other ingredients except the meat and sauteed vegetables. Once cooled, add the sauteed vegetables.Add the meat and mix with your hands. Do not overmix or it will be mealy.Spoon into a greased loaf pan.Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes longer.Allow to cool and set before serving.Put in oven