Little Ivy Cakes

MEAT LOAF

I am sure everyone has their own personal favorite when it comes to a meat loaf recipe but, I made this simple recipe for dinner last night and it turned out really delicious. Perfect for a drizzly autumn night. It did take an hour and 20 minutes to bake but, it was well worth the wait.

Here are some meat loaf tips:
-Use freshly ground meat. A lot of recipes use different kinds of ground meat too such as pork, veal, or turkey. If you don't have them all, it's OK, I used all 85% lean beef and it turned out great.
-Mix with love and tenderness. :) I mean, don't over mix otherwise your loaf may lose it's form and not be as tender.
-Create a thick ketchup layer on top for baking. It's yummy and turns out pretty.
-Bake slowly with patience. Isn't all meat better off when slowly cooked.
-Serve with mashed potatoes. :)

Meat Loaf
Serves about 4
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 larger size shallot, chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 cups seasoned stuffing cubes
1/4 and 1 Tbs. Milk
2 lbs. ground beef
8 oz. can plain tomato sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbs steak seasoning, I use McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 Tsp. each of freshly ground pepper and salt or just eye-ball it
1 cup ketchup

-Preheat oven to 350F and have your oven rack in the middle of the oven.
-In a large frying pan saute onion, celery and garlic in olive oil on med-high heat until tender 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

-In the food processor, break down your stuffing cubes unto tiny crumbs.

- In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk, stir until blended and let stand for a couple minutes.

-Add the onion/celery mixture to the bread mixture and stir until blended well.
-Add the meat, tomato sauce, egg, salt and pepper, and steak seasoning. Fold together gently until blended. Remember don't knead too much!
-Transfer the mixture to a 2 1/2-lb. loaf pan or what I did was shape a loaf on a larger baking dish. I pressed in the top of the loaf a little to cup the ketchup and prevent it from slipping off the top when baking.

-Spread the ketchup evenly over the top in a thick layer. Bake until temp reads 165F in the center of the loaf, about 1 1/2 hours.
-Slice 1 1/2 inch pieces and serve.

Mashed Potatoes (make while meat loaf is in the oven)

-3 big Russet potatoes that have been cut in 1-2 inch round slices and then cut in half.
-Boil in pot of water with 1 cup milk.
-Strain and mix in a stainless steel bowl with an electric mixer with the below ingredients until fluffy
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper
Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream or greek style plain yogurt
-Cover bowl with aluminum foil and put in oven for the last 15-20 minutes that you have your meatloaf baking. I love putting mashed potatoes in the oven because it gives them a light and fluffy texture.

If you try these recipes, I hope you enjoy!
THE END!