In elementary school, our mom would pack us meatloaf sandwiches for lunch. A cold slice of meatloaf smeared with ketchup in between two slices of Iron Kids bread. While everyone at the lunch table took out their crustless peanut butter and jellies, I’d pull out my meatloaf. I’d pretend to be embarrassed, but secretly I loved it. Cold meatloaf sandwiches are amazing.

Another thing our mom packed us were these Polish sausage sticks. I think they’re called kabanosy. They kind of look like a fat Slim Jim, but they’re 10 times more delicious. We’d get them from Stanley’s, the Polish deli. Except there’s one problem with kabanosy. They smell. A lot.

In school, we kept our lunches on a shelf in the classroom. One hot day, we returned to homeroom after math class, and the minute we stepped in, everyone asked, “What is that smell??”

I recognized the smell instantly. Kabanosy. The teacher asked us, “Did someone forget to wash their PE uniform?” And then one of my classmates was like, “It’s coming from the lunch boxes. I think one of them is spoiled…”

After school on our ride home, my sister said, “Hey mom, I don’t think you can pack us those Polish sausages anymore. Everyone in my class could smell it.” Two rooms over, the same thing had happened to her.

RECIPE
2 lbs ground beef (80-20)
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 T soy sauce
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 egg
1/4 c tomato sauce
1/3 c breadcrumbs
1 T parsley
1 T salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tiny can of tomato paste

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the tomato paste). Mix until everything is combined thoroughly.
3. Form into a loaf and transfer to a bread pan.
4. Using a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the tomato paste over the top and sprinkle with salt.
5. Bake 45-55 min. The meat will pull from the edges of the pan. You can drain off some of the fat before you slice into it. Just be careful the meatloaf doesn’t end up in the sink.