By By Lisa Tindell
When I started thinking about what kind of recipes to share with you this week, I started thinking about comfort foods and thought that would be a good start. Although I love chicken and dumplings, I had enough over the holidays to last a little while.
Then it hit me that I haven’t had any good meatloaf since Buster Joyner, of Buster’s Diner, died many years ago.
With changing times, many cooks have long since put away their meatloaf pans and moved on to other things.
When you think about it, meatloaf is a pretty good idea these days. You can take a relatively small amount of ground meat (turkey, beef, sausage, whatever you choose) and turn it into enough food to feed several people. You can even add vegetables to the mix that you want your kids to eat.
Now, heat up those ovens and get out those meatloaf pans.
Basic Meatloaf
1 tablespoon butter, 1 onion, chopped, 1 small green bell pepper, chopped, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 pound lean ground beef, 15 saltine crackers, crushed, 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese, 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and green pepper and saut/ until onions are soft. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, place ground beef, crushed crackers, Cheddar cheese, taco seasoning, and saut/ed onion and green pepper. Mix thoroughly. Press beef mixture into a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until done. Check with a meat thermometer for doneness. Internal temperature should read 165 degrees.
Healthier Meatloaf
5 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces, 1 large potato – peeled and cubed, 1 large white onion, sliced into wedges, 3 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch pieces, 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips, 4 cloves garlic, peeled, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 3 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard, 2 pounds extra-lean ground beef, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place carrots, potato, celery, pepper, and garlic into a food processor, and puree to a wet paste. Add eggs, mustard, and tomato paste, and process for another few seconds. Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl, and add pureed vegetable mixture, thyme and seasonings. Knead together until thoroughly mixed. Form into two loaves, and place in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until done. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. You can also press the meat into bread pans to cook.
I’ve mentioned many times in this space that recipes are only guides. You can certainly leave off any ingredient your family doesn’t like and put in ones that they do like.
Until next week, happy cooking.
Lisa Tindell is news editor for the Brewton Standard. She can be reached at (251) 867-4876 or via email at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com