World’s Best Meatloaf…thanks to Aunt Margaret!

Meatloaf is one of those foods that can be warm and comforting after a long day…or it can be a dry, tasteless brick of meat masked in ketchup…this my friends, is not the latter.  I’ve made a few meatloaf varieties in my day, and this one was definitely the moistest, most flavorful loaf of meat by far…and it’s all thanks to Gus’ Aunt Margaret!  My best friend, Niki, thought of one of the most original bridal shower gifts when I was getting married and gifted me with a recipe book filled with favorite recipes from our family and friends.  Sure, we’ve been married for going on two years and I still have pages of recipes to try out from that book, but I love making one and being able to report back to the author on how delicious it was!  Thankfully we haven’t had any duds yet…not that I would tell anyone anyways!  This meatloaf one is a guaranteed winner though…  especially when you pair it with my quick and easy Smashed Potatoes recipe.  It doesn’t get much more comforting than that…unless you happen to enjoy this dinner in flannel pajama pants like we did (elastic waistbands are a requirement for a meal like this). 

 

 

World’s Best Meatloaf, courtesy of Aunt Margaret

• 1 slice White Bread
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/8 tsp. Pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Sage
• 1/4 tsp. Dry Mustard
• 1/4 tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire
• 1/4 cup Chili Sauce
• 1 lb. Ground Beef (or Ground Turkey if you’re in my house)

Topping

• 3 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Chili Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 tsp. Dry Mustard

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Break the slice of white bread into small pieces and pour the milk over it. 
2. Mix the moistened bread with salt, pepper, sage, dry mustard, seasoned salt, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and chili sauce.  Add the ground meat to the mixture and mix well with your hands.  (be sure to remove your rings…no one likes meat bits in their bling)
3. Grease a loaf pan and pack the pan with the meatloaf mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 
4. Mix all topping ingredients together and drain the grease off the loaf before coating with the topping.  Bake for an additional 30 minutes.  Slice and serve with Smashed Potatoes below or some other comforting carb. 

 

Quick and Easy Smashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs Small Red Potatoes, halved
• 8 tbsp. Butter, melted
• 1 cup Heavy Cream, hot (if you’re really naughty…if you’re not so naughty then use Half & Half…if you’re angelic then use 2% milk)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

 

1. Cover the potatoes by 1 inch of water in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until potatoes are fork tender. 
2. Drain the potatoes in a colander and wipe the saucepan dry.  Add the potatoes back to the pot and mash to a uniform consistency (slightly rough mash for this type of potatoes…not too much mashing or you’ll be eating a gummy mess).
3. Fold in the melted butter until just incorporated.  Fold in 3/4 cup of hot heavy cream, adding the remaining 1/4 cup as needed to achieve the best consistency.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Beef: It’s what’s for dinner…at least for Gus.

If you know me, you know that I just don’t enjoy the taste of red meat.  I don’t feel bad for cows or anything…I just don’t care for the taste of them.  My husband, on the other hand, loves his beef.  He has compromised his love and will tolerate my substituition of ground turkey in many dishes, but his favorite meal is Pot Roast…or “Beef Stew”, as he prefers to call it.  The dish is not very stew like, so I refuse to call it that, but he knows the dish as “Beef Stew” from his childhood, so we agree to disagree on the name.  It is a very easy dish to prepare, which is great for me since I usually end up making another beef-free dinner the same night so I don’t end up with cereal for dinner.  It’s also really easy to prepare it in the morning before leaving for work and then you come home to a dinner that’s almost done.  It’s a great Fall or Winter meal, but my husband loves it so much that he requests it in August, so clearly you don’t have to play by the rules.  My version is a little heavy on the carrots since that’s how Gus prefers it, but you could really get away with 1 bag.  I also use baby carrots because 1.) they are sweeter and 2.) no prep work.  This recipe makes about 5-6 hefty portions and it freezes well. 

 

 

Pot Roast (or Beef Stew, if your name is Gus)

• 3 lb. Chuck Roast
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• Salt/Pepper/Garlic to taste
• 1 bag Petite Yukon Gold Potatoes, chopped
• 2 bags Baby Carrots
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 packet Onion Soup Mix
• Half a can of Beef Broth
• Few teaspoons of flour or cornstarch to make Gravy

 

1. Take the chuck roast and season with salt/pepper/garlic to taste.  Coat a large skillet with butter and brown the meat on all sides over medium-high heat.
2. In a large bowl, coat the carrots, onions, and potatoes in 3/4 of the onion soup mix.
3. Place the meat in the slow cooker and sprinkle the remaining soup mix over the beef.  Add the beef broth, carrots, onions, and potatoes.
4. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours. 
5. When done, remove all beef and veggies to a serving bowl.  Turn the slow cooker on the high setting and using the remaining liquid, whisk in a teaspoon at a time of flour/cornstarch to thicken it into gravy.  Once it’s thickened, pour over beef and veggies.