We all can remember coming home from a long day at school and being welcomed by the smell of mom's meatloaf in the oven. Meatloaf and savory mashed potatoes is an iconic comfort meal. Now, you can learn how to make meatloaf with this simple meatloaf recipe!
Choosing the Meat
While the classic recipe for meatloaf calls for ground beef, there are no limitations on the type of meat you can use. If you want to get a little fancy, you can even mix the type of meats to give your loaf a unique flavor and texture. One thing for certain is that you should use meat that has fat. Using lean ground meat will give you a dry and unappetizing meatloaf. If you want to limit the amount of fat in your meatloaf, stick to meat that is 80 to 85% lean.
Adding Veggies
Tossing in some diced veggies will make your meatloaf even more flavorful. You are free to add any type of crunchy veggie including celery, carrots, bell peppers and even mushrooms. Since vegetables are high in vitamins and minerals, they also increase the meatloaf's nutritional value.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, turkey, pork, or lamb
- 1 egg
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup dried bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup of ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Using a cutting board and knife or food processor, finely chop the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and celery stalk.
- Then, in a large bowl, combine ground meat, veggies, milk, egg, crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried parsley. Use your hands to work the meat and blend the ingredients--don't be scared to get your hands a little dirty!
- Next, grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan and place beef mixture in the pan. If you don't have a loaf pan, you can form the meat into a loaf, using your crafting skills, and place on a greased baking sheet.
- For the glaze, combine brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl. Pour the mixture over meatloaf.
- Bake meatloaf for 1 hour.
- Let it cool for 8-10 minutes before serving, or else it will fall apart and be crumbly.