Classic Meatloaf
Meatloaf Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- 1/4 Red Onion
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 3/4 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Rosemary
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
Sauce Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Ketchup
- 1/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ Sauce
- 1½ tsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Yellow Mustard
- 3 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatloaf. Mix well, but do not overwork.
- Add meat to the pan and lightly press down to a even shape and top. Additionally, you can press your fingers in slightly to create 16 half-a-nail deep holes (4 hole rows, 4 columns).
- Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove and drizzle sauce over top, then return to oven for 20 minutes.
- Check if internal temperature is at least 160°F before removing from oven. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Top with parsley after slicing.
Not your mom’s meatloaf…
It’s actually my mom’s. Kinda. I changed a little bit of the quantities, but remember, she doesn’t measure ANYTHING.
This woman is in tune with the baking/cooking ancestors. “That’s enough flour.” “That’s enough rosemary.” “Good, my child. This recipe is acceptable.”
I’m still trying to get there, but some days I get in tune and then we eat and I’m like ??? Why didn’t I write This DOWN?! That’s how good the food ends up tasting. So if you’re hearing your of-color-ancestors when cooking, you might wanna listen.
Because when my mom made this for my siblings and I, I’m not gonna front. It smacked. I never understood the trope on TV shows and cartoons when a parent would make meatloaf and it was considered disgusting and the recurring disaster dish that the family would fake satisfaction for the sake of the house’s chef. Never got it.
My mom’s tasted great! That, and she served it with mac and cheese (something I haven’t perfected yet so you’ll all have to wait on that recipe) and salad. It was a balanced meal in my opinion and something we loved eating and never complained about.
The sauce is the real star of the show. It has to be the ketchup and soy sauce together because when I’ve eat other’s meatloafs, it wasn’t quite there. And that’s okay! “It just needs, a little shaping. To the salon!”
So when you make this and you say, “I love it~”, you’ll know how we felt on those Thursday evenings after long days of school. This being made in the kitchen was a sure fire way to rounding out our week before pizza night.
I’ve never made too much meatloaf either. This recipe works for a lot of people in different ways. For a family of six, it fed everybody the slice they needed. For a family of two, it was a good first and seconds plate and then one day of leftovers.
Serve this, like my mom, with Mac and Cheese and romaine salad topped with Italian or Ranch dressing. Or like me, with mixed veggies and a slice of toasted cheese bread.
There’s plenty of combinations to choose from because it’s a pretty versatile dish. Choose a starch and vegetable and you’re good to go in my opinion. Some options could even be mashed potatoes, yams, orzo or brown rice. And then have corn on the cobb, asparagus, pan seared fresh green beans or coleslaw as an addition.
I’m a big fan, as you can tell. So trust me when I say, this is not your mom’s meatloaf.
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