Farm to Table - Individual Meatloaves

The farm to table (also known as farm to fork) movement is huge right now, educating people about the health and economic benefits of growing/raising more of your own food or buying from local farmers/farm markets.  This is something that has been instilled in me my entire life.

For generations, my family has raised meat, vegetables, and fruit for sustainability.  Looking back at my childhood, my Mom had a summer kitchen, out the back door of the farm house where we lived.  She worked, what must have seemed endlessly to her,  canning vegetables and fruits from our garden.  My Dad has always had some type of butchering set-up, and at times has smoked some of the meat.  He has processed beef, pork, deer, and chickens.  A lot of his equipment was handed down to him from his uncle. 

I did run away from this type of lifestyle for a while, but as my husband says "you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl".  I embrace this type of lifestyle now!  Having children is what ignited my fire.  And, surprisingly, my husband was not raised this way, but he dives right in, learning as we truck forward in this lifestyle.  It is a great adventure that we are on. 

Here at LL Farm, I love to create meals for my family and friends that incorporates things from our garden (fresh and canned).  I use the delicious eggs that our chickens lay for us.  Our beef comes from my brother's farm (it is a dream of ours to add a cow to our own little farm). I think it is important to teach my children, and educate others, where their food comes from.

As the snow fell and the wind blew, I wanted something warm and filling.  I had pulled ground beef out of the freezer to de-thaw, but did not know what I was going to make for supper with it yet.  After some pondering, I decided on individual meatloaves.  

This is a farm-to-fork recipe:

1 pound ground beef
(from a cow raised on my brother's farm, processed by my Dad, Handy Hubby, and my brother; wrapped and labeled by me)

2 eggs
(from our flock of chickens)

a palm full of frozen green peppers
(from our garden)  * Read how I freeze green peppers here *

1 pint of tomatoes
(that I canned from our garden)

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 sleeve of saltine crackers 
(sometimes I use oats)

Combine all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 

You can shape a loaf in a 9x13 baking dish or you can shape the mixture in a loaf pan.

I created individual meatloaves, by using this 'brownie pan' from Pampered Chef. 

In relation to this type of lifestyle, I have a couple friends that "get me" , while most people look at me like I am speaking a foreign language. 

Some say it's an old fashioned way of living.

Some say it is too much work and it's easier and more convenient to buy everything from the store.

Others don't want to touch an animal, yet alone it's meat.

Which side of the fence are you on?