General Question

charliecompany34's avatar

How do you make your meatloaf?

Asked by charliecompany34 (7810points) November 16th, 2008

a great comfort food, but everybody don’t know how to make it. i love meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green peas. what’s your “diner restaurant” to die-for style of meatloaf recipe?

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16 Answers

jessturtle23's avatar

I stuff mine with pepperjack cheese and canned chilis and pour spaghetti sauce over the top.

generalspecific's avatar

I don’t!
Meatloaf = yuck!!
meatloaf, smeatloaf, double beetloaf….
sorry, couldn’t help myself

AlfredaPrufrock's avatar

I love meatloaf!

1–1/2 lbs.ground beef
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package onion soup mix
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup milk
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1 15 oz can tomato sauce

Mix together ground beef, green pepper, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, onion soup mix. Whisk together eggs, milk and 1/2 can tomato sauce. Stir egg mixture into ground beef. Form into loaf in 9×5 x 3 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Sauce
In a saucepan, combine and bring to a boil:
1/2 can tomato sauce
1 cup catsup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Drain excess grease from meatloaf pan, pour sauce over meatloaf and bake 10 minutes more.

bythebay's avatar

LOve It!! I’ve been using this recipe for years and modify it in small ways depending on what I have on hand. I usually serve it with small red potatoes—
Sooooo good!

1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup minced green onion
3/4 cup minced white onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper (or use roasted peppers)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup half and half (I use fat-free)
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 pound lean ground unseasoned pork sausage, or ground veal. (I have also used mild italian sausage, if so I delete the nutmeg & cumin)
3 /4 cup fine bread crumbs or panko

Meat Loaf Gravy (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat the butter in a heavy skillet and add the green onion, white onion, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, or until the moisture has evaporated. Cool.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cumin, and eggs and mix well. Add the ketchup and half and half. Blend thoroughly.

4. Add the ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, and the vegetable mixture. It might be easier to mix this with your hands.

5. Grease a loaf pan and add the meat mixture, pressing it into the corners. Put the loaf pan in a larger pan filled 1-inch-high with boiling water. Cook at 350 degrees F for 45 to 60 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with Meat Loaf Gravy.

Serving Size: 6

Meat Loaf Gravy

2 tablespoons butter
4 shallots, minced
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
Dash of crushed peppercorns
1/4 cup chopped red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped yellow bell peppers
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup veal or beef stock
1 cup chicken stock
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
Salt and pepper
1. In a heavy pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, and sauté the shallots, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, and red and yellow bell peppers over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

2. Add the wine and simmer over high heat until reduced by three-fourths, to make a glaze.

3. Add the beef stock and chicken stock, and simmer, uncovered, over high heat until reduced by one-fourth.

4. Add the tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer. Cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

5. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Strain, discarding bay leaf and thyme before serving.

I have also made & served this several times without the gravy at all, it’s still great.

AlfredaPrufrock's avatar

@bythebay, that sounds delicious!!! Especially the gravy.

bythebay's avatar

@ALfreda: It’s so good, I’ve even made meatloaf for company. I usually make a larger batch of the veggys than I need and freeze them to use next time I’m craving it. Now…I’m craving it!

Cardinal's avatar

I love cold meatloaf sandwiches too. Bythebay, your version of a meatloaf dish sounds GREAT!

Jeruba's avatar

Meatloaf is a lot of people’s comfort food. At my house nobody wants it to be made flavorful or exciting. It has to be plain and kind of boring, and then everyone’s happy. If you spice it up, they complain. So it’s very simple and quick to make.

1 – 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup oatmeal (Quaker oats)
1 medium onion, chopped
~ 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 egg
~ 1 tsp. salt
sprinkle of pepper
splash of Worcestershire sauce

Moosh it all together and put it in a small loaf pan, rounded on top. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let cool a few minutes before slicing.

We differ on whether it’s best with mashed or baked potatoes and whether you should dump catsup all over it, but we all agree it’s a family favorite. When four of us are home, there won’t be much left over.

AlfredaPrufrock's avatar

@jeruba, oatmeal’s good. Makes for a softer meatloaf, I think.

SoapChef's avatar

Here is my latest favorite meatloaf. It was super popular at my bistro.

Roasted Garlic Meatloaf
1 1/4 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
1/2 cup sliced scallions
3 Tablespoons minced parsley
1 Tablespoon sea salt
2 teaspoons fresh cracked pepper
2 teaspoons worschestire
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon oyster sauce (don’t skip this)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
3 dashes tabasco
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves
2 cups panko crumbs
2 beaten eggs
Mix all ingredients together. Pack into a standard bread loaf pan. Lard the top with about six overlapping slices bacon. Coat the top with Cognac Ketchup (recipe follows)Using a knife tuck the ends of the bacon down inside the edges of the pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about one hour or until it temps at 165 degrees.

Cognac Ketchup
½ cup Ketchup
½ cup Chili sauce
¼ cup Courvoisier
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon Allspice
2 teaspoon cayenne
Simmer this together for about fifteen minutes.

This must be served with Yukon Gold Mashers and more Cognac Ketchup on the side. Add some Orange glazed Carrot Ribbons and you can charge $15.00 a plate!

bythebay's avatar

I am sooo hungry, that sounds spectacular SoapChef!!

SoapChef's avatar

@ bythebay I knoooooooow. Me too! I am going to try your recipe, that sounds stellar!

bythebay's avatar

Hahaha; looks like it will be Meat Loaf Monday all over the place!

cooksalot's avatar

Meatloaf always contains grated carrots, potatoes, onions, and a handful of fiber one. Everyone says that it’s the best and they don’t even know what I’ve sneaked in on them. heehee

Jeruba's avatar

@Cooks, I might try the carrot sneak. Tempting just to see what I can get away with.

cooksalot's avatar

Don’t forget the egg or it will be soft since all those veggies add moisture to the meatloaf.

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