Classic sides:

Mashed potatoes, amazing carrots, and a green salad. Do it up nicely with garlic, butter, and sour cream in the potatoes, and blue cheese, dried cranberries and cut-up pear for the salad, with some balsamic vinegar dressing. Or Trader Joe's has a Champaigne Pear dressing that has the blue cheese in the dressing itself!

For the mashed potatoes: Peel however many potatoes you think you'll eat--this keeps well so if you think you'll like it, go ahead and make enough to last as long as the meatloaf does.

After you've peeled them, cut them up into chunks. The smaller the chunks the faster they'll cook; however the longer it takes to cut them up.

Put them in a pan and fill it up to half the level of the potatoes with water and a bit of salt. Bring to a boil, and boil about 20 minutes, or until soft.

At this point you have two options: you can use an old-fashioned potato masher, which leaves them nicely lumpy; or you can put them in a mixer or food processor. The masher is easier to clean up.

Whatever you do, just leave the water in them and start mashing. If you're adding butter, now would be the time to do it. Also add about 1 clove of mashed garlic per two average potatoes (not the giant bakers--you'll have used russets for this)--which is about 1/2 teaspoon if you use the fresh garlic already mashed in jars.

Mash it to the consistency you want, adding 1 stick of butter for about every 5-6 potatoes, and the garlic. It should go pretty quickly and still be steaming. Then add about 1/2 cup of sour cream for every 5-6 potatoes.

Add a little more salt and pepper to taste, and serve alongside the meatloaf, with the salad on the side.

To make "amazing carrots": this is so simple, but you will be astounded at how this method turns simple carrots into a mouthwatering side:

Brush a couple of carrots to clean them (if it's just you. Add more for others). Trim ends, and then cut up into lengths about two inches long, splitting the thick ends in two or three pieces so they're about the same size as pieces from the smaller end of the carrots. Melt a little butter in a pan on the stove top. Add the carrots and saute them briefly, just until they begin to get a little golden-brown color. Add a little real beef broth, to about half their depth--don't drown them! Then add about 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme for each couple of carrots.

Place a lid over the carrots, "tilted" so that steam can escape, and simmer them for about 10 minutes, until they are softened but still have a bit of stiffness left--you don't want these to completely fall apart.

Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and place alongside the mashed potatoes and meatloaf.

Hope you like these recipes!
Source(s):
My mom's mashed potato recipe--she makes it up to 5 days before holidays, and leftovers --if there are any--are fought over

My friend Kathy in France's method from her cooking service and blog, www.thymeforcooking.com--she will teach you to cook, gradually, like a pro--she'd say to turn the carrots a quarter-turn every cut so they come out in neat shapes!

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