orange roughy meatloaf in memory of cameron

It pains me to write this post as it has now been exactly 3 weeks since I had to put Cameron(the big orange cat) to sleep. He was very sick and was between the ages of 11-13- so sick I'll spare you guys the picture of him the day we said goodbye to him. He looked thin and emaciated, as if someone ran him over. 

Maybe it's because his death is most recent out of the 3 cats I had to put to sleep in the span of 18 months, but his passing touched me the most. I wasn't that close to him but he always made his presence known on the Meatloaf Princess channel by meowing off-camera. I'd always proceed to say, "Shut up, Cameron!" but cats just don't listen. 

Perhaps Cameron meowed because he wanted to live on on the Internet- or maybe it was because he was hungry, for I recorded the videos before feeding him. Still, even when he was full, he meowed unprovoked. 

This cat had a very interesting life. He was the first cat we adopted from our local veterinary hospital(they always have cats up for adoption) back in 2007. Back then, the staff named him Freud, which was the ugliest name ever!  Cameron didn't even come close to resembling Sigmund Freud. Someone found Cameron in the Pine Barrens(a local forest) and brought him to the vet to be put for adoption. 

So why the name Cameron? It was my sister Rachel's idea, for it was her turn to name a cat(I named Emily and Chandler was named by the animal shelter). Of course this was before Jordan and Misty were even born. 

One of my fondest moments of Cameron was back in 2011 when he ran away for 2 weeks just because he saw female cats under my car, yet he was neutered. When my dad tried to catch him, Cameron jumped his fat ass over a 10 foot fence! Ultimately we found him at the abandoned house next door. 

Cameron was best buddies with Chandler- they'd always sleep together and Chandler would lick and groom Cameron. 

But Cameron was also best buddies with Jordan- they used to wrestle when Jordan was a kitten smaller than Cameron. But when Jordan got bigger and played more aggressively, Cameron didn't like it. There were occasions where there would be a cut on Cameron's face as a result of playing with Jordan. 

His track record with female cats was pretty terrible, like a certain orange president I won't name. Cameron never learned to get along with the feline ladies. He always bullied Emily and the only reason he didn't fight Misty was because he was sick and she was several pounds heavier than him. But he'd approach and Misty would hiss at him. 

Jordan(a male), in comparison, gets along with Misty. 

When it came to humans, Cameron's closest human was my sister before she moved out. Then his favorite human was my dad. Every time my dad laid on the couch, Cameron would jump on to his belly and rest there! 

As for this meatloaf, I figured it only be fitting if most of the ingredients were orange like Cameron was. In fact, the meat in this meatloaf is orange roughy fillets, which are not orange in color. They're called that because it's a better name than slimehead. 

What I didn't tell you guys in the video was all the bad things about this fish. If I did, my dad wouldn't have let me made this video. First off, the species is unsustainable and overfished. But that's not the worst part about this fish. It's actually the fact they accumulate large amounts of mercury due to their long lifespan of up to 150 years! 

Bottom line is don't make use this fish if you're pregnant or are a child. If you really want to make this recipe without orange roughy, I suggest you use tofu instead! 

So what does an orange roughy taste like? It tastes just like cod, flounder, or any white fish, except the texture in one's mouth is stringier. Plus it's very juicy, especially when crumbling the fillets to turn them in to a ground meat consistency. 

Yes, you can order fish over the Internet, but I suggest you don't do it in the winter if you live in an area that gets snow. The nor'easter a couple of weeks ago screwed up UPS shipping, so by the time I got the fish the first time it was rotten. But the sender sent me new orange roughy fillets at no cost to me due to the storm. 

This meatloaf has everything- sweetness, spiciness, crunchiness, and savoriness! My dad liked this fish. 

HELPFUL LINKS: 

Orange Roughy Fillets: https://wholey.com/orange-roughy/

Candied Orange Peel: https://nuts.com/driedfruit/oranges/diced-orange-peel.html

Dried Cantaloupe: https://nuts.com/driedfruit/cantaloupe/chunks.html

Dried Persimmon: https://nuts.com/driedfruit/persimmons/organic.html


You will need: 

For the cooking equipment: 

A large bowl
A lasagna pan
Nonstick cooking spray

For the meatloaf: 

2/3 tbsp. onion powder
2 beaten and whisked eggs
2 tbsp. candied orange peel(see HELPFUL LINKS)
1/2 cup raw, chopped up sweet potato chunks
6 dried persimmons(see HELPFUL LINKS)
1/2 cup dried cantaloupe chunks(see HELPFUL LINKS)
1/2 cup French dressing
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of Old Bay Seasoning
Pinch of chipotle chili powder
Pinch of parsley
1 cup crushed Doritos(I used Cool Ranch Doritos and crushed them in a Ziploc bag)
16 oz. orange roughy fillets(see HELPFUL LINKS)

1. Put the first 4 ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Crumble up the dried persimmons and dried cantaloupe and put them into the large bowl. 
3. Add the next 6 ingredients into the large bowl. 
4. Cut the fillets into strips and crumble up the strips with your fingers until the fish is a ground meat consistency. Put the crumbled up fish into the large bowl. 
5. Mix all the ingredients up until you get a firm mixture. 
6. Spray a lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray. 
7. Form 2 loaves from the meatloaf mixture. 
8. Bake the meatloaves in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15-20 minutes. Bon appetit! 

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