SWISS LOAF

I have a small paperback cookbook published in 1969 called Peg Bracken's I Hate to Cook Book. It sold for 60 cents. Hard to believe. I must have gotten it after I graduated from college, but before I got married .... when I was teaching school in FL and had roommates. Why do I think so? I wrote my name on the front of the cookbook and it's my maiden name.  I also had no need for it while in college.

Besides providing recipes, the book is really funny. Peg Bracken writes.... " The genesis of this book was a luncheon with several good friends, all of whom hate to cook but have it. At that time, we were all unusually bored with what we had been cooking and, therefore, eating. For variety's sake, we decided to pool our ignorance, tell each other our shabby little secrets, and toss into the pot the recipes we swear by instead of at."

"These recipes have not been tested by experts. That is why they are valuable. Experts in their sunny spotless test kitchens can make anything taste good. But even we can make these taste good."

And taste good, this meat loaf does.

SWISS LOAF

1   lb. hamburger (I used ground turkey)

3/4   cup diced Swiss cheese (about 4 oz)

1   beaten egg

1/4   cup chopped onion

1/4   cup chopped green pepper

3/4   teaspoon salt

1/4   teaspoon pepper

1/2   teaspoon celery salt

1/4   teaspoon paprika

1-1/4   cup milk

1/2   cup dry bread crumbs

Just mix these things together in the approximate order they're given.

Dicing the Swiss cheese:

First cuts....

Second cuts....

(I "stood up" the cut slices and then cut horizontally down the middle.)

Last cuts....

(Lay the stack down and cut vertically.)

Separate into individual pieces.

Combining the meat, cheese and egg...

Messy isn't it. I could have used a spoon (did later) but I'm used to using my hands when I mix things.

Adding the spices....

Make sure you mix this up really well.

Add the milk....

(I know at this point you are thinking, "OMG this is too much milk." Trust me it isn't. Just stir real well with the spoon. Look at the next picture when I added the bread crumbs.)

Add the dry bread crumbs....

(See how the milk all got mixed in?)

Did you notice I left out the onions and peppers? For a very good reason. They give me very bad indigestion so I don't eat them. BUT my husband likes them in food. So this is what I did.

I divided out half for me....

and made a mini meat loaf for myself 

AND

then I chopped some green peppers ....

(He likes the red and yellow peppers more than the green.)

I took some of the onions he had in the freezer and chopped them some more....

TIP ALERT! When my husband makes his chili which calls for about a half to three-fourths of an onion, he chops the rest of the onion and then puts it in a freezer bag and freezes it to use whenever he needs it for an omelet of whatever he is cooking.

I added the peppers and onion to the rest of the mixture....

AND

made him his own meatloaf....

I know the peppers and onions added to the volume of the mixture, but that much? I must not have done a good job dividing the mixture in half. Oh well, he eats more than I do.

Obviously you don't have to go to all this trouble. Just put in the onions and peppers and press mixture in a large loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about an hour and a half, then yodel for the family. (Peg's words.) I cooked my two mini loaves for an hour. If you cook it in one larger loaf pan, you will probably come closer to cooking it for the hour and a half.

Here is what they looked like when I took them out of the oven.

Mine.....

and my husband's.....

cut.....

ready to eat.....

It is very filling and may not look like it, but will feed 4-6 people.