For those of who not in the practice of reading backwards, that’s:
Recipe Swap: Backwards Edition
This is the edition where you confess your culinary catastrophes (cannot… control… alliteration…) in hopes someone out there can set you straight.
Simply blog your desperate plea, link it below to Mr. Linky and hopefully someone will google “Paws : Noitide Sdrawkcab,” find your plight, and come to your rescue.
So. My confession. Here it is. For the whole blogging world. I’ll just spit it right out there. No stalling. None whatsoever.
Ahem.
I… cannot… make… meatloaf.
I love meatloaf. It seems easy enough. (Except for the fondling of raw meat.)
(But I can get past that. Because meatloaf is so tasty!)
Just not mine. Mine always ends up swimming in a pool of grease (and, yes, I’ve tried lean beef; to no avail). It doesn’t have the right consistency. And it’s swimming in a pool of grease. And it’s greasy. And it falls apart because, well, of all the grease.
To be fair, I haven’t tried this dish in a few years. Because I’m not fond of throwing out food that a) I spent time on and b) I spent money on.
So what I need right now from you is your fool-proof, fail-safe meatloaf recipe. Something you’ve made a thousand times – perfectly every time. AND you have the recipe written down in explicitly detailed form. So that I cannot mess this up in any way. It must be impossible to goof. This is the only way I can gather enough courage to try this meal again.
Because my meatloaf confidence is shattered. I have low meatloaf-esteem.
Please help.
(You can either leave your recipe in the comments, or blog it and link it in the comments. But please don’t link it in Mr. Linky. Please reserve that for other requests for recipe help.)
Next week on Recipe Swap – Desserts: Summer Edition. I need me some dessert recipes that don’t call for a 350 degree kitchen, thankyouverymuch. See you then!
my meatloaf recipe is here: http://kitchensunflowers.blogspot.com/2007/03/easy-meatloaf.html
my meatloaf recipe – often, I’ll make this in 2 lumps rather than one loaf, and freeze one of the lumps, to avoid eating meatloaf sandwiches for a week afterwards.
I apologize if this appears twice. My first comment didn’t seem to work
Meatloaf
1 pound ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper (or more if you like it like we do!)
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Shape into a loaf.
Spray bottom of loaf pan with vegetable spray. Place meatloaf in the dish and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
I hope this works out for you! I you 80/20 ground beef and it always comes out great. You can make meatballs with this recipe too. Bake on a baking sheet for 25 minutes at 350. (Will make about 20 meatballs).
2 eggs
3/4th Cup milk
2 C soft bread (broken into small pieces, sometimes I use some oatmeal or cracker crumbs if I don’t have enough bread…)
1/4 C finely chopped onion
2 Tbs parcely
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sage, basil or oregano
1/8th tsp pepper
1.5 lbs Ground beef.
Heat oven to 350, cook for 1-11/4 hour (internal temp of 160)
Then I always drain the grease off, and mix
1/4 C ketchup
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
Spread that on top and cook for 10 more minutes. YUM.
mine stays together… hope it helps. if nothing else you’ll end up with 900 meat loaf recipes to try right?
okay, natural mommy…i am not trying to disrespect other meatloaf recipes…but as a meatloaf lover…the one i just added to mr linky is the best one i have ever made…and it comes out right every time. family loves it! good luck…and let me know if it doesn’t work out…maybe i can help!
amanda
No meatloaf recipe here – just a tip. Paula Deen ( The Queen Mother of All Things Deliciously Tasty) always puts a piece or two of bread in the bottom of her meatloaf pan just to soak up any of that extra grease. I’ve not done it personally, but my mom does and says it works like a champ. She also has extremely tasty meatloaf! HTH
Try Ex-Pat’s recipe. Or at least some version of it. I did it without some of the ingredients, substituted a few others, and it was great. I used tomato sauce and ketchup, and dried herbs instead of fresh. And oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs. And I halved the recipe.
But I can’t do meatloaf in muffin tins. They always (ALWAYS!) end up burned.
http://expatriateskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/10/national-meatloaf-day.html
Its in our DNA, Beth. I have never been able to make meatloaf, either. But I am paying attention to the recipes you are getting!!
MOM
I agree with the Paula Deen tip. I have tried before and it works. put a piece or two of white bread in the bottom of a loaf pan and cook your meatloaf in that. The really hard part is trying not to gag when you have to peel off the greasy bread…. ugh…. but at least it’s better off in the trash than in your body!
Aaack! I thought I posted mine this morning and only now realized that I never hit “enter” on your Mr. Linky. bummer. Well, I hope you see it regardless.
Ok, who is going to come give me some white bean love? COME ON I NEED SOME WHITE BEAN RECIPES! 😉
I had the same problem with meatloaf when I first tried to make them. I bought one of those pans that have two parts: it’s a smaller loaf pan (with holes on the bottom to drain grease) that fits into another loaf pan.
It’s a great gadget!! Alton Brown wrote a great article about meatloaf making:
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/06/05/Taste/The_method_to_this_me.shtml
I hope you enjoy it!!