pineapple upside-down ...cornbread?

Yep, that's what I said: pineapple upside-down cornbread.
A while back, I had combined a can of crushed pineaple with a box of bran muffin mix - adding no other ingredients - and baked them to make quite a nice breakfast for several days.
Successful experiment.
Thursday, I had pulled a can of crushed pineapple out of the pantry and a box of "Jiffy" corn muffin mix. Hey, everyone always says that "Jiffy's" cornbread is like cake, so maybe I could combine the two and have something good. Right?
Evidently, I needed to think about it overnight.
Yesterday, I looked again at the two ingredients on my kitchen counter.
And the thought popped into my mind, with an image tagging along: crushed pineapple on the bottom of the loaf pan, prepared muffin mix on top.
And so it came to pass.
I drained the pineapple, mostly. Then the loaf pan was lightly oiled and the muffin mix combined with 1/2 cup of water and allowed to stand for a moment (as if I was making corn muffins). The mix was gently spooned on top of the pineapple, smoothing the top for appearance. Then, into the oven it was popped for 22 minutes.
Golden-brown crust? Yep!
Turned loose from the edges of the pan? Yep!
Okay, let's invert it onto a plate and see what we get...
Success! Woohoo!
I served it alongside the stove-pot casserole for the night: diced Spam (low-fat, low-sodium version, thank you), some fresh onion, a small apple, the leftover pineapple, and brown rice.
Very nice combination!!!
I just may have that for breakfast tomorrow.

meatloaf in the house!

I've had the meat in the refrigerator for several days now. A mix of ground beef, pork, and veal, it is classic meat loaf material. Usually, I would simply use ground chicken or turkey, but this was on sale when I bought it a couple of months ago. I had promptly thrown it into the freezer, awaiting weather when the oven would be in use.
That time was now!
I couldn't actually lay my hands on my Velvety Meatloaf recipe, which I created and have used for years. So, I worked from memory.
I knew I would need about 1 pound (454 grams) of ground meat, raw.
I would also need 1 cup (about 250 milliliters) of barbeque sauce and 1 cup of stuffing mix (or bread crumbs).
I had the meat. I had the sauce.
I did not have the stuffing mix.
Well...I had lots of Canadian tri-color couscous, thanks to the DeKalb Farmers Market and the BFF.
I mean, lots. Three quarts or so.
So I used a cup of the Canadian couscous, uncooked.
I also had a half-bag of baby carrots needing to be used.
Fine. I can do that!

So, here is my creation: Carrot Upside-Down Meatloaf!
Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius).
In a large glass bowl, mix together the meat, couscous, and barbeque sauce. (This is best accomplished with your hands. This is also the worst part to me.)
Allow the mixture to relax while you wash the baby carrots, cut them into 1-inch (2.54-centimeter) lengths, and place them into the bottom of a glass meatloaf pan.
Now, transfer the meatloaf mixture into the meatloaf pan, on top of the carrots, and press into a smooth surface.
Cover loosely with aluminum foil, then cook in oven for one hour.
At that time, remove foil and cook another ten minutes.
Ta Da! All done!
Loosen the sides and invert onto a plate for a meatloaf that is not only tasty, but pretty!

I prepared more of the couscous to accompany the main course. However, I used orange juice instead of water.
Excellent!
I do hope I will remember this for future meals.
That's why I wrote it here!