SEASON TWO STARTING SEPT. 8th!!

Well, it's that time of year again. Fall. Football fans have begun the smack talk, there is (sometimes) a crisp cool air in the morning time, hard working Americans enjoyed some extra relaxation time on Labor Day, and for the Flint Hill family, it means that we are prayerfully getting ready to start a new season of Life Groups!

I'm excited to announce that beginning this Sunday, September 8th at 6:00PM, we will be kicking off Tis So Sweet again! If you are new to the blog, basically, each week a group of ladies come over to the house and bring a dish -- it can be anything from appetizers to sides to sweets -- and sample each other's recipes. But more importantly, we gather around the living room and talk about food, family, and fun. We share what's going on in our lives, read scripture together, encourage one another, and pray together. It is such a sweet time and I would like to invite anyone and everyone to come. Please email me at mallorydbradley@gmail.com for details and directions.

To kick off the season, I wanted to share a recipe that I made for the husband over the Labor Day weekend. I wasn't really a fan of this particular food growing up, but as I got older, it grew on me. And as I started cooking and playing around with different ways to prepare it, I came to love it. So, here is my favorite rendition of this classic, timeless meal: MEATLOAF.

So get your ingredients together and let's get to cooking! 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, 2 slices of bread (or 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs or panko), vidalia onion, green pepper, your favorite barbeque sauce (we prefer Sweet Baby Ray's -- I'm showing the Honey BBQ flavored above, but I actually went with the regular), worchestershire sauce, honey, spicy brown mustard (not pictured), brown sugar (not pictured), and salt & pepper.

This is also the time to go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Chop up some vidalia onion and green pepper (approx. 1/2 cup each)

Throw two pieces of bread in the food processor and blend finely until you have fresh bread crumbs! (HINT: I usually use the last couple of pieces in the loaf of bread that got slightly stale...which is also good to use for making homemade croutons)

Put all your ingredients in a large bowl: 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef, your bread crumbs, chopped onion & green pepper, 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 3/4 cup barbeque sauce (we LOVE Sweet Baby Ray's), 2 Tbsp honey, and salt & pepper.

Now, ladies, this is an important step that I have missed before and it resulted in some dire consequences...REMOVE YOUR RINGS!!!

Now get to mixing -- that's right -- dig in and get those hands dirty. Mix all your ingredients together, and put your meat mixture into either a meatloaf pan (shown above), or just shape into a loaf and put on a cookie sheet.

Now mix yourself a yummy glaze to put on top. I honestly have no clue how much of each ingredient I put into this bowl (I'm just not that kind of cook...), but if I had to estimate, I would say: 3/4 cup barbeque sauce, 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp honey, 2 Tbsp brown sugar??? And then I taste and adjust accordingly.

Spread the glaze on top (I like to save some for dipping) and pop it in the oven for 45 minutes.

Don't forget to put those rings back on or else they might end up getting knocked off the counter and down the drain!

While baking in the oven, whip together some Idahoan mashed potatoes (better than homemade in my opinion) & spinach salad (spinach leaves, bacon pieces...I buy them in the package, chopped hard boiled egg, and Italian dressing).

Pull out of the oven and VOILA! YUMMY MEATLOAF!

MEATLOAF:

MEAT MIXTURE

1 1/2 lb ground beef (I prefer lean)

1 small vidalia onion

1 small green pepper

2 slices of bread (to make bread crumbs)

3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce

2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp honey

Salt & pepper to taste

GLAZE

3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350F. Toss the bread slices in the food processor to make fresh bread crumbs. Chop onion & green pepper. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients above to make meat mixture. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients above to make glaze. Shape meat mixture into a loaf and add glaze on top (reserving some for dipping). Bake in oven for 45 minutes.

*NOTE: Approx. 10 minutes before it's done, I like to drain the juice out of the bottom of the pan and add a little more glaze on top. I also like to put it on broil for just a minute before I pull it out to give the glaze on top a little more thickness.

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Tonight I leave you with two things:

1. A picture of my sweet Buddy. We just celebrated his 2-year "adoptiversary" last week!

2. The word of God.

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." Acts 4:31

Lord, thank you for saving me and leading me to Flint Hill. Thank you for each member of our church family and thank you for all my friends and family who will be joining our life group this semester. It is my prayer that you prepare the hearts of all those who will be participating. I also pray your blessing, wisdom, guidance, and spirit on all the life group leaders. Guide us and use us accordingly to your will. Be with our group as we gather each week and let us leave this place each week with a renewed spirit that longs for you and your Word. Amen.