by Elizabeth Dengler, The Huckleberry Home
There’s no school like the old school and this classic Betty Crocker meatloaf recipe has been a go-to in my family for years. I made this for dinner when my mom was up for a visit years ago and she raved about how good my meatloaf was. Now, there are many things I forget, but I never really forget anytime my mother raves about something I make. I shared that I just follow the recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook and voila, tasty meatloaf.
I’ve learned a few things to make prep easy on myself: I go to the butcher counter and ask for 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef, that way I don’t have to open up and weigh prepackaged meat on my kitchen scale and then manage the oddly unused ground beef portion. Also, I add the ground beef to my mixing bowl, break it up with a fork, and pour the milk on top. Then, I let the beef set for about 10 minutes in the milk. The milk breaks down the beef which means I can mix the ingredients with the beef using just a fork instead of my hands.
I use an 80/20 ground beef but extra lean will work. You can even try a mixture of ground beef and ground pork or turkey. I’m an all beef meatloaf gal so let me know how it tastes if you mix up your meats.
I serve this up with, you guessed it, mashed potatoes. I also do up a side salad and stewed apples or applesauce. There are so many great side options with meatloaf you really can’t go wrong with your starch and veggie options.
I hope you enjoy this classic dish as much as my family does.
Meat Loaf
from Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook 8th edition
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup milk
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground, dry mustard
1/4 t ground pepper
1/8 t garlic powder
1 large egg
1/2 C dry, unseasoned bread crumbs
1 small yellow onion finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 C ketchup
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Mix all ingredients except ketchup. Spread mixture in ungreased loaf pan, (use your large loaf pan, not a mini pan). Spread ketchup over top.
Bake uncovered for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until thermometer reads 160 degrees. (Cook to 170 degrees if ground pork is used and 180 degrees if ground turkey is used)
Let stand 5 minutes, remove from pan, slice and serve.
