Meatloaf

Several weeks ago, my dad turned 70. If you don't know our family and if you haven't read about our living situation, I'll just briefly mention that we're blessed to live in my parents' old home (the house in which I grew up), and my parents live right down the hill from our house. Consequently, they come for dinner almost every evening. My dad's birthday was no exception; and as I thought about what to make for such a special occasion, I settled on meatloaf.

Meatloaf isn't grand, I know; but it is good and hearty and filling and can be moist and delicious and it is a favorite of my dad's (although he likes everything...except avocado...but he'll even eat that uncomplainingly if it's served to him), but I rarely remember to make it! On the night of his birthday, I used a recipe for Pot Roast Meat Loaf from Country Home Cooking by Marjorie Rohrer; but I made two changes to it so that I could combine my three favorite meatloaf features. Here is the original recipe:

What You Need

1 lb. ground beef

2/3 c. canned milk

1/3 c. cracker crumbs

1/4 c. ketchup

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3 potatoes

3 onions

3 carrots

What You Do

Mix first seven ingredients together in a bowl. Shape into a loaf. Place in center of a 9 x 13 pan. Wash potatoes, onions, and carrots; and chop into chunks. Place veggies around meat in pan. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and parsley. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 1 hour at 375 degrees. Uncover and bake 20 more minutes to brown meat.

I used this recipe because it included one of my favorite parts of a good meatloaf: the veggies around the edges that absorb the grease :) and all the yummy flavor. But there were two more things I wanted to do with it. One was to include a layer of cheese in the middle of the meatloaf; that's how I remember my mother making it--almost like a cheeseburger meatloaf--so as I put the meat mixture into the baking pan, I simply put half down, added some cheese on top, then placed the rest of the meat mixture on top of that. The third aspect of a delicious meatloaf, in my opinion, is a ketchup-based topping, so I mixed 1 cup ketchup, 2 tsp. mustard, and 2 tbsp. brown sugar, then spread that over the top of the meat. And then, finally, it was ready to bake, with all three of my favorites included. :)

Happy loafing!

I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.

~ Madam Benoit