Casserole Break

I've been on a casserole break the past couple of weeks.  The first casserole-free week was because I felt like I needed something a little healthier.  That week it was baked chicken, baked potatoes, and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

A little note about the broccoli-- my brother makes amazing roasted broccoli.  Apparently he douses it in olive oil, salt, pepper, and sometimes other herbs and garlic.  Then he puts them in a hot oven until they're tender and brown.  Mine never turn out as good as his, but I much prefer this over steamed. So tasty!

A note about these plates.  Ugh.  When my brother moved off to college, my mom went to the outlet to get him dishes and this was the most masculine option.  He hated them.  I hate them.  Are they Santa Fe inspired or what?  However, those heinous black and white dishes my food is normally on belong to the bf.  He moved into a new place, went to Target, those were the cheapest, so he got them.  I hate those too.  Well, one of them broke so we only had 3 plates in the house and that wasn't cutting it.  My mom donated the Santa Fe ones to him.  I'm quite certain I'm in china hell.

That's MY plate. Because I pick out pretty dishes.

This week there was no casserole because the bf suggested the most Southern meal imaginable-- meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, mustard greens, and cornbread.  Hello, delicious.

I more or less make Paula Deen's Basic Meatloaf.  However, as you can see on my plate, it's more like meat-scoop than meat-loaf.  I'm always starving and cut it before it's ready.  It still tastes yummy.

I make mean cornbread and mustard greens, too.  The cornbread is more or less the White Lily recipe and the mustard greens are Rachel Ray's.  Mashed potatoes are always a hit.  I like mine nice and chunky, so I boil the potatoes, drain, add cream and butter, and mash by hand.  Mmm, Southern soul food!