April 26, 2013

{A Recipe} Grizz's Grandma's Meatloaf

Posted by Ethne~

I sent out an important request to the best friends last week and, within minutes, had my response and recipe (all via text):

me: (to Grizz, Steph & Slags, 7:52 a.m.) Ladies do u have a good meatloaf recipe?  Mine always get too dense and dry.

Grizz: (instant response, 7:54 a.m. – Grizz is on time for everything)  Mines my grandmas…and is prob as basic as they come.  Burger, milk, egg, onion (opt), crackers.  Bake at 350 for 40 min.

me: Ketchup on top?

Grizz: No ketchup.  SnP to taste.  I never use salt but we’re fans of pepper.


So I thought I’d try it out.  I love meatloaf, but have never found the perfect recipe.  And when it comes to these classics, sometimes the most basic are the best of all.

It occurred to me, too, that a contributor to my dry meatloaf problem could be that Shaun and I buy lean burger, usually the 93% lean.  If you buy the 85% lean, with a little more fat in it to add moisture and flavor while baking as a meatloaf, that might be a very good thing when it comes to any recipe for making meat into a brick.

Tips:  I used two eggs, since I was worried about moisture; I probably used about 10-12 soda crackers, smashed up, and maybe a ½ cup-1 cup splash of milk; I had 1 pound of ground beef.

I poked a bunch of holes in mine and didn't make it in a loaf.  I don't suggest either of these things.  I go off the grid frequently.

The outcome was delicious!  I used salt and pepper to season, since we’re lovers of both in the Denham house; and I used ketchup on half of the top of mine, since I love my meatloaf with ketchup.  [I didn’t do minced onions since KD’s particular about onions when she can pick them out of things; it’s weird.]  That’s the nice thing about a straightforward, basic recipe like this one, though, is you can doll it up any way you like and make it your own.  Shaun’s family always puts a can of cream of mushroom soup on their meatloaf instead of ketchup.  I could do that to this meatloaf since it doesn’t have other seasonings that would conflict!

Your eyes aren't deceiving you: I did eat more mashed potatoes than meatloaf.  While I love meatloaf, I love homemade mashed potatoes even more and I made both on the same day - what?!?

Thanks Grizz and Grandma A!

This is Grizz from GT last summer - I'll need to get a "stock photo" of her with her sweet little L
Update: I just talked to my sis, Mel, and she said she uses this same recipe, but also adds a 1/4 cup sour cream (for moisture) and 1 pack Lipton's onion soup mix (for flavor)!  Yum!  Thanks Mel!

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