Oddly enough my FAVORITE meal as a kid was meat loaf. Now that I am older and cook my own food I am still totally convinced meatloaf is the greatest. My reasons being: that I still adore how this recipe tastes, and I get to use my hands to smoosh it all together! It’s like adult play dough, which is delightful. This recipe is fast, simple, inexpensive, and delicious!
This is something my mom would make me when I was a kid. I would get so excited for dinner on nights that she would make this. It is SO simple and REALLY hard to mess this up. That phrase is one of my favorite sentences, because I mean honestly, this morning I tried to make my own pumpkin spice coffee and I grabbed cinnamon and ground nut meg, except I didn’t. I grabbed cinnamon and cumin. I mean who doesn’t love taco coffee… So it may seem obvious but double check that you are using the right seasoning.
Even though I try to sabotage my own cooking, this meat loaf was a hit! The night I made this particular meat loaf, my code name: “husband” had already eaten on his way home from work. I ate two slices of the loaf and put it in the fridge thinking, “awesome, now I don’t have to make dinner tomorrow.” However, that next evening when I finally made it home after the gym, at 8:30 mind you, I went into the fridge and all I could find was left over rice. As I stood there pondering if I was going insane it dawned on me, the only reason that meatloaf would disappear was if “husband” had taken it. I confronted the idiot, and get this, he took the whole damn loaf to work and ate it. ALL of it. I could have died laughing if I hadn’t been so hungry. I ask him, “why, why, did that seem like a reasonable thing to do?” “you didn’t consider maybe I had plans for that ENTIRE meat loaf?” My god sometimes in my house it is like herding cats.
A quick adjustable for a crowd baked meatloaf
- 1 lb ground beef 80 % lean or leaner
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup onion minced
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
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In large bowl combine all ingredients until well mixed. Bake 350 for 45 minutes. Check for doneness. The center should be very firm when you push on it.
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This base recipe serves 2, it can easily be doubled or tripled. I usually double it for a family of 4. When all 4 of my kids were home I tripled it for a family of 6.
So as I mentioned, this recipe is great for someone who is starting out cooking. It is really inexpensive and feeds a lot of people. It is so easy to get right and nearly impossible to mess up. However, if you do manage to mess up I would love to hear that story! I imagine it would be like the time I used Cumin instead of Cinnamon in cookies. Yes cumin and I have a sordid past together. Even the dog didn’t want to eat those… So my favorite little tip about the recipe is how to tell when the loaf is finished. So yes, as it says in the recipe when you press down on the center it should be firm and not be easily pressed down.
Comment below to let us know what you think and with any possible questions. I am now going to kick back with a beer and watch some tv. Meatloaf, potatoes, veggies, and beer. It is so delightfully manly. What are some good shows that you have been watching lately? I just discovered a show called Silicon Valley. It is a hilarious show about quirky programmers. Totally worth a look I would say. Do you have any good recommendations? I have to admit I have the terrible habit of bringing my dinner to the couch and putting on a show. I know I know I should really eat at the table and have some quality time with code name: “Husband”, but whatevahhh.
Remember to share this recipe. Good friends share good food.
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