Soul-full Sisters: Grandma Pate’s Meatloaf

Written by the Soul-Full Sisters, Quinn Carlton Bostic, Paten Carlton

Some days you just wake up and want your Grandma. There are other days that you can’t get her off of your mind. I guess that’s how grief works – some days you are completely fine and then some days you feel like your loved one passed just yesterday and it’s hard to move. Grief I think can come in many forms. There is the loss of a pet or friend, and there is a loss of a loved one or family member. (Those go in no particular order because I know there are pets that feel like children and friends that feel like siblings.) Sometimes, for just a few seconds, I place myself in the shoes of someone who has lost a spouse, child, parent, or sibling and I quickly have to jump out of it because it is unbearable to think about. For those of you that have, you are strong, and I pray for you all of the time.

Photo by the Soul-Full Sisters, Quinn Carlton Bostic, Paten Carlton

My Grandma Pate to me was more than a Grandma. We understood each other, she listened, and we laughed. She was a best friend bound by God’s Grace. I saw and felt God’s presence when I looked into her eyes. She was an unbelievably wonderful woman who had a heart as big as God could possibly make it. I saw my future self in her, who I wanted to be – who I want to be. Losing her took a great deal of pain, sleepless nights, and heartache. Some days I just wake up and want to talk to her, there are many that I cry thinking about her, but there are more that I smile when I hear her voice in my head.

Paten and I were truly blessed to have the Grandmothers that we did – I mean WOW did we get two good ones. And boy could they cook! We learned the love of food at such a young age because of those two. Each so different in technique and taste, but both knew their way around a kitchen and knew what each grandchild’s favorite dish of theirs was. Both loved and I mean loved their grandchildren some kinda good. Sometimes I get frustrated because I reread what I’ve written about our Grandmothers and I don’t feel like it’s deep enough – that I can’t reach our love for them in words, but hopefully you understand. We loved them with everything, and still do.

Photo by the Soul-Full Sisters, Quinn Carlton Bostic, Paten Carlton

Every New Years a particular dish comes to mind – one that we had EVERY New Year’s Day at Grandma Pate’s house: meatloaf. Moist, flavorful, and so perfectly textured that you could cut it with the side of your fork and scoop up some mac and cheese and collard greens with it for the perfect bite. We know New Year’s Day has passed, but we couldn’t let the week slip by without this recipe gracing your computer screen. See what I did there? So here is our Grandma Grace Pate’s New Year’s Day meatloaf recipe. It is surely going to please on those cold nights ahead.

Here are your easy, everyday ingredients! What you see below is for the meatloaf + Grandma’s really yummy sauce that goes on top.