Recipe: Old School Meatloaf

If you're like me, when you think of meatloaf your thoughts immediately go to adorable little Meat Wad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.  No?  A primer:



Oh, Meat Wad.

I prepared a meatloaf on the weekend to celebrate my sister's B-day.  Some of you may know her as @missmccrocodile.  Lenny knows her as Aunt Mo.

Aunt Mo is a meat and potatoes gal.  So for a Sunday afternoon lunch / belated birthday get together a blue plate special seemed like just the ticket.  My philosophy, when it comes to diner style comfort food, is to keep it simple and old school.  No truffle oil!

What you'll need:

1kg Extra Lean Ground Beef
1 pouch Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Ketchup (additional for garnish)
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F

2.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs.

3.  Add the onion soup mix, ketchup and bread crumbs.  Mix well.

4.  Add ground beef and mix well.  Use your hands, don't be shy.

5.  Shape your (ahem) meat wad into the shape of a loaf and set on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  I much prefer this method to stuffing the meat into a loaf pan because it allows a lot of the fat to drain off during the cooking process.

6.  Top the loaf off with a "glaze" of ketchup and pop in your preheated oven for 70 minutes.

7.  I added some fresh basil leaves to add a little colour.  Basil, of course goes great with tomatoes, so why not ketchup?

Old School Meatloaf, served alongside Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Verdict:

Just the ticket.  Make sure you serve with Mashed Potatoes.  The diner will revoke your hair net if you don't!  If I ever venture down the "meatloaf as a b-day meal" path again, I will attempt making them in the shape of cupcakes with mashed potato icing and chive sprinkles...

You can never have too many mashed potatoes.

Food photos courtesy Aunt Mo, our family photographer.  Check out her Flickr photostream here.