I enjoy and have made all kinds of meatloaves. Italian-inspired, asian-inspired, etc. However, I don't think there's anything like the "classic" meatloaf that we've all grown up with. Nothing fancy, just some meat and spices. I hadn't made a classic meatloaf (I don't want to call it "plain" because it's not!) in so long. I know some people like to add oats to their meatloaf to bump up the health factor. Growing up, my dad made a meatloaf like that once and I still have bad memories of it! So that's one ingredient that I will never add to my meatloaf! Going through some old Cooking Light Annual cookbooks I found this recipe. Minus the fact that I don't make home-made bread crumbs.....why have to take the food processor down from the upstairs closet and then clean all those parts.....and I buy the pre-packaged meatloaf meat mixture, this recipe seemed pretty "classic" to me. This was easy to put together and the kids loved it. When my daughter asks for seconds and my son eats ALL of his dinner, I know I have a winner! Meatloaf is not a meal that I consider for a busy weeknight meal. However, this would make a great dish for a lazy weekend, winter dinner!
Classic Meatloaf
recipe slightly adapted from
Cooking Light, March 2006
Ingredients:
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
approx. 1 1/2 lb. pkg meatloaf mix (or you can use 2/3 lb. lean ground beef, 1/2 lb. ground veal, and 6 oz. lean ground pork)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a small frying pan saute heat butter until melted over medium heat. Add onion and saute approximately 5 minutes until translucent. Let cool.
Combine breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons ketchup and remaining ingredients except cooking spray.
Shape meat mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining 6 tablespoons ketchup over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut the loaf into 12 slices.
Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.
Heh heh! Trust good old dad to include oats in a meatloaf. I mean, a lot of us have stories about dad adding an odd ingredient to a recipe because at the time they think it will add that little something extra to the taste. Only to create something kids will repress for the rest of their lives! 8)
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