I’m always looking for recipes to try for dinner. I’ve eaten meatloaf quite a few times, but each time it was always okay. Mostly it was greasy from sitting in the greasy juice meatloaf always creates when it’s cooked.

I’ve been in the mood for meatloaf and have been searching for the perfect recipe. Most of the time when I get a craving for meat, mostly hamburgers or steak, it’s because my iron is low; I’m anemic and have been for many years. I don’t eat a lot of meat, especially red meat, but when I do eat red meat it’s usually twice a month.

Recently I found a recipe for meatloaf that I wanted to try. I substituted a few ingredients it was calling for a few ingredients of my own. After it was cook and cooled and I tried a bite I was amazed at how well I did. It was amazing! I loved it! I printed the recipe off of the computer and put it in one of the cookbooks I use often so that I will find it for a later meal.

Meatloaf

 

• 2 pounds ground beef, 85% to 90% lean
• 2 tablespoons grated onion (I didn’t put onion in mine)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup ketchup, plus more for topping
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
  
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme or sage (I used sage)

Preparation:

Combine the ground beef, grated onion, egg, garlic, oatmeal, milk, 1/4 cup of ketchup, ground mustard, salt, pepper, sage or thyme. Pack into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove and carefully pour off any excess grease. Spread ketchup over the top of the meatloaf and return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes longer.

I always like my grandma’s semi-mashed milk and butter potatoes with meatloaf. Just cut up a few large potatoes, boil them until soft, drain, then add a little milk and a couple of spoonfuls of butter and stir. You want it lumpy…unless you don’t like lumpy potatoes. But it’s suppose to have a creaminess to it with a few lumps of potatoes…hence the reason for it being called semi-mashed potatoes.