My Family's Favortie Meatloaf

This is a recipe that was years in the making. Trial and error got me to this version of the meaty-loaf that The Herd loves...

I start with bread. Yes, bread! Whatever I have on hand is what I use.... sometimes it's old roasted garlic bread, sometimes it is old sub rolls. Today, it was leftover bread heels (or bread butts as my kids call them) I was amazed to find four sets of bread heels in our pantry this afternoon! 

My preferred method is to burrrrrrr them up in the food processor, with the help of Jack of course! A cup of fresh bread crumbs is just about enough for one pound of meat

Then I soak them in just enough milk to get them nice and wet- but not soupy

While that is getting happy, gather up your other ingredients

For us, we need about 2 pounds of meatloaf mix. A good rule of thumb is one egg per pound of meat, so I use two. We also like Worcestershire Sauce, onion and our friends salt and pepper.

Now- get in there with your hands and mash up your meat and eggs

 You have probably noticed the gloves. I do this for a few reasons.... First of all- I have fake nails and the thought of meat-goo getting under my nails grosses me out. Secondly, I don't like touching raw meat and lastly- it is sanitary and easier to clean up. I know... my idols at Food Network would not approve, but it keeps me in the kitchen. Isn't that all that matters??

Next the Worcestershire Sauce (1-2 TBS per pound of meat), salt & pepper, bread-mush and onions (I like to use frozen chopped onions- 1/4 cup per pound of meat is a good ratio) get mixed in

Individual meat loaves not only cook faster- but are a more popular choice among the kids. I use my cup cake scooper to portion out the meatloaf

I realize that to most people, these are the size of meatballs. But for little kids, this is a more manageable size of meat. And lets be real... everyone loves to take seconds, thirds or in two-year-old Jack's case FIFTHS! And when the portions are smaller, they can have "more"

Something else that good old trial and error has brought to our meatloaf is the addition of cheese (what isn't better with cheese?!) But alas, there is always one who is picky- so I make them both stuffed and not stuffed with cheesy-goodness.

The kind of cheese you use is up to you! We happened to have a block of white cheddar on hand. Precut little cubes and get to stuffing!

These beauties bake at 350 for about 30 minutes

After they are in the oven, it's time to make "secret sauce". It's not a secret in our house anymore- and now that I am blogging it I guess it is not a secret outside of the house either! It sounds kinda odd- but trust me, it is SO good!

 

 Basically, you mix equal parts of syrup and ketchup. Weird, huh? For two pounds of meat, I mix 1 cup of each- this gives enough sauce to glaze the meat loaves and have some for the table for dipping. A word of caution: pour some of the sauce into a separate bowl for the table before basting to avoid cross contamination with the raw meat.

Once the loaves have started to brown, glaze with some of the secret sauce. Glaze again in 15 minutes.

 Note the oozing stuff at the bottom of pan... this is not the precious cheese leaking out- it is some of the fat rendering out of the meat. Kinda gross, but I would rather see it on the pan than in my tummy! (the oozing at the top, however, IS the melty-cheesy-goodness you have been waiting for!)

And there you have one of the few dinners that all seven of us love!