What's For Dinner: Meatloaf

When I got married I knew there would be certain things Kenny would want to eat that I either didn't know how to make or didn't like (I'm picky).  Well, meatloaf was one of the things that I didn't know how to make, and I thought I didn't like it.  Like the good wife I am ;-) I agreed to try my hand at meatloaf and my mother-in-law was kind enough to fill me in on how she makes her meatloaf. It's delicious!  I also like to make this because we get at least 2 meals out of it- bonus.

Another thing that I love is having fresh beef.  We have recently replenished our stock of frozen meat from a guy Kenny works with who has cows and knows a butcher... in other words, we have fresh beef.  I love restocking our freezer because I feel like we are doing one more thing to be healthy, and it tastes SO GOOD. There is a difference. A big difference.

So this week I made meatloaf. Here's how:

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
About a cup of Italian bread crumbs
About 1/2 a cup of tomato sauce
1 egg
1/2 an onion- roughly chopped
(there are many, many variations where you can add ingredients such as corn, rice, bell pepper, bacon, whatever... I made plain ol' meatloaf this time)

Directions
Place all ingredients in a bowl (I leave the onion out of this step and save it for later, you can add the onion in now if you want) and mix by hand until just combined.

Place the mixture on a baking sheet if you want a "crispier" outside, or in a loaf pan if you want a softer texture on the outside.  I shape mine into 3 smaller loaves because 1) my oven cooks slow, 2) we always have leftovers and they are easier to store this way, and 3) I don't like onion but my husband does :-) If you've left the onion out, now is the time to add it in. Put the onion on top of the loaf.

Bake at 375F (or 400F if your oven is slow, like mine) for about an hour or until desired doneness- we prefer ours well done, some people like a little pink. Still takes about an hour.

After about 30 minutes of cooking, take the meatloaf out and top it with a sauce made by combining 1/4 cup of tomato sauce, 2-3 tbs. each of ketchup and mustard, 2 tsp brown sugar.  Return it to the oven to finish baking.

The perfect side dish to meatloaf: mashed potatoes.  I mash my potatoes with milk, butter, and sometimes, sour cream. I usually don't measure... I just add what I feel like. Not too helpful, I know. You can also make brown gravy- my husband likes McCormick's brown gravy and I prefer to add a little extra butter to my potatoes instead :-)

So good! Leftovers make great sandwiches too.