Food with My Dude #17: Mother’s Meatloaf

So, that’s not really the name of the recipe, but it’s one that I’ve borrowed from my mom. I’m not sure where she found the original recipe, but it’s a darn good one. This recipe is so easy to make and it’s a little fun, haha. I’ll try to be more thorough in my explaining because it’s not a recipe online.

Loaf ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef [90% is best for less fattening and oily loaf, or you can substitute with ground turkey.]
• 1/2 cup chopped onions [or use dried minced onion]
• 1/2 oatmeal [can use bread crumbs as well]
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 tsp.salt
• 1 1/4 tsp. pepper

Loaf topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. mustard
• 2/3 cup ketchup

Price:

My mom doesn’t actually follows this recipe, and I know this for a fact because she made it for me whenever I went to Kingsport over the summer! You can use minced onions [it’s easier and saves times] and she used bread crumbs instead of oatmeal since she always seemed to have some in a cabinet beside the stove.

Meatloaf Directions

Basically, you just combine all the ingredients of the loaf into a bowl and mix together. I tend to wear gloves and have a little bit of fun whenever it comes to mixing it!

Then, place the loaf form in the pan. I know, it’s probably weird to have oatmeal in this recipe, but you can’t even tell in the final product, and I haven’t ever noticed it as I’m eating it either.

Now, for the topping sauce!

Like before, just mix the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar.

As you can see, there’s plenty of sauce to cover the meatloaf pretty well!

Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It should take about 45 minutes. I keep it in the oven for about 5 more minutes or so just because I stay on the safe side.

Covering the meatloaf with aluminum foil keeps it from drying out, but I’m not sure if that’s even possible for it to dry out.

The end result may not look appealing due the amount of fat, [sorry, I can’t make it look any prettier] but don’t judge a food by its looks! Some foods may not look pretty, but they taste yummy!

Between the two of us, we finished it in about one sitting. There was like a square leftover that I finished for lunch the next day.

Taste: It was always a favorite meal of mine that mom made us growing up. I’ve never ordered meatloaf from a restaurant, [such as the famous Cracker Barrel meatloaf] but surely it can’t be as good as this meatloaf! Stephen thought the sauce was slightly too sweet, but I thought that it had a nice balance. This meal is so flavorful and just lovely to have, especially on these colder days!

Rating:

Four stars for Stephen’s sensitive sweet palette and because I just can’t make it 5 stars like my mother can! There’s something about your mom’s home cooked meals, isn’t there? I’d say that you’d just have to mix the sauce beforehand in order to decide whether you want to make adjustments, but it tastes even to me.

Spice level:

0. That would be odd. [Right? Maybe.]

It’s a relatively simply meal to make and it definitely makes you hungrier as the aroma is filling your home!

• Any meatloaf lovers out there?

Have a wonderful rest of the week, everyone. Spend it with your loved ones! We’re leaving to go to Pigeon Forge tomorrow to stay in a cabin for the weekend with the in-laws!