Grind it...

A year or so ago, I bought a used meat grinder at an antique store. It cost $20, and it's like one we had when I was a kid. It's aluminum, and only has one plate. It clamps on the side of a counter or table.
It was almost out of sight on the top of one of the kitchen cabinets, but I saw it while fetching the last quart of canned pears next to it.
Today, I got a piece of beef roast out of the freezer, thinking I might make stew. However, I was in the mood for something else, and decided to try grinding meat for meatloaf. I put the chunk of beef and two chicken breast tenderloins in the microwave on a low setting for a couple of minutes to take the edge off. Then I cut them into chunks and clamped the grinder to the edge of the kitchen table with two layers of kitchen towel to protect it. The towel was a good idea --- the only other time I used the grinder I had a mess on the floor below. I still soaked two paper towels and put an aluminum pie plate on the floor to catch the drips.
Also, the meat had more tendon tissue than I realized and I had to clear out the grinder holes a couple of times. It was harder work than I had thought to grind meat, I must admit.
I put one-third of a large onion in the grinder with a whole wheat bread heel to kind of clean it out, then put the ground meat into a covered casserole dish --- a rectangular bread pan was too small. I added another crumbled piece of whole wheat bread, garlic powder, Eggbeaters to total the equivalent of one or two eggs, a tsp. of good mustard, 1 tsp. of smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire, and some dried chives.
To cover the top I concocted a mixture of ketchup, leftover cranberry sauce, a little mustard, more smoked paprika and garlic powder and spread it around, then baked it at 325 for about 45 minutes.
With roasted butternut squash and parsnip, it was a very comforting Sunday dinner. However, I must confess the rest --- I placed half the butternut in a Pyrex pie pan and halfway through the baking process, thought it needed a little moisture so added some(cold) broth. The Pyrex cracked along one side, and in the process of rescuing the squash, I burned the top of my hand in the oven. After numerous cold compresses and a bandage with triple antibiotic cream, I think I will mend, but my tears while hearing a repeat of the OPB concert of Tony Bennett duets were genuine. Aretha and Tony did me in, not to mention residual burn pain. Fortunately, I missed the Amy Winehouse duet --- perhaps they left it out --- which is probably a good thing, or I would have been a puddle on the floor.