Mom's Meat Loaf (Eric's Favorite)

Date Prepared: 01/02/11

Source: How We Became 1 (ISBN 978-0-9820548-0-2), pp.225, copyright 2008

*Recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 Cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 Cup chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all of the ingredients together and press into a glass loaf pan. Top with ketchup and let set overnight in the refrigerator. Back at 350 [degrees] for 1 hour and let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Prep. time: 15 minutes plus overnight chilling
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
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Difficulty: Easy - This recipe is as straightforward as it can get. Throw everything in a bowl and mix it up really well. Quick enough to make but takes a little longer to bake.

Accessibility: Common - The ingredients for this preparation are few and should be readily available at your basic grocery store. No special technique(s) or tools are required.

Visual Appeal: The finished product is meat loaf, which is difficult to make entirely appealing to the eyes. Covering the loaf in ketchup does not do much for the appearance either.

Overall Taste: Generally, I found this preparation to be somewhat bland. Although we originally prepared the recipe with tomato sauce instead of ketchup, I suspect that the use of ketchup would have provided minimal improvement in flavor. It was not unpleasant and would be a perfectly fine dish to serve for Sunday dinner.

Overall Experience: Cooking meatloaf is quick and easy. The recipe is easy to follow and the finished product was enjoyable. It is fun to get dirty with your food like you do with meatloaf. This particular cookbook includes a lot of stories, and the story relating to this dish enhances the experience slightly. We enjoyed the meal and would use the recipe again in a pinch.

Additional Notes: Ketchup was not included in the original recipe list and only in the preparation instructions. As a result, this ingredient did not end up in our cart. Basic tomato sauce was a sufficient substitute and we avoided to extra sweetness that condensed ketchup can provide. In addition, we deviated from the recipe slightly by cooking the meatloaf straight away (i.e. without chilling). This step might have allowed for the flavors to percolate a bit more though the meat but I would assert that it is an optional step. Finally, I appreciate that although this is a recipe from a branded cookbook, it does not include branded products in the recipe. Check out recipes and products from http://www.penzeys.com/.

*The recipe and instructions for this recipe have been reported to maintain the original instruction and is not an original recipe and belongs to the source indicated. This post has been prepared as a review only and with no intention to take credit for this recipe. This recipe has been reviewed without instruction or influence by the parties or companies mentioned therein.