MEAT LOAF ROLL (Feta, spinach and Mushroom) and (Ham and Cheese)

 Mac and I are always interested in what each culture and country

thinks of when you say the words

"COMFORT FOOD".

For Mac, it's things like blackeyed peas, okra, barbarcue and cornbread due to his Southern roots.

Being a Northern girl, I love baked beans, lobster and New England clam chowders.
I introduced him to another Northern idea of comfort food shortly before we married,

 Meat loaf roll or as Mac calls it, "Stuffed" Meat Loaf.

These meatloafs are simple to make, cost effective

and add a fancy flair to any evening meal.

First make your basic meatloaf mixture.

I use

2 pounds of hamburger (Mince for you Brits)

2 small eggs

2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup of Progresso Italian Style Breadcrumbs

(Brits you can make your own by adding

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning into your breadcrumbs)

1/4 cup milk

Mix your ingredients together and roll mixture into a rectangle on a piece of

tin foil.

Add fresh spinach

crumbed feta cheese and fresh chestnut mushrooms.

If you don't like feta another variation Mac loves with this Meat Loaf is

smoked ham

A layer of shredded Colby and Monterey Jack

cheeses

(I use good ol' sharp cheddar if I don't have the Colby on hand)

Add a layer of fresh spinach.

If you don't like spinach you can use chopped broccoli florets.

Fry up some pancetta, bacon lardons or use

American bacon (crumble after it's cooked)

Drain and place on a paper towel to soak up any remaining grease.

Add your bacon layer and you are ready to roll.

Roll up the rectangle carefully.  Use the foil to lift and roll the meat.

Press the edges and ends of the roll to seal in the ingredients.

Cover the meatloaf with foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Gas Mark 4 for my lovely British friends.

I slit open the meatloaf after one hour and pour a sauce over it.

I forgot to take that picture, but

the ingredients for the sauce are

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

Pour over the meatloaf and bake uncovered for 15 minutes to warm the sauce and brown the meatloaf.

Here they are.

On top the feta, mushroom and spinach.

On bottom the ham, cheese, spinach and bacon.

Do note that the meat loaf roll with the ham will be slightly pink in the middle.

Mac gives the these recipes two thumbs and

says to tell you,

"Give it a try....I think you'll really like it."

The MOST UNUSUAL Spa Experience/Garra Rufa Fish

While visiting England awaiting the birth of my little granddaughter,

my daughter insisted on treating me to a belated Mother's Day

Spa experience.

I am all for being pampered when it's on offer, but I was not quite prepared for what she proposed.

We set off for what people in Milton Keynes, England call the

"City Centre" or what we American's call

A MALL!

  When we lived in the area years ago, I enjoyed shopping here.

Amy took me to a new shop called "FEET THERAPY".

A lovely assistant welcomed us.

I was shown to the "foot washing" station

where I dutifully rinsed my feet and

donned my "trendy" footwear to head to my spa

treatment.

My eyes grew wide.

"You want me to do what.....stick my feet in a fish tank and call that a

SPA TREATMENT!"

Since I have spent most of my life TRYING new food and being dragged into adventures with Mac, I had no choice but to embrace the experience.

I plunged my feet into tank.

The most extraordinary feeling as the little fish attached themselves to my

feet.  It tickled a bit but I soon got used to it.

I was told that these Garra rufa fish are found in a hot spring near Kangal, Turkey.

Sometimes dubbed the "Doctor fish" these small minnow like fish eat all the dry skin from your feet.

Some brilliant person on a visit to Kangal and seeing the hot spring and fish nibbling away realized many of the people coming to the spring had psoriasis  or just plain

DRY feet.

                               "What a great business opportunity!" he must have thought.

These spas are spreading like wildfire through Europe.

My grandson found it very interesting too.

I must confess, it was a lot nicer to have the dry skin gently nibbled away then me rubbing my heels ferociously with a pumice stone!

After my time in the tank was finished the assistant massaged my feet with

lotion.

WOW, my feet were really soft and no more dry skin.

Mac can I get this done every week?

What a great daughter and son-in-law!

Thanks kids.....BEST MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT EVER!

I will leave you with my cousin Terry's comment on my spa experience.

"Now...if you use a snorkel and stick your face in there, do you get a facial?"

I don't know Terry....THAT I don't think I'd try!  LOL

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