Meatloaf: How do YOU do it??

I like this last one...fresh basil is a great additive!!!!!

I use a combo of ground pork, veal, beef and lamb(totalling about 3lb). I add a can of cream of mushroom soup, break up two or three slices of whole wheat bread, one egg, small onion grated, one garlic clove finely minced or grated, fresh parsley, chopped, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and S&P. I make two loaves and paint one with BBQ sauce. I leave the other plain. I know the cream of mushroom soup might sound weird but it tastes great! The original recipe from Cambells called for either regular cream of mushroom or golden mushroom.
No matter what recipe I use, though, it's the sandwiches I really look forward to!

I do the basic meatloaf recipe, but I add a can of golden mushroom soup. Half goes in the meatloaf and the other half I add water to and pour it on the outside, wrap in tin foil so its nice and moist.

Apparently I'm the only one who uses oats instead of bread.

Nope- - enginecapt - - I have been using the meatloaf recipe from the side of a Quaker's Oats box for years and years....  I don't measure anymore, and I don't know if they still have the recipe there..  Just searched and found it...

1 1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup oats, uncooked
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup tomato juice
1 egg, beaten

I have used dried chopped onion, and now add canned tomato  sauce to the mix rather than juice, and I seal the loaf with a thin coating of tomato sauce - - that seems to seal in the flavor and juices...

I discovered an easy way to mix everything up a coup[e of years ago and wonder why I had never thought of it earlier....  I put everything in a big zip lock baggie and squish it all together....  I dump it into the pan and use the outside of the baggie to form the loaf and smooth the top - - voila----- no messy hands......

Now, Mamaduck, that's a terrific solution- my daughter absolutely hates to get her hands in there to mix- I will have to tell her about putting the mixture in a bag! Thanks!

I always sweat the onions before adding them...I don't think they cook enough if you put them in raw.

Sometimes I go for an Italian flavor by adding garlic (to the sweating onions), diced sun-dried tomatoes & Italian seasonings.

Sometimes it's more Southwest...adding chopped chirizo, red peppers, cumin & chili powder. I top it with some salsa, thickened with a little tomato paste.

Other times, it might be influenced by what available in the fridge or pantry.

mamaduck, I too do my own riff on that recipe, adding tomato sauce, an entire onion chopped and a chopped bell pepper.

I used to use oatmeal occasionally, don't really know why I stopped.  Well, I do, but I'm embarrassed to admit it... which means I'll just tell you. Because I can't help myself.

Pork rinds.  Ground up in the food processor into "crumbs."  It sounds insane, and was bred from insanity, for sure - I was on Atkins for a few years and found that pork rind crumbs could be made into a wonderful number of things.  As it turns out, to this day I make meatloaf (and salmon croquettes) with them. I like the "hot" flavored kind, Turkey Creek brand.  Nothing like a little subtle pigginess in a meatloaf. 

So. Yeah.  Now you know.

You can rest assured I WILL be trying that.

Me too!!

Oh my, I, too, am an Atkins dropout, but I still retain some of the things that are good for Atkins and probably horrible otherwise - - like real cream in my coffee, and a hidden supply of porkrinds in my pantry.....  "Grandma, how can you eat those things???" is a usual refrain when someone stumbles upon them....

Oh, mland - - I do the ziplock thing with deviled egg yolks, too - - a desperation move when my 4 year old granddaughter wanted to help...  I dropped the yolks into the bag, let her go to town squeezing the heck out of them...  Added the mayo and seasonings and when it was ready, I cut the corner off of the baggie and we had an instant pastry bag for filling the whites...  I don't know how I lived to the age of 60 without figuring that out earlier!!!!

 This is how I do mine. This recipe was originally posted a couple years ago in the Misc. food related forum.

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef or buffalo
1/4 lb bacon ends and pieces, chopped fine
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine
2 ribs celery, chopped fine
2 TBS fresh garlic, diced fine
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme, lightly chopped
1/4 cup B.B.Q. sauce and 1/2 cup B.B.Q. sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated fine
2 whole eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all dry ingredients and mix thourghly. Wisk the eggs slightly and add to ground meat and chopped bacon. Add the dry mix and the 1/4 B.B.Q. sauce and mix the mixture until it just comes together. DO NOT OVER MIX! Form into a loaf brush on remaining B.B.Q. sauce and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or desired temperature. It will lose a little weight because of the added fat but should be able to serve 4 people.

David O.

lol, mamaduck, me too. How can you go back to bad fat-free salad dressing after you get used to the good stuff?  It might be time for me to go back on Atkins - going off has cost me dearly. (Or, ahem, heftily.)

i like your recipe there David O..sounds flavourful!

 Thank you analei for the kind words. I usually make this at least once a month. My two daughters and wife love it!

David O.

My meatloaf recipe is pretty basic, but as I cook lowcarb when I can ,I also use pork rinds.  I am lazy so instead of getting out the food processor I just put the rinds in a freezer ziploc bag & pound the you know what out of them with a rolling pin.
 
Also, we like our meatloaf browned & crispy on 3l sides so I bake my meatloaf on a foil lined pizza pan.  Paula Deen has a great hint for absorbing the juice/grease that accumulates during baking-place 2 pieces of bread on the pan & then place the meatloaf on top & bake.
 
A guilty pleasure & treat for the cook- the grease & juice soaked bread,a little crispy aroung the edges- definitely not lowcarb!!!!

pork rinds...oh, never would have thought of that..i like this porky additions to meatloaf.

When I am in a hurry, I mix the beef with a can of tomato soup, a paket of onion soup mix, some breadcrumbs and an egg.  It comes out pretty good.

I put ground veal and ground pork (and not regular ground beef) in my standard meatloaf for smoother texture and milder flavor. Like many of you, I like to mix in tomatoes, tomato sauce, sweated onions, chorizo, cayenne, etc.

A couple of times I've made a "Juicy Lucy" meatloaf with (colby/cheddar) cheese in the middle, and really like it.

I also made an Eastern European style meatloaf with boiled eggs in the middle. It was very tasty and I'd make it again. Maybe next week!

You know,every time i read the title o this forum -in my head I see an old "Husky" rock star blushing and say--"ahh shucks, it aint that hard---want to hear Paradise by the Dashboard light?

Groubd Beef, Sage Sausage, Ground Veal
Packet of Lipton onion soup
Italian breadcrumbs
egg
wostershire sauce
green pepper
Poupon mustard
finely chopped celery
parsely
Soy sauce
raw Bacon on top halfway thru cooking