Working on my pairing

On Sunday night my mom came over for dinner, and my dad made meatloaf. He made two kinds - one with ketchup on top, and one without. They were both 2 lbs so we've got leftovers! My dad uses Italian breadcrumbs in his meatloaf and that really adds something to it, versus when it's just rice or plain breadcrumbs. We love it. He thinks that using the Harris Ranch ground beef that comes in a tube results in a more moist meatloaf, but if I remember correctly, the last time he made meatloaf with that Harris Ranch beef that I purchased, it was an 80/20 fat content and what he made the other night was like a 93/7, and so I'm thinking it was the fat content that lead the other to be moist (not that these were dry, IMO).

I was in charge of sides so I chose potatoes au gratin (though I admit, I used boxed stuff due to lack of time). I also did corn and green beans. I like canned veggies flavor wise, but they just offer no nutrients and have a ton of sodium so I've been trying to get my family to convert to steamed. My mom and my daughter are on my side, and my brother could be more easily convinced than my dad.

My dad also wanted to do mashed potatoes, but those can get so boring (especially when my dad wants to have them almost daily), so I insisted on these. I thought they went well together, but maybe I'm wrong. I've been trying to work on being more creative with pairing entrees and side dishes, while making sure the dish still goes together.

Next I need to tackle the task of doing the potatoes from scratch! If I remember correctly, my late grandmother made really good scalloped potatoes... I wonder if anyone in the family has the recipe?