Favorite meatloaf

Nothing fancy , just my favorite , easy to assemble and fast to cook . This is the one dish I actually prefer being cooked in the microwave. Normally I prefer the oven, grill or smoker. But if you get home from work, are short on time and have a urge for meatloaf, this recipe will fill the bill.
Prep. time is 25 min., cooking time 15 min. , stand time 15 min.
From start to finish its 55 minutes...that's pretty quick .

Ingredients
1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1- teaspoon prepared mustard
2 eggs ,lightly beaten
1 medium onion , minced
1/4 cup minced green bell pepper
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
( in place of salt and pepper I use 2 teaspoons of Cajun/Creole spice )

Directions
1. In a small bowl mix the tomato sauce, brown sugar and mustard, stir well, set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl crumble in the ground beef and add the cracker crumbs, beaten eggs, onion, bell pepper, salt , pepper , garlic powder and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce mixture.
Mix everything up, by hand , until well blended,
3. Place the meat into a microwaveable dish, 9 inch microware ring mold, microwave safe glass ring mold or 2 quart round microwave safe casserole dish.
4. Spread the remaining tomato sauce mix evenly over the top of the meatloaf.
5. Cook in microwave oven, on high, 12 to 15 minutes (time varies with wattage).
Check internal temperature with instant read thermometer, 160 to 165 , and let stand covered 10 to 15 minutes.

It's better the next day and makes great sandwiches .

Gary

Comfort food! I love it when I put it on the Traeger smoker

Try it some time with fresh ground pork, same recipe. You will be amazed

gwpercle,

Sounds YUM to me.

yours, tex

i never considered cooking meat loaf in the smoker. Thanks for that tip.

I don't like bread in my meat loaf, so I use rice and I mix red meats.
One pound of ground lamb.
One pound of ground beef.
One volume of cooked rice that takes up the same space as a pound of ground meat.
One fist sized onion.
One egg, or two. I don't know that it matters.
Some salt,some pepper, some ground grains of paradise spice.
I mix it really well in the KitchenAid mixer. Bake in a bread pan. Cook however you like for meat loaf.

Sounds good but I'm not a fan of microwaved foods so I'll go for the oven or smoker. I do use mixed pork and beef for my meatballs never thought about doing the same for meatloaf it is an intriguing idea. I use bread soaked in beef broth or oatmeal in mine, just depends on what I have on hand. My moms secret was putting cheddar and green olives in the middle :D my wife can't stand em but I love it! Bacon on top never hurts either. I also pack a lot of veggies in mine to sneak them in the ol' diet. Sauteed carrots, onions, and celery cooled and mixed in with the rest.

DerekP Houston,

Fwiw, my mother used to put pureed vegetables into her meatloaf to get us to eat them.
(Btw, I find oatmeal to be better than breadcrumbs in meatloaf.)

yours, tex

Smoked meatloaf is amazing, been doing it that way for a long time.

I use oatmeal but I buzz it in the coffee mill until it is a flour consistency. Makes the most moist meatloaf I have ever had. Another key is only work it enough to mix it, over working meatloaf or meatballs can make them tough!

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Originally Posted by DerekP Houston

Sounds good but I'm not a fan of microwaved foods so I'll go for the oven or smoker. I do use mixed pork and beef for my meatballs never thought about doing the same for meatloaf it is an intriguing idea. I use bread soaked in beef broth or oatmeal in mine, just depends on what I have on hand. My moms secret was putting cheddar and green olives in the middle :D my wife can't stand em but I love it! Bacon on top never hurts either. I also pack a lot of veggies in mine to sneak them in the ol' diet. Sauteed carrots, onions, and celery cooled and mixed in with the rest.

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I am not normally a fan either, but this one recipe is the exception. I think the sugar attracts the heat and gives the top a nice browning. But this recipe and popcorn are the only things I will cook in a microwave.
Smoker and oven cooking is better, but if you are tired after work it's very quick and pretty darn good tasting.
Thawing out frozen foods with the Microwave is OK but that's not really cooking.
Gary

I always liked meatloaf but once we started doing it in the smoker thats the only way we eat it now. The wife makes smaller personal sized portions so its only an hour to 1 1/2.

We use oatmeal also only we don't grind it first. Putting it in the smoker sounds good!

Mrs. smokeywolf cuts in 1/3 ground pork; 2 lbs. grnd beef and 1lb. grnd pork. She also adds a packet of onion soup/dip mix.

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Originally Posted by smokeywolf

Mrs. smokeywolf cuts in 1/3 ground pork; 2 lbs. grnd beef and 1lb. grnd pork. She also adds a packet of onion soup/dip mix.

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Lipton's Dry Onion Soup mix + Meatloaf = Winner , winner chicken/meatloaf dinner !
Good tip , beats a plain old chopped onion any day.

Grate the raw onion on a fine grater. Gets way more onion flavor in the meatloaf. Do it directly in the mixing bowl to get all the good onion juice.

The hack for oatmeal in meatloaf or meatballs is using the quick or instant kinds. It saves you the precooking or grinding and gives a lighter texture more like breadcrumbs.

They, though, make awful oatmeal so keep the carton of quick for add-ins like this; and keep using steel-cut for breakfast.

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Originally Posted by MaryB

I use oatmeal but I buzz it in the coffee mill until it is a flour consistency. Makes the most moist meatloaf I have ever had. Another key is only work it enough to mix it, over working meatloaf or meatballs can make them tough!

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How much oatmeal would you use for this recipe?

to a pound of ground meat I use a cup of oatmeal(basically fill my spice grinder(small coffee grinder) that I turn to a fluffy coarse flour consistency. While that is grind I also toss in black peppercorns instead of using the hand mill... I like a LOT of black pepper so hand grinding takes to long!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MaryB

to a pound of ground meat I use a cup of oatmeal(basically fill my spice grinder(small coffee grinder) that I turn to a fluffy coarse flour consistency. While that is grind I also toss in black peppercorns instead of using the hand mill... I like a LOT of black pepper so hand grinding takes to long!

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sounds like a good trick, I use the grinder to make coarse ground pepper too! My best bbq to date was just a ton of coarse ground pepper and high quality salt. I like the idea of grating the onions too would get more evenly mixed. Looking forward to getting back home this week so I can make a meatloaf now. Restaurants have been fun for the past few months but I'm starting to miss home cooked meals =/.

The last meatloaf we had was smoked it was great!

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Originally Posted by MaryB

to a pound of ground meat I use a cup of oatmeal(basically fill my spice grinder(small coffee grinder) that I turn to a fluffy coarse flour consistency. While that is grind I also toss in black peppercorns instead of using the hand mill... I like a LOT of black pepper so hand grinding takes to long!

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Thankyu MaryB

Smoked is my favorite method for meatloaf.

Smoke your Meatloaf, just finished dinner. A++++++

225-250 3-4 hrs till 160 degrees

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Originally Posted by DCP

Smoke your Meatloaf, just finished dinner. A++++++

225-250 3-4 hrs till 160 degrees

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Awesome !
Yes smoking is best if you have the time. Oven is second best and the microwave method is a quickie third place. But sometimes a quickie is better than nothing .
Gary

This was one of my late brother's favorite recipes ...

Mexican Meatloaf

Sauté in 1T + 1t oil:

- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped green pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped or crushed
- 1 beef cube

Mix cooked and following together:

- 1 lb ground beef
- 4 oz grated cheese (I use cheddar)
- 3/4c bread crumbs
- 1/2c tomato sauce
- 1/4c yogurt
- 2T fresh parsley
- 2t Worcestershire
- 1/2t chili powder
- dash of pepper

Put the mixture into a greased loaf pan and cook at 375 degrees (F) for 45-60 minutes.

A few more favorites from the family cookbook ...

Easy Meat Loaf

· 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
· 1 egg
· 1 onion, chopped
· 1 cup milk
· 1 cup dried bread crumbs
· salt and pepper to taste
· 2 tablespoons brown sugar
· 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
· 1/3 cup ketchup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, onion, milk and bread OR cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased 5x9 inch loaf pan, OR form into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.


Meatloaf The Kids Will Eat:

2 lbs lean ground hamburger
1/2 cup BBQ sauce of your choice
1 egg
1/2 cup grated cheese
bread crumbs (or cubed bread) to take up moisture
salt
pepper
onion powder

Beat egg then hand mix all the rest. Form into a loaf. Use another 1/4 cup BBQ sauce or ketchup to coat the outside of the loaf. Cook at 350 degrees for about an hour.


Bacon, Mushroom & PepperJack Cheese Meat Loaf (In the smoker)


1 lb Lean ground beef

1 lb Lean ground pork

1 small Onion; finely chopped

1 can (4.25oz) finely chopped black olives

1 Egg

1/2 c bread crumbs (or Panko crumbs)

1/4 c Evaporated milk

8 oz grated smoked Pepperjack cheese

1 can (4 oz) Button mushrooms; drained

1 cup sweet Bell peppers, finely chopped

1 pkg (12 oz) bacon

In a large bowl add all ingredients but cheese and bacon. Cook and crumble the bacon, drain well and divide in half, placing 1/2 in meat mixture. Add all but 1/2 cup of the shredded smoked cheese to meat mixture. Blend well and place in perforated loaf pan or foil pan (removing from pan after 1 hour). Top with cooked crumbled bacon. Smoke at 225 degrees, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees, then top with the rest of the PepperJack cheese (at around the 3 hour mark). Return to the smoker and up the temperature to 250 degrees.

Smoke at 250 degrees until 165 degree internal temperature - around 3 1/2 hours.

I doubled the recipe,
added 1 # ground pork
went with 4C quick oats pwdrd
& cheddar in the middle
used extra tomato sauce for the top

glad I went big or go home

nuked 1 pan and have 2 more in the fridge :)

I use beef, pork, and lamb in my meatloaf. Some folks like ground turkey but I think it makes it too dry. You would have to use a more fatty ground beef to compensate. I have also substituted Owens breakfast sausage in place of the pork when I couldn't find any.

I mix two lbs of ground pork 2 lbs of ground lean venison and two packs of lipton onion soup mix. Add some crushed garlic and a couple chopped up onions a couple eggs and a lb of cooked bacon. split it in half to make to loafs. I spread each out on wax paper to make a rectangle and drop some slices of cheddar cheese on it and roll them up and put it in loaf pans. Put a few slices of uncooked bacon on top and some barbeque sauce. Cook one and freeze the other for later.

I sometimes do the cheddar and add green olives so it is like a cooked olive loaf when sliced. Makes good sandwiches!

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Originally Posted by Lloyd Smale

I mix two lbs of ground pork 2 lbs of ground lean venison and two packs of lipton onion soup mix. Add some crushed garlic and a couple chopped up onions a couple eggs and a lb of cooked bacon. split it in half to make to loafs. I spread each out on wax paper to make a rectangle and drop some slices of cheddar cheese on it and roll them up and put it in loaf pans. Put a few slices of uncooked bacon on top and some barbeque sauce. Cook one and freeze the other for later.

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