Not Your Momma's Meatloaf

I think most folks at some point in their lives have had either great experiences with meatloaf or really bad ones.

 Maybe the meatloaf was a tad dry or maybe it tasted like a lump of beef and nothing else. And if that bad experience came from childhood, and Mom was trying to feed 9 or 10 children, as was a common situation many years ago, she didn't have the time (or probably the energy) to be fancy-ing it up. It was cheap and she could get a hot meal on the table.

Meatloaf was created out of necessity.

 It is fairly inexpensive, easy, filling and can feed a lot of folks.

 And perhaps the name does not help it's case at all, but let's face it, when a meatloaf is done right, 

it is so comforting to the soul. 

Personally, I'm a meatloaf lover. But if you aren't, then maybe it's time you give it a second chance. Because meatloaves need love to, even if they aren't the prettiest girl showing up to the party.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (80/20 works good)

3/4 cup Milk

1 Egg

3 slices of bread, torn up into small pieces

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

½ tablespoon Onion Powder

½ teaspoon Kosher Salt

½ teaspoon Dry Ground Mustard

¼ teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

¼ teaspoon Hot Sauce (or slightly more, to taste)

⅛ teaspoon Garlic Powder

½ cup ketchup

(Ketchup, salt and pepper not shown)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (except ketchup). Don’t be afraid to get in there with your hands – they work best.

Spread mixture into an ungreased loaf pan or shape into a loaf on a sheet pan.

Spread ketchup on top of meatloaf.

Cook for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes (or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees).

Let stand for 5 minutes and serve

Cook’s Note: Cooking it in a loaf pan can help the loaf stay moist. Take a couple slices of bread and place on bottom of meatloaf pan before putting in meat mixture. This will help soak up some of the fat that will puddle at the bottom of the
pan (I use the heel ends). 
Cooking it on a sheet pan will help some of the fat spread away from the meat if you are looking to make this a slightly leaner dish. It’s just a matter of preference.

Feel free to use chopped onions and minced garlic instead of the powder (I have picky eaters though and they are always on the lookout for onion bits!).  Maybe even add some green pepper in there too!

Enjoy!

I just had to show this to picture. Here's my baby taking his own picture of the ingredients.
 So sweet!

Printable Recipe Here

Pin It

Add this recipe to ZipList!