It's true. There are as many different ways to make meatloaf as there are people who make meatloaf and mine is no exception!
My basic ingredients are a pound of hamburger, an egg, a medium onion, oatmeal, salt, pepper, Woshestershire sauce, ketchup and mustard.
I chop the onion and add the egg, about 1/4 cup Woshestershire, 1/4 cup of ketchup, and about 1/8th cup of mustard. I also add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. Sometimes I might add chopped peppers or chopped olives. And occasionally I will add some chili powder or some Italian type seasonings like basil or oregano. Just depends on what I'm feeling like.
Then I mush it all together. You could use a spoon, but I really think that fingers do a much better job of squishing all the ingredients together. It's messy and there's definitely an "ewww" factor, but it does the job.
I only use one hand because I want the other hand to stay clean so I can grab oatmeal from the container. I use enough oatmeal to firm up the mixture so that it makes a nice loaf. Tonight, it took 3 handfuls. The size of the egg and how much of the other liquid ingredients I use make the oatmeal amount vary.
Now here is where my meatloaf really differs from everyone else's. I put it on a broiler pan. When Grampa Tom and I got married there was this crazy lady who was preaching that eating fat was the cause of being fat. She advocated totally eliminating fat from the diet, and the government food guidelines said the same. In fact, the eating of meat (especially red meat) was demonized as the cause of heart problems along with a host of other health issues. I bought that whole line of thought and wound up with diabetic symptoms as a result. Fortunately, Grampa Tom talked me into trying the Atkins diet when I was about to go to the doctor. I lost tons of weight on the Atkins diet and all the symptoms went away!
Ooops! Rabbit trail. Anyway, back then, I was feeling guilty for indulging in meatloaf occasionally so I placated my guilty conscious with putting my meatloaf on a broiler pan so the fat could drain off. I still can't stand the thought of letting my meatloaf float in the fat in a bread pan like most people do.
If you do this, ALWAYS fill the pan with water! The fat dripping on a dry pan will cause your house to fill up with smoke! Yes, I do know this from expierence :) There are a couple of extra advantages to cooking your meatloaf this way. #1 You can flatten your loaf more than you can in a bread pan. A flatter loaf cooks quicker and uses less energy. #2 You don't have to cover the meatloaf when it is cooking. The water under the loaf keeps it nice and moist. I've never had a loaf pan with a lid on it, so covering for me involves aluminum foil. This method has saved me a ton of money for aluminum foil through the years.
I put the meatloaf in the oven and cook it at 450 degrees until it is nice and brown on top. This takes about 30 minutes in my convection oven, 45 minutes in my regular oven.
Once it is browned to Grampa Tom's satisfaction (He likes his meatloaf almost burnt) I pull it out and cover it with grated cheese.
Then I return it to the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Yum yum!
Yes, this is yet another by guess and by golly recipe! Exact measurements just grate against my creative personality. If you like my methods, hop on over to my recipe page. I am trying to compile all the recipes I put on this blog over there so they are easier to find.
God Bless You All!
~Grama Sue
The broiler pan I use when I'm just feeding Grampa Tom and I is a mini broiler pan. Fits perfect in my little convection oven!
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