When my sweetie and I were dating we didn’t have much money for real dates. Generally we went to the library and studied together and then ended up at my parents’ house for dinner. It was on just such an occasion that my husband first sampled my mom’s famous meatloaf. Unfortunately, he didn’t know it was famous and before he even took a bite he asked for the ketchup.
Remember that movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? Adam is eating in Milly’s food establishment when he asks for the ketchup to go in his stew. She says something like, "My stew can stand on its own!" Well, I think my mom had seen that movie one too many times. The ketchup was grudgingly pulled from the fridge and slammed down on the table in front of my sweetie. And those were the days when ketchup still came in glass bottles! I’m pretty sure my dad said something like, "You insulted my wife’s meatloaf!" So meatloaf was banned from our little home after we were married.
Then, after a reasonable period of mourning (and we could afford hamburger), we decided to introduce it to our little ones. Sadly, we were at a loss as to a good recipe and given the past, I just couldn’t ask my mom. After several failed experiments, I finally swallowed my pride, the lump in my throat (or maybe it was bad meatloaf), picked up the phone and called my mom for her recipe. "That’s it?" I questioned in surprise. I couldn’t believe it was so easy and we were messing it up. I gave the recipe to my sweetie who did most of the cooking when we were first married and he harumphed before he mixed up the ingredients. But it didn’t work! The meatloaf was dry and awful. I was devastated. I knew Mom’s recipe was good.
Several weeks later I decided to give it a try again. I followed the recipe exactly. It turned out wonderfully moist and delicious, just the way I remembered from my childhood. My sweetie was baffled. The next time he mixed up the meatloaf, we were both working together in the kitchen. He took it out of the oven and it looked marvelous. I was sure he had done everything correctly this time. Then he headed for the sink and carefully tipped the pan sideways. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Draining the grease," he answered. "No!" I screeched. He quickly tipped the pan to level. "Just let it sit on the stove for a couple of minutes, it will be fine." Now we finally knew why his meatloaf was so dry and mine was fabulous. Don’t drain off any grease and use plenty of ketchup, I promise I won’t be offended and Mom will never know.
Meatloaf
2 lbs hamburger (we use 4 for our crew!)
1 sleeve of saltines (crushed)
2 eggs
black pepper
1 pint (or 2 small cans) of tomato sauce
Mix ingredients thoroughly and place in a small Pyrex or metal pan.
Cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. (Depends on the size of your pan and the thickness of the meat.)
When the meat is done the top will crisp up nicely. Do not pour off the grease or the meatloaf will be dry. Serve with ketchup and baked potatoes.
Remember that movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? Adam is eating in Milly’s food establishment when he asks for the ketchup to go in his stew. She says something like, "My stew can stand on its own!" Well, I think my mom had seen that movie one too many times. The ketchup was grudgingly pulled from the fridge and slammed down on the table in front of my sweetie. And those were the days when ketchup still came in glass bottles! I’m pretty sure my dad said something like, "You insulted my wife’s meatloaf!" So meatloaf was banned from our little home after we were married.
Then, after a reasonable period of mourning (and we could afford hamburger), we decided to introduce it to our little ones. Sadly, we were at a loss as to a good recipe and given the past, I just couldn’t ask my mom. After several failed experiments, I finally swallowed my pride, the lump in my throat (or maybe it was bad meatloaf), picked up the phone and called my mom for her recipe. "That’s it?" I questioned in surprise. I couldn’t believe it was so easy and we were messing it up. I gave the recipe to my sweetie who did most of the cooking when we were first married and he harumphed before he mixed up the ingredients. But it didn’t work! The meatloaf was dry and awful. I was devastated. I knew Mom’s recipe was good.
Several weeks later I decided to give it a try again. I followed the recipe exactly. It turned out wonderfully moist and delicious, just the way I remembered from my childhood. My sweetie was baffled. The next time he mixed up the meatloaf, we were both working together in the kitchen. He took it out of the oven and it looked marvelous. I was sure he had done everything correctly this time. Then he headed for the sink and carefully tipped the pan sideways. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Draining the grease," he answered. "No!" I screeched. He quickly tipped the pan to level. "Just let it sit on the stove for a couple of minutes, it will be fine." Now we finally knew why his meatloaf was so dry and mine was fabulous. Don’t drain off any grease and use plenty of ketchup, I promise I won’t be offended and Mom will never know.
Meatloaf
2 lbs hamburger (we use 4 for our crew!)
1 sleeve of saltines (crushed)
2 eggs
black pepper
1 pint (or 2 small cans) of tomato sauce
Mix ingredients thoroughly and place in a small Pyrex or metal pan.
Cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. (Depends on the size of your pan and the thickness of the meat.)
When the meat is done the top will crisp up nicely. Do not pour off the grease or the meatloaf will be dry. Serve with ketchup and baked potatoes.
1 comment:
I made meatloaf a while back and it is the first time that I made it. Glad to hear that it works.
You can check out my version: http://victor-recipe.blogspot.com/2010/09/meatloaf.html
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