Meatloaf

I think meatloaf is just one of those foods that everyone thinks they have the perfect recipe for. Every family has their own recipe that is passed down from generation to generation. Family members feel that their recipe is superior to others because that's what they're used to, that's the kind of meatloaf they've eaten their entire life. My recipe came from my mother-in-law and Brad is very fond of it. Meatloaf is a comfort food and this is the recipe he's comfortable with. Why mess with success?

The truth is, I don't think recipes for meatloaf vary much. It's raw meat and a bunch of other random ingredients all mixed up together. Easy and cheap to make, it seems to be a staple in most households.

Meatloaf reminds me of an episode of one of my favorite shows, Roseanne. In one episode, Roseanne takes Darlene's home ec class to the grocery store to teach them about shopping on a budget. They are buying the ingredients for meatloaf.

Roseanne: Now we need corn flakes, they are the most important part of this meal.
Student: Why's that?
Roseanne: Well how else do you think we're going to turn 2 pounds of ground round into 11 pounds of mouth watering meatloaf?

As a lifelong vegetarian, meatloaf is one of the nastiest foods I've ever prepared. There's something about ground beef that grosses me out in the first place. So having to take my hands and mix the nasty raw meat up with the other ingredients? The texture is disgusting and I honestly have no idea what part of the cow the meat comes from. It's not very enjoyable but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Keep in mind that I've scaled down our recipe so it's only a few servings, since Brad is the only one eating the meatloaf. If you have more mouths to feed, try doubling or tripling this recipe.

Meatloaf

• 1 cup ketchup
• 4 tbsps brown sugar
• 1 tsp mustard

Combine and set aside 1/2 cup of mixture for topping at the end.

To that, add:

• 1 beaten egg
• 2 tsps. worcestershire (I still haven't mastered pronouncing this yet) sauce
• 1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 tsps. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 lb beef

Shape into individual loaves. Brush remainder of ketchup mixture on loaves.

Spray bakeware with cooking spray and place on there. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

I served ours last night with green beans sauteed with vegetarian bacon and mashed potatoes. I actually forgot to include the ketchup/brown sugar/mustard in the meat mixture, I only put it on top of the loaves. Brad said it just made the meatloaf a little dry and it was still good. Oops! Don't be like me and forget this step.

Fellow vegetarians: Replace the ground beef for a 1 lb bag of Morningstar ground crumbles, found in the freezer section. Yum!

Up for Friday: Steak quesadillas!