Triple Decker Meat Loaf

This is a recipe that came from Barb Freda of the Laura's Lean Beef website.  Barb Freda, the chef who created this recipe says that it reminds her of a colorful vegetable terrine.  I agree.  While I really enjoyed eating this meat loaf, I thought it was the most difficult meat loaf I ever made.  This meat loaf also got rave reviews from the boys so it was worth the effort.  I would make a few changes in the recipe next time I make it.  First, I would use egg substitute instead of whole eggs just to reduce the amount of fat in the meat loaf.  I don't think it would make much of a difference in the taste of the loaf.  I would also reduce the amount of onion to half an onion, finely chopped because my boys don't like onion very much.  The last change I think would be a good idea would be to substitute tomato paste for the sun-dried tomatoes.  My husband doesn't like sun-dried tomatoes but he did like them in this recipe.  My reasoning for the substitution is to reduce the amount of chopping here.  Enough is enough.  I would not suggest trying to make this unless you have some serious time available to cook on the day you choose to make it.  I served this meat loaf with mashed sweet potatoes.

Triple Decker Meat Loaf

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 pound 92% lean ground beef

10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup chopped onion)

3 eggs

4 ounces bread softened in water and squeezed dry

5 ounces frozen carrots, thawed and steamed until soft (about 7 minutes)

1 pound ground chicken

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes drained of oil

Directions:

1.      Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place beef in a large bowl.  Add spinach, ½ cup chopped onion, 1 egg and half the softened bread.  Mix well, using your hands to work spinach through the beef thoroughly.

2.      Use blender or stick blender to puree the cooked carrots to a smooth paste.  Divide the chicken in half, and in one bowl, mix half the chicken with the carrot puree, ¼ cup onion, 1 egg and ¼ of the softened bread.  Mix very well.

3.      Puree the sun-dried tomatoes, and add them to remaining chicken along with the remaining onion, 1 egg and remaining bread.  Mix well.

4.      Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Pat the sun-dried tomato mixture into a rectangle about 10 inches long and 6 inches wide.  Gently top that layer with the beef, patting it to the edges of the chicken layer below it.  Top the beef with the carrot/chicken mixture, gently patting this layer to cover the beef layer.

5.      Carefully start patting the loaf layers into a longer and thinner rectangle, ending with something about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide.

6.      Bake meat loaf about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing into 16 slices, 2 slices per serving.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Servings: 4 

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add potatoes and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

2.  With an electric mixer on low, blend potatoes, slowly adding milk, about 1/4 a cup at a time.  Using more or less to achieve the desired texture.  Add butter and maple syrup, to taste.  Blend until smooth.  Serve warm.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Beef and Sausage Meat Loaf with Mozzarella

This is an excellent meat loaf recipe that comes from Mario Batali's father.  It is definitely the most "Italian" meat loaf I have ever made or eaten.  Here is a quote from Armandino Batali that was posted on the Bon Appetit website:  Armandino Batali of Salumi in Seattle, writes:  “My son, Mario Batali, may be the most recognizable foodie in the family, but the Batalis’ interest in Italian cooking and culture goes back generations.  My grandfather opened Seattle’s first Italian-food import store in 1903.  It was located just a few steps from where my restaurant, Salumi, is now, and it’s one of the things that inspired me to get into the business."

“The idea behind Salumi was to create a restaurant, deli, and meat factory in one place, just like the salumerias in Italy.  We’re known for homemade sausages and salami, but we also attract a large lunchtime crowd.  Some of the specials, like the meat loaf and frittata, have been in our family for years.  They’re also easy to make at home.”

This Italian-inspired version is filled with sausage, mozzarella cheese, and basil.  This recipe is a winner.  It is makes a LOT of meat loaf.  Thank you to Mario Batali's dad for this recipe!

Beef and Sausage Meat Loaf with Mozzarella

Bon Appetit  ~ September 2004

By Armandino Batali

Salumi, Seattle, WA

Yield:  8 Servings

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef (15 % fat)

1 pound coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese

1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed, meat crumbled

2 cups chopped fresh basil

2 cups fresh bread crumbs made from crustless French bread

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

5 garlic cloves, chopped

1-1/2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup tomato sauce, divided

3 large eggs, beaten to blend

½ cup dry red wine

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine first 11 ingredients in large bowl.  Gently mix in ½ cup tomato sauce, eggs, and wine.  Place meat mixture on large rimmed baking sheet and shape into 16 x 4-inch loaf (I used two 8 x 5 inch loaf pans).  Brush with remaining ½ cup tomato sauce.  Bake meat loaf until cooked through and thermometer inserted into center registers between 160 degrees and 170 degrees F, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

This is a delicious, different recipe for meatloaf.  It really tastes like a cheeseburger!  If you love meatloaf but are tired of the same old recipe, try this.  I cooked the onions before putting them into the meatloaf.  My husband and son don't like onions much. 

CHEESEBURGER MEATLOAF
Servings:  8

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced onion
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.  In a large bowl, combine the beef, bread crumbs, onion, eggs, salt and pepper, and mix well.  Pat out meat mixture into a 14 x 18 inch rectangle on a piece of wax paper.  Spread cheese over the meat, leaving a 3/4 inch border around the edges.  Roll up jelly roll fashion to enclose the filling and form a pinwheel loaf.  Press beef in on both ends to enclose the cheese.  Place in a 10 x 15 inch baking dish.

3.  Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Classic Meatloaf

It is hard to wax poetic about meatloaf. Why am I making meatloaf in the middle of July anyway? The answer to that question lies in the fact that D is coming home from a week at Boy Scout Camp at Cedarlands in Long Lake, New York today. He asked me to make meatloaf for him before he left. He could have asked for Filet Mignon or lobster and somehow I would have made it for him after this long sad crazy week. I'll first have to explain the sad and crazy part of my week before I get to the recipe. Sorry, that's the way it goes.

B and I dropped D off at the VFW hall at 4:45 am on Sunday morning (the meeting place for his scout troop). Everything went well. I didn't cry too much. At least not so he could see me. Afterwards, B and I went out to breakfast and then on to BWI airport to leave for our trip to Greensboro, North Carolina. B knew that I would never be able to stay home without him or D being around. I would have gone stir crazy. B had to go on an important business trip that he couldn't reschedule so he decided it would be best if I joined him. I have to admit that I was a bit excited about seeing Greensboro even though I've been told that I wasn't missing much. In any event, B and I were sitting at the gate waiting for our plane to arrive when I got a phone call from my sister. I had talked to her earlier in the morning when she told me that she and her husband were taking my dad to the hospital. He had fallen in the back yard the night before and he wasn't doing well. I took her second call just at the moment our plane was called for boarding. My sister said, "Dad isn't going to make it. Come or stay, it is up to you." Well, what would you have done? I could not in good conscience get on a plane to fly anywhere knowing that my dad was probably going to die that day! Needless to say, B and I went up to the counter and told them of our situation and that we wouldn't be boarding the plane. Our bags would still have to go to Raleigh but at that point I really didn't care. We got on the mini bus to take us back to our car and my sister called again and talked exclusively to B. I was sure she was telling him that dad had died. They talked for quite a few minutes. I cried throughout. Finally, once B got off the phone with my sister he told me that dad's pulse had gotten down as low as 10 or 12 and he had come back!! He was essentially dead without a pulse and no vital signs at all. They put in a temporary pacemaker and he came back to us! I am completely amazed. I didn't mention that he is 89 years young! What a guy. He is home now and has a permanent pacemaker. I saw him yesterday and he was walking around and chatting like nothing had happened at all.

The only good thing about this whole nightmare is that I couldn't spend much time worrying about D being so far away at scout camp. I did keep thinking that he would be devastated if his grandpa died while he was away at camp. Fortunately, that didn't happen. And we finally got our bags back on Monday night!

The next crazy thing that happened on Tuesday night during a storm. My mom and I (she stayed with me a few days while dad was in the hospital) heard a huge bang. It sounded like it could have been dynamite. We found out the next day that my house had been hit by lightening. It fried our Internet and cable service as well as one of our garage door openers. We finally got our Internet and cable fixed yesterday. Just in time for D to get home! Now if we could only get our garage door openers replaced....

It is finally time for me to get to the recipe. I wasn't at all faithful to the recipe but I know that meatloaf is a very forgiving food. I substituted Italian chicken sausage for the pork sausage. I had no celery so I used celery seed and flakes. I also substituted dried parsley for fresh. My boys don't care for onion so I used minced onion instead. What else did I change? I used liquid egg substitute instead of eggs because I had a carton of it open in my fridge and needed to use it. I really did use fresh breadcrumbs because I still have some in my freezer. I also used the suggestion to put in half a teaspoon of hot sauce if you didn't use spicy ground pork or Italian sausage. I would have added some fennel seed but I had none in my spice closet. I also used organic Worcestershire sauce because I always do.

The simply recipes website gave another good tip: try 1/3 ground pork, 1/3 ground veal and 1/3 ground beef when making meatloaf. You can sometimes find this combo in the grocery store but probably not in the middle of summer.

Classic Meatloaf Recipe

from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/
Preparation time: 20 minutes to prep, 1 hour to cook.


Ingredients
1 cup of finely chopped onion
1 celery rib, chopped fine
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 carrot, chopped fine
1/2 cup of finely chopped scallions (can substitute onion)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 teaspoon salt (use 1 1/2 teaspoons if using Italian sausage)
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds of ground chuck
3/4 pound of spicy ground pork sausage or Italian sausage (a mix of sweet and hot if you are using links)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten slightly
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves


Method


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


2. In a large heavy skillet cook the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and scallions in butter, over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Cover the skillet and stir occasionally until the carrots are tender, about 5 more minutes. Stir in salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 a cup of ketchup. Cook for 1 more minute.


3. In a large bowl, combine the meats, eggs, vegetables, bread crumbs, and parsley. Form into a loaf and put into a rectangular baking pan with 2-inch high sides. Cover the loaf with remaining ketchup.


4. Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour.


Serves 4 to 6, with plenty for leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches.



I usually serve meatloaf with mashed potatoes but since it is July, I think I'm making corn on the cob instead!



Enjoy!



The Creative Cook

Mini Meat Loaves

I made another kid-friendly dinner last week. It went over well with my family. I liked the idea of these little meat loaves because they are loaded with spinach. I don't know about your family, but my son doesn't ever request spinach (or any vegetable for that matter) for dinner, so any way that I can get him to eat it without complaints, I'm gonna do it! I also like the serving suggestion of a side-dish of broccoli. The recipe came from the May 6, 2008 issue of Woman's Day. Yes, I had it sitting around for quite a while but I'm glad I finally tried it. The magazine says that they cut the calories from 376 for regular meat loaf down to 257 for this new version. I say, try it you might like it.

Mini Meat Loaves
Serves 6

3 slices whole-grain bread
1lb ground turkey
1/2 lb lean ground beef
Whites from 2 large eggs
2 Tbsp minced dried onion flakes
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp each garlic powder and salt
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
6 Tsp ketchup, divided

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. You'll need a rimmed baking sheet lined with nonstick foil.

2. Tear bread into food processor. Pulse to make course crumbs. Add remaining ingredients and 2 Tbsp of the ketchup. Pulse just until blended. Form into 6 loaves (5 x 2-1/2 in. each, about 1 scant cup per loaf) on a lined pan.

3. Evenly spread tops with remaining 4 Tbsp ketchup. Bake 20 minutes until cooked through and instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Per serving: 257 cal. 27 g. pro, 13 g car, 2 g fiber, 11 g fat (3 g sat. fat), 78 mg chol, 473 mg sod.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook