Oma's recipe project: Tuesday Night (again) - Cooking for 5 kids

Well it's busy night again and we have 2 extra bodies to feed. (neighbour kids, Kate and Claire). It's a treat to feed kids from this family as they ACTUALLY EAT WITHOUT COAXING, BRIBING OR BEGGING!

I found a recipe in one of the boxes called Cheddar beef loaf. Fancy way of saying meatloaf with cheese. It calls for 2 lbs of ground beef, so I figured the extra bodies could help us get through this. For dessert, I turned it over to Philip who promptly found the richest thing in the box, "Mars Bars Squares". Again, might as well do this one with more mouths to feed, so I figured, why not:

Cheddar Beef Loaf
2 lbs lean ground beef (used extra lean)
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (used half regular, half panko)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced green pepper
2 tbsp barbecue sauce or ketchup (used bbq sauce)
1/2 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise (used mayo and used less than 1/2 cup)
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick medium cheddar, cubed
Combine everything in a large bowl and mix lightly. Pack in foil lined loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 90 minutes (pour off any fat). Let stand for 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold

Mars Bars Squares
4 Mars bars, chopped
1/2 cup butter
2 cups rice Krispies
Melt chocolate bars and butter in a double boiler, stirring constantly. Keep on heat and add rice Krispies and stir till all cereal is incorporated. Put in 9X9 square pan, press down immediately. Cool and cut into squares. To quote Oma in the recipe: "DON'T EAT TOO MUCH WHILE PREPARING". A hard challenge, indeed.

Verdict
Either of these recipes will not be featured in any 'Heart Smart' cookbooks. I served the loaf with roasted potatoes, corn, carrots and a tossed salad.

SUCCESS!!!!!!

re: meatloaf - quotes below:
Eleanor: "yummy"
Kate: "10"
Claire: "mmmmm"
Philip "9"
Willy: "like a meatball, i put ketchup on it now"

re: mars bar squares:
A resounding 10/10 from all but michael who says he prefers regular Rice Krispie squares. These were devoured in about 2 minutes. To quote Kate, "I don't have words to adequately describe how good these are"