No work meat loaf recipe is excellent

The wind is gusting and snow is falling. It is a perfect day for meat loaf. I know a lot of folks don't care for dishes with the word "loaf" in the title, but this is quite possibly one of the best tasting meat loaf dishes I have had. So, without further ado, lets get to the recipe.

What you will need:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 2 C. packaged her seasoned stuffing (think stove top stuffing)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine meat, egg, 1/2 C. tomato sauce, stuffing and seasonings. Shape in loaf in a shallow baking dish. Bake 1 hour.

Remove from oven and pour the remaining sauce over the loaf. Bake additional 10 minutes.

When my wife cooked this last week we didn't have tomato sauce so she substituted some three cheese spaghetti sauce. I have to say it made this rather tasty.

Cold temps push Michigan gas prices up again

Regular unleaded gasoline is averaging $2.27 per gallon in Michigan this morning. That is up $.06 from the average of $2.21 at this time last week. One month ago we were paying $2.12 and at this time last year the average price of gas in Michigan was $2.24. Cold temperatures have caused a spike in heating fuels such as natural gas and heating oil which in turn causes an increase in gasoline.

Gas price data courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

Best cup of coffee in Michigan

This story in the Detroit News got me thinking about the best place to get a cup of coffee here in Michigan. The article states that " Consumer Reports taste test found McDonald's Corp.'s coffee tastes better and costs less than brew from Starbucks Corp., Burger King Holdings Inc. and Dunkin' Donuts Inc." I like to drink my coffee black, but McDonald's coffee has seemed so strong in the past that yesterday when I had a cup of joe from McDonald's I added one cream and sugar. I have to say, it was a pretty good cup of coffee. I don't think it was the best I have ever had by any means although the price would be hard to beat.

Here is a brief (so many coffee shops, so little time) list of some of my favorite places to get my coffee fix across Michigan. The list is in no particular order - I love them all :).

• North Woods Coffee Co. - Coldwater
• The Bean Counter - New Buffalo
• L. A.'s Coffee Cafe - Three Rivers
• Java Joe's - St. Ignace
• Nicky's Coffee Bar at the Stray Dog Bookshop - Three Rivers
• Beaners Coffee (yeah it's a franchise, but it started in East Lansing and that is where I fell in love with it)

There are so many other coffee shops that I see and jot down in my memory bank as places to try out sometime. I wish I had the time to stop at them all, but alas I do not.

Feel free to add to this list in the comments for coffee shops in Michigan that you absolutely love. I will certainly add them to my list.

Have a very happy Friday!

Condos within spitting distance of Big Bay Point Lighthouse

Well, I guess my wife and I won't be staying at the Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast again. We stayed there once during our honeymoon and loved it so much we came back in the fall for a longer stay. Once again, we had a great time and vowed to spend a future anniversary there. Now with this news that the condo project near the Big Bay Point Lighthouse has been cleared by a Marquette County judge I don't think the bed and breakfast will offer the same atmosphere.

The town (or village - it's not too big) of Big Bay is remote. Tucked away northwest of Marquette in the midst of a peaceful remoteness filled with beautiful scenery, waterfalls, and wildlife. As you drive out to the point where the lighthouse stands the gravel road gets a bit narrower and bumpier the closer you get.

The surrounding forest seems to close in on you as you turn each bend expecting to see a moose, bear, or other assorted wildlife. Upon arrival at the lighthouse all you hear is the wind in the trees and the thunderous crashing of Lake Superior's waves upon the sandstone cliffs.

Oh how I would hate to go up there and see a suburban setting of cookie cutter condos sitting just off the road within sight of the lighthouse.

I should mention that I do not feel sorry for the lighthouse bed and breakfast as they are part of the group that owns the land and has been pushing for this development.

You can read all about this story at The Mining Journal.

Follow this link for a satellite image showing just how remote the lighthouse is located - Google Satellite Map of Big Bay Point Lighthouse

Granholm's state address optimistic without the details

Maybe we should nickname our illustrious governor "Jenny Blue Skies." It seems to her that if Michigan residents can be as optimistic as she is about our state's future that everything will fall into place and make Michigan's economy rebound. Yeah, and if ifs and buts were candies and nuts we'd all have a Merry Christmas.

She threw out a lot of dollar figures when talking about ambitious new programs. She didn't say how a struggling (projected budget deficit in 2008 of $3 billion, yeah that's billion) Michigan economy was going to provide the revenue necessary to run these fun sounding programs.

What I liked about her speech:

• A commitment to quit plugging holes in the budget by cutting school funding.
• Requiring cities and townships to consolidate purchasing/services with other local municipalities to receive increased revenue sharing payments from the state

Wow. I thought there would be more points that I liked, but after reading through the text that was all I could honestly come up with. There was a lot of talk and optimism, but not much at all in the way of facts to back up her accusations and financial solutions.

Her proposed state budget makes its debut tomorrow. It will be interesting to see her "tax boosts" and what will be cut in order to balance the budget.

I guess I just expected more in the way of hard numbers. Optimism is great, but optimism without facts to back up your reason for being optimistic is like skipping dinner and eating a sugary sweet dessert instead. Sure it tasted good, but it usually leaves you feeling sick and empty when you're finished.

See for yourself. You can read the text of her speech at the Lansing State Journal.

Before you hit the road, hit the web for current road conditions in Michigan

Michigan law enforcement and public safety workers across the state contribute road condition information that is provided to the public at http://www.ohsp.state.mi.us/rw/home.htm. This service is provided during Michigan's winter months - September to June (just kidding) Late November/Early December through March 30th. Simply click on the area of the Michigan map that you want road conditions for and you will be taken to a page that lists road conditions for the major trunk lines and freeways in that particular area. Rural and county road conditions are rarely (if ever) provided.

For example, I clicked on southwest Michigan and some of the information provided was the following:

I-94 Between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek is reporting Icy, Snow Covered, Drifting Snow, Blowing Snow, and Lanes Reduced.

Of course, if you are out driving and things get dicey it is always best to just stay off the roads. Use the information provided at the above website to help you plan, but don't forget to use your head for more than a hat rack.

Keep Warm!