I am always looking for different and appealing ways to make the old standards. Don’t get me wrong, Mom’s meatloaf is great, but being the creative sort, I just can’t leave well enough alone. I have to alter recipes when I think changing them will produce something better than the original. The following are different takes on favorite dishes.

Death By Chocolate

A comfort food of incredible chocolate decadence worthy of every calorie. Makes 12 servings.

Ingredients:

1 chocolate cake mix

H cup Kahlua

4 packages of chocolate mousse mix

8 Skor candy bars, crushed

32 ounces whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream

1G oz. milk chocolate candy bar

Directions:

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour into three greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool slightly.

Pierce cake layers with a fork. Drizzle Kahlua over layers.

Prepare all packages of chocolate mousse in large bowl according to package directions.

Break cake into pieces.

In a large, clear bowl layer cake pieces, mousse, crushed candy bars and whipped cream one third at a time into bowl. Shave milk chocolate candy bar over top.

Mushroom Filled Meatloaf with Sour Cream Sauce

I dug out my recipe books and found this clipped recipe from an Anchorage paper. It is a perfect meatloaf recipe, as it combines some of my favorite things: mushrooms, beef, sour cream, Dijon and onions.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced — save 1 cup for garnish

1 cup diced onion

2 tablespoons butter

H cup sour cream

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or moose)

I cups bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sauté 1 cup of the mushrooms and onion in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients except reserved mushrooms, onion and sour cream mixture and put in a 9x3x5-inch loaf pan. Make a shallow trough down the center of the meat loaf for filling. Evenly distribute the sour cream mixture in this indentation. Shape the meat around the filling, making sure all filling is covered. Seal meat loaf well around the edges. Baste top with a little soy sauce with a pastry brush. Bake for one hour.

Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Garnish top with remaining mushrooms, thinly sliced.

Sour Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 cup beef broth

Pinch nutmeg

Pinch white pepper

Directions:

Stir together in a small saucepan over low heat. Serve hot with meatloaf.

Dijon Mustard Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

2I pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled if desired, and quartered

6 tablespoons butter (I stick) at room temperature

2/3 cup (or more) whole milk

3 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well and return potatoes to pot.

Add butter and mash potatoes until almost smooth. Mix in O cup milk and Dijon mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Don’t forget to serve with green beans or baby peas.

Wear your Hawaiian shirt to the dinner table if you think it will make you feel better. Try not to wear a sweater over it though, and until next time, have fun in the kitchen.