Friday, September 25, 2009

It's Not Your Mother's Meatloaf

After what one of my friends termed my "vitriolic screed" the other day, how about some cooking fun?

I posted this ages ago on my old, now defunct, blog, but since it's getting to be fall, at least in some places, it's a good time for comfort food and to revisit the best meatloaf in the world.

Whenever my mom made meatloaf when I was a kid, I groaned. It wasn't meatloaf so much as baked hamburger with some ketchup tossed in. Not too appetizing. My meatloaf, however, is a delightful cheesy wonder. The foodies will be horrified because of my generous use of American Processed Cheese Slices, or even better, Velveeta, but sometimes, just like nothing satisfies your cravings like PBNJ on folded over white bread, American Processed Cheese Slices are just what you need.

Best Meatloaf Ever

1 pound ground beef
1 can tomato paste
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
4 slices American cheese or Velveeta

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything but the cheese together, and add spices of your choice. I like seasoning salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and ground pepper and a touch of salt. Layer half of the meat mixture in the loaf pan. Add the cheese. Spread the rest of the meat mixture over the cheese to completely cover it. Sprinkle oregano or Italian seasoning on top and bake for an hour.

The meatloaf goes very well with

Baked Mashed Potatoes

Four servings of Insta Mash, prepared
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 package Lipton's vegetable soup mix
1 cup shredded cheddar

Spray a casserole pan with cooking spray. Mix the prepared potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and bake for an hour.

Add some frozen veggies and it's a good meal.

Nothing fancy, reasonably priced, easy to double and generally uses things you already have in your cupboard. Even my son, who, when I mention meatloaf, reacts as if I told him I was sauteing cockroaches in a nice lemon butter sauce for dinner, likes this meal.

1 comment:

Ronni said...

That sounds simple enough for me to fix, and very tasty. Thanks, Lisa!