*according to my husband
Hi everyone!
I don't typically blog about food or recipe type things but I have finally perfected my meatloaf recipe and have decided to share it with the masses! *spit take* That's right! *collective gasp* Please, try to stay calm everyone...
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| Family Circle magazine, 1968 *Image* |
I can cook but it's not a big thing in my world. I love baking and really enjoy cooking for holidays (Thanksgiving being MY day) but for the most part, dinner is dinner is dinner. However, for whatever reason, I've always enjoyed trying new things with meatloaf. I think it's because you just toss stuff in a bowl, mix it up and cook it. Lots of leeway with a meatloaf, you can do tomatoes, potatoes, sauce, gravy, onions, garlic, 100 different types of bread crumbs, you can really make it anything you want.
Okay, so here's my recipe, it's not completely new or groundbreaking but it is delicious*! (*according to my husband) Feel free to give it a try or change it completely, just whatever you do: MAKE A MEATLOAF TONIGHT.
Ingredients:
-1 pound of ground beef
-1 pound of ground pork
-1 package of dry onion soup mix (regular or beefy kind)
-1 egg
-Mushrooms (regular white ones or portobello, both good) Hmmm, not sure how much I use typically. Let's say a cup before I chop them to bits but you can put more or less depending on your mushroom love. My husband always wants a lot in there. (That's what she said.)
-Bread crumbs...uh...just how much you want? lol I usually use the heels of the bread loaf because my family would rather go hungry than eat the heels (ends) of the loaf. So that's what? 2 pieces of bread? You can also use biscuits, saltine crackers, round crackers, panko, already made bread crumbs, anything you want! If you do use crackers that are salted, make sure not to add any (or too much more) additional salt.
*Another note about salt: I started using the dry onion soup mix because it is LOADED with salt and seasonings. I used to use separate salt and seasonings but the onion soup mixes are cheap, ready to go and making a meatloaf is that much quicker and easier. (Is that grammatically correct?
Much quicker and easier or should it be
much more quick and easy? Eh, whatever, you get me, right?)
Okay, so throw both meats, the egg and the onion soup mix in a big bowl. Set your oven to 425 degrees (I like to bake my meatloaf at Hell-level heat, that thing will be good and DEAD).
Now, tear up your bread a little bit (or slightly crush your crackers) and put that and your mushrooms in a food processor. If you do not have a food processor, stop reading right now and go buy one. Seriously. You don't think you need a food processor until you have one and then you realize that you don't have to chop up onions and pulverize bread crumbs like a chump EVER AGAIN. It's the best feeling in the world.
Now at this point, stop what you're doing and start putting dishes away. Why do this? Well, I'm easily distracted and always think of something that "has" to get done before I can go any further with what I'm currently doing. Actually, that's a bad habit of mine so don't do that. Just forget this whole step.
Pulse your bread and mushrooms until they're teeny tiny pieces, then throw that in your bowl. Get out your bread pan (or whatever pan you use for meatloaf) and set it beside your bowl for easy transfer. Now, this next step is one of my other meatloaf secrets (along with the onion soup mix) and it is: mix everything together BY HAND. One hand holds the bowl and one hand mixes. Don't use a spoon or whatever, get your hand in there and get to work!
The benefit of this is that everything will incorporate together and get nice and meatloafy. You won't have big hunks of meat not mixed in or chunks of crackers sticking out of places. You don't want to cook it and it have the texture of a hamburger. Mixing it by hand makes it awesome-r. Mix it until you can mix no more. When you arm feels like it's going to pop out of your shoulder, it's ready.
Stick it in the pan, I start with about 30-45 depending on how thick it is, usually once the juice is clear and the edges start pulling away from the pan, you're good. I *try* not cut into it for at least 10 minutes after I take it out of the oven so it doesn't dry out. But if you're squiqqy about meat being completely cooked, slice into that bad boy and double check it.
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| I really thought those were olives at first... *Image* |
I do believe that's it! Maggi's Famous (to her husband) Meatloaf Recipe! Seriously, the onion soup mix adds all the seasoning you might need and the hand mixing takes care of the rest. Give it a try! :D
