When perfect is just not good enough
This Sunday was the second time I have made a meatloaf. The first time turned out ok, but the mixture was too wet so it fell apart (even though it tasted good). In my Quest for Things That My Family Will Eat, I thought meatloaf might make the list. Much to my frustration and consternation, it did not. So now I am sitting here completely irritated and at a loss. I feel like I should just give up and revert to the dull, lifeless food I KNOW they will eat. It seems like there is no way to take the basic ingredients that they all eat and do anything interesting with them.
Ground beef + onion + bell pepper + cracker crumbs + egg + milk + tomatoes + brown sugar + salt + pepper
These are the basic ingredients. They are all things we eat on a regular basis (though admittedly we don’t usually eat brown sugar with meat). Where did I go wrong?
This time my meatloaf turned out PERFECT. I got the seasoning right (for once!), it baked all the way through perfectly, the ingredient flavors blended well together, and it looked and tasted great. To me, at least. T_T
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
Ingredients:
For the meatloaf:
1 ½ pounds ground beef
¾ cup cracker crumbs
½ cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 onion, chopped fine
½ cup bell pepper, chopped fine
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ teaspoon ginger
Salt and pepper
Glaze:
½ cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
Directions:
1. Mix all the meatloaf ingredients together and place in a 9x5 loaf pan lined with aluminum foil. The mixture should be able to be formed into a ball and hold its shape.
2. Mix the brown sugar and ketchup together and spread on top of the meat mixture.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour.
A bit of Worcestershire sauce in the glaze adds some tang, but as some family members don’t like tang, I left it out. There are a lot of different things you can add to meatloaf - ground carrots, maybe a bit of frozen chopped spinach, celery, tomatoes, etc. Maybe you’ll fare better than I did.
A meatloaf makes a lot of food (if you’ll eat it). I sliced the leftovers and froze them to be used in future lunches. You can also make individual mini-loaves in muffin tins (though I don’t know what the baking time would be then).
Right out of the oven
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I give up. v_v
Ground beef + onion + bell pepper + cracker crumbs + egg + milk + tomatoes + brown sugar + salt + pepper
These are the basic ingredients. They are all things we eat on a regular basis (though admittedly we don’t usually eat brown sugar with meat). Where did I go wrong?
This time my meatloaf turned out PERFECT. I got the seasoning right (for once!), it baked all the way through perfectly, the ingredient flavors blended well together, and it looked and tasted great. To me, at least. T_T
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
Ingredients:
For the meatloaf:
1 ½ pounds ground beef
¾ cup cracker crumbs
½ cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 onion, chopped fine
½ cup bell pepper, chopped fine
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ teaspoon ginger
Salt and pepper
Glaze:
½ cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
Directions:
1. Mix all the meatloaf ingredients together and place in a 9x5 loaf pan lined with aluminum foil. The mixture should be able to be formed into a ball and hold its shape.
2. Mix the brown sugar and ketchup together and spread on top of the meat mixture.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour.
A bit of Worcestershire sauce in the glaze adds some tang, but as some family members don’t like tang, I left it out. There are a lot of different things you can add to meatloaf - ground carrots, maybe a bit of frozen chopped spinach, celery, tomatoes, etc. Maybe you’ll fare better than I did.
A meatloaf makes a lot of food (if you’ll eat it). I sliced the leftovers and froze them to be used in future lunches. You can also make individual mini-loaves in muffin tins (though I don’t know what the baking time would be then).
Right out of the oven
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I give up. v_v