Old School Meatloaf

A few years ago, a very hungry (and handsome!) man came into my life...and he loved to eat. And while he loves to dine on fine foods and ethnic delights, there is also a special place in his heart for hearty meals of meat and potatoes.

Thus, I set out to find a delicious meatloaf recipe — one that even I could enjoy despite the fact that I've never craved meat in loaf form. It just doesn't sound tasty to me. I promise, however, that this recipe will not disappoint! And better yet, the recipe makes about 6 servings, so I split it into two loaves and pop one or both in the freezer...which means easy and delicious weeknight dinner!

This recipe is from Sara Moulten (she used to be on the Food Network) — I tried to find the recipe online but couldn't find the same one. I made some adjustments to the original recipe and included them in my version below.

Meatloaf Recipe (about 6 servings)

Meatloaf ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. hot sauce (use more if you like a little zip!)
1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
Salt & pepper
1 lb. ground beef (as lean as possible)
1/2 lb. ground veal
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Glaze ingredients:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat oil in a skillet. Add onions and garlic and cook (sweat, don't brown) until softened (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool.
• In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and hot sauce together. Add thyme and some salt and pepper.
• In a large bowl, combine meats, egg mixture, bread crumbs, parsley, and cooked onion mixture. Mix with your hands (it really is the best way to do it) until blended. Be sure not to over-mix, which might make the meat tough.
• Use cooking spray on your loaf pan(s) and divide the meat between them if you're using more than one. In a small bowl, make glaze by combining ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar. Brush half of the glaze onto meatloaf.
• Bake in oven for 45 minutes. Brush loaf again with remaining glaze, and bake for 15 minutes more to 165 degrees.

Now, if you're freezing a loaf or two, put the meat into a sprayed loaf pan, cover with foil, and put in a freezer bag. The night before you'd like to enjoy your delicious meatloaf, take it out of the freezer and stick it in the fridge. Around dinnertime, make your glaze and follow the baking instructions above (keep in mind that if you made this recipe into two loaves, you'll only need half of the glaze ingredients).