Meatloaf?

I'd really like to enjoy meatloaf. Really, I would. I just don't. When my mom used to make meatloaf as a child, I would have hot dogs or a frozen dinner instead, I hated it and refused to eat it. (And I was an incredibly spoiled only child).

So, I haven't tried a bite of meatloaf since I was probably 8 or 9 years old. My old college roommates loved it, and on nights when they cooked it, they reinforced my spoiled nature by making me a chicken breast instead. But, I ate meatloaf last night.


You see, I've only made meatloaf once before, it was my mom's simple recipe, and I prepared it in the early afternoon, stuck it in the fridge and told the boys to go ahead and pop it in the oven for an hour when they wanted dinner, and I headed off to class.

When I arrived home around 9, it was all gone (pretty decent considering I was told it was "plain"). So I arrived at the brilliant conclusion that I should make more meatloaf, since it seems to go over so well, and is relatively simple to make right?

Kind of.

The recipe I tried last night was from a friend my mom works with, she claims it is her "secret" meatloaf and that it is the only kind her husband will eat. I have been on the quest to find this secret meatloaf recipe, but apparently there are quite a few!

You see, my stepson has a preference for the topping, and he doesn't know the ingredients, so basically I'm just fumbling around trying to make him the meatloaf he's looking for. This one wasn't it, but it wasn't bad either. It wasn't devoured, even with the three of us eating there were two good size slices left. BUT, I ate it. That really says something!

Unless of course, you factor in that I forgot to start dinner until almost 7pm and who knew meatloaf took so darn long to cook? Must have slipped my mind. So by the time dinner got on the table at around 8:15, I was too tired to find something else for me to eat, and just gave in to the meatloaf (did I mention I took a "sick day" last night and skipped class, I was feeling dangerous).

It was okay. The boys really liked it, so I'm sure it was better than okay, which is why I'll go ahead and post the recipe.

For this meatloaf, you will need:

Salt, pepper, 6 slices bread, 1 cup milk, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp marjoram, 1 onion (finely diced), 1 egg, 1/2 stalk of celery, 1/4 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp ground mustard, 1 bottle of chili sauce, and 1lb ground beef (I used 1.5).

And sadly, I forgot all about:

Worcestershire sauce!! You'll need a TBS of it.

First, I threw the bread into my mini processor and turned it into crumbs, and then I minced up my onion and celery the same way (I love my mini processor!) then add it to the meat in your mixing bowl:

This recipe actually called for celery salt and sage, but I did not have either, neither did my wonderful neighbors! So, I substituted the thyme, marjoram, and a little bit of ground up celery.

Then measure out your spices (I sure do wish I had a packet for this, the next time I make meatloaf I am going to find a packet - if anyone has any recommendations please let me know!) and dump them in:

I don't measure salt and pepper, I just sprinkle it on until it looks right... I tend to use a lot more pepper (I like meat with my pepper) and less salt, especially since this already has garlic salt in it.

After that, dump in the milk, crack open the egg, add the Worcestershire, and mix it all together. With your hands. I think this is the root of my problem when it comes to meatloaf, it looks seriously disgusting. And it feels even worse. Just look:

Sorry.

Then dump it into your loaf pan:

I just have a bread pan, no special meatloaf pan, but after tonight, the first time I've actually seen how the meatloaf turns out, I am demanding one for Christmas. Are you reading this honey? I want this one, or something similar. And really honey, it should be a gift for you, because I don't even like meatloaf very much! Anyway, mine was very greasy, and I would have loved to have a pan that allowed that grease to drain off.

Next, dump that bottle of chili sauce on top of the loaf, I didn't use the whole bottle, but nearly did, and after tasting it, I could have used the whole bottle and it wouldn't have hurt anything - it was actually really good!!!

Now, bake it for around 1 hour at 350, mine needed an extra 20 minutes or so.

As I mentioned earlier in the post, dinner was running seriously late last night, so in the meantime, I tossed a quick salad with some carrots, tomatoes, cheese, croutons, and plain old iceberg lettuce and threw some Italian dressing on top and fed that to the boys to hold them over.

When the meatloaf had about 10 minutes left to cook, I whipped up some instant potatoes and canned corn:

And once dinner was done, I was in such a rush to get it on the table I didn't get a picture of the final product. But my stepson graciously let me take a picture of his plate, after he had a bite:

So, my first real experience with meatloaf wasn't all bad. If I do use this recipe again (I probably will, after I try a few others, and find a packet!) I will use some breadcrumbs instead of bread because it was a little mushy and hubby said it is "firmer" with breadcrumbs. If anyone has any meatloaf recipes they want to share, please let me know, I am specifically looking for something that uses honey and ketchup (this is what my stepson wants!).

Let me know if you try this!

Love and Luck to you,

The Packet Queen