Christmas in the desert, year two. The tree is real (noble fir, same lot, same veteran seller). The lights are up. The baking is done (mostly — I have one more batch of fudge to make and I'm procrastinating because fudge requires precision and I'm too pregnant and tired for precision).
Caleb understands Christmas fully now. He's been talking about Santa for three weeks with the urgent specificity of a child who has prepared a wish list and expects RESULTS. The wish list: a toy kitchen upgrade (his current one is from Grandma Donna's first gift; he wants the deluxe version with a REAL working light and sound effects), dinosaur toys (always), and 'baby sister' (which is not a Christmas gift, Caleb; your sister is not available for purchase).
Ryan is home for Christmas — no deployment, no field exercise, just home. The luxury of a husband at Christmas. Two years in a row. After the deployment Christmas, when Caleb was five weeks old and I ate chicken and dumplings alone with a tiny tree, having Ryan home feels like abundance.
Christmas Eve: Mom's baked ziti (the tradition). Christmas morning: Ryan's breakfast casserole (the tradition). Christmas dinner: my version of Mom's glazed ham (the tradition, with my own glaze now — more Dijon, less sweet, because MY ham is MY ham).
The FaceTime Christmas: Mom, Dad, Megan (with Grant, now her fiancé — the wallpaper is becoming a fixture). Mom looked at the food through the screen and said, 'The ham looks good.'
'It IS good, Mom.'
'Did you score the diamonds?'
'MOM. I've been scoring the diamonds for three years. YES, I scored the diamonds.'
'I'm just asking.'
She'll always ask. She'll ask about the diamonds when I'm forty-eight. She'll ask from Norfolk, from a rocking chair, from wherever she is. The asking is the love.
Dad: 'How are my tomato plants?'
'Dormant, Dad. It's December.'
'Tomatoes don't go dormant in —'
'CALIFORNIA. Yes, Dad. I know. There's new growth.'
'Check for aphids.'
KEVIN.
Caleb opened his presents: the deluxe toy kitchen (from Grandma Donna, obviously — the woman is single-handedly equipping a toddler restaurant), dinosaur figures, and a book about cooking for kids that I bought and that he's already asked me to read four times.
Hazel kicked through dinner. She kicks during every meal now. She's an Abernathy: she shows up for food.
Merry Christmas from Mars, year two. The ham was mine. The tree was real. The baby kicked. The diamonds were scored.
Always scored. Always asked. Always loved.
Every year the ham is mine now — the glaze, the diamonds, all of it — and somewhere between Mom asking whether I scored them and Hazel kicking through every bite, I started thinking about what it actually means to build a tradition around a single dish. This Meat Loaf Cordon Bleu is the weeknight answer to that same impulse: ham in the middle, melted Swiss wrapped around it, the whole thing rolled up and baked until it slices clean and proud. It’s not the Christmas ham, but it carries the same energy — something warm, something built with intention, something worth asking about.
Meat Loaf Cordon Bleu
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 slices deli ham
- 6 slices Swiss cheese
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or 9x13 baking dish with foil and lightly grease it.
- Mix the meat. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, milk, onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and thyme. Mix until just combined — do not overwork.
- Flatten the mixture. Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a clean surface. Turn the meat mixture out onto it and press it evenly into a roughly 10x12-inch rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick.
- Layer the filling. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon of Dijon over the meat, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Layer the ham slices evenly over the mustard, then lay the Swiss cheese slices on top of the ham.
- Roll it up. Using the plastic wrap to assist, carefully roll the meatloaf into a tight log from one of the short ends. Pinch the ends closed and place seam-side down on the prepared pan.
- Top and bake. Brush the top and sides with ketchup. Bake uncovered for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 160°F.
- Rest before slicing. Let the meatloaf rest on the pan for 10 minutes before slicing. This keeps the filling from sliding out when you cut it.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 375 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 710mg
About the cook who shared this
Rachel Abernathy
Week 296 of Rachel’s 30-year story
· San Diego, California
Rachel is a twenty-eight-year-old Marine wife and mom of two who has moved five times in six years and learned to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with half her cookware still in boxes. She married young, survived postpartum depression, and feeds her family of four on a junior Marine's salary with a freezer full of pre-made meals and a crockpot that has never let her down. She writes for the military spouses who are cooking dinner alone in base housing and wondering if they're enough. You are.
