I made a meatloaf Sunday, and it was all right. I wanted to jot down some notes for myself for later.
Meatloaf has been one of my eternal struggles. I want to know how to make a delicious one. I have for years. In the past, my meatloaves have always been fairly disasterous, ones you could eat with a spoon. With the last few (and the correct recipes, supplied as a stocking stuffer from my Moms last Christmas), I have at least gotten the structural challenges down. Now I’m not sure the flavor is what it needs to be.
Here’s the recipe I used.
1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 pound low-fat bulk sausage*
Two smallish eggs
1 small onion, chopped
One Grated Carrot
2 tablespoons ketchup
3/4 cup oatmeal
Salt and pepper to taste.
(I think I also threw in some watered steak sauce from a near-empty bottle.)
Combine all this gunk. Make into a large ball, plop it on a tray or some junk, bake for 80 to 90 minutes at 325, then check with a meat thermometer and continue baking when it says it’s not done yet.
The only thing I might change is the pork used. I did not use a sausage but a normal ground pork. A sausage would have added more yowsa, which is something I tend to like a lot of. I also wonder if some of my magickal poy roast seasoning would have added something something something.
I also made a macarooni and cheese, one sunday and one today. Today’s was far better. Here’s what I did this evening.
| One Cup of Canned Milk 1/2 cup of water 1 cup of diced colby cheese with a few slices of American cheese 1 1/2 T butter 1 1/2 soft bread slices, cubed 2 T diced onion 2 T diced celery 1/2 t. salt dash pepper (fresh-ground) 2 beaten eggs 2 C. of macarooni, (whole wheat!) cooked (this means I measured 2 Cups DRY and then cooked it.) In a saucepan, combine milk, water, cheese, butter, bring to a boil stirring constanly. When cheese melts, remove from heat. Stir in bread cubes, onion, salt, pepper. Fold in eggs and macarooni and stir the whole mess until it’s goosh. Spoon into a greased baking dish, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then forget it’s in the oven for 15 minutes after that, then yank it out. I did change the proportions up a little from Sunday, but I think the difference was the dish. I had used a comparatively shallow baking dish Sunday. Today I used a deeper one. That seemed to make for more yummy. I might next time consider baking the thing covered, though some might consider that blasphemy. But I am trying to work with whole wheat elbows here, which will crunch up more in baking. I think a cover might be a good thing. I would also consider a more interesting cheese, like a sharp cheddar, than colby, for, yes, yowsa. Otherwise, this basic recipe is very good. |