comfy family meatloaf.

Meatloaf was something that I did NOT grow up eating. Actually, whenever I heard someone talking about meatloaf, I thought it was some kind of meat with bread around it. Meat with bread, what was all the fuss about? It wasn't much later that I found out that it was just a slab of formed meat with ketchup on it. Oh-kaaaay... For lack of better words, this was definitely "white people" food. :)

So it wasn't much of a shocker to me that one of the hubby's favorite food was his mother's meatloaf. Of course it was. Just like how sky is blue and the oceans are deep. What is up with this meatloaf??

I finally got to taste this magical meatloaf for the first time about three winters ago. We were in North Dakota and the hubby had requested meatloaf for dinner. I watched in interest while his mom put together this concoction of oats and meat, flavored with a little onion , salt, and pepper. Then there were squirts of ketchup then suddenly it was all put together and baked in the oven. Then she made kind of sauce, topped the loaf, then served it with some bread and some veggies. And that was meatloaf. Interesting.

So when I took my first bite, I was surprised that it somehow tasted familiar. It was like biting into lumpia except without the wrapper. Or maybe eating a piece of bola bola from a bowlful of misua. I could easily list off other dishes that reminded me of my own cultural comfort foods that had that similar particular taste to it. Except this was just covered with a tomato based sauce. maybe NOT so "white people" food after all...

The second time that I had it was just recently at our favorite restaurant here on Guam. Meatloaf was the special of the day and I decided to order it. The flavors of the meat once again made me recall those similar dishes and I was starting to get why this was one of the Hubby's favorite foods. It was warm, and filling...the kind that sticks to your bones. It was comfy...but most of all simple and good. I can imagine him growing up and eating this with his family.

So when I finally decided to try and make this for the hubbs, I did a little bit of research. I've never made this before and I did not want to fuck it up. So along with the base ingredients of my mother-in-law's recipe, I added parsley and milk. I also decided to top the meatloaf about halfway through with the sauce so that it could have a chance to glaze the meat.

Mistakes: I baked this for an hour, overcooking it and making it a bit crumbly. Next time I make this, I'm going to start checking the internal temp at the 40 minute mark. Also, the onions were cut too big for my liking so those would probably be chopped a bit finer. Also, just a teensy bit under seasoned with just 1/2 tsp of salt...will go with more next time as the recipe says. And originally only did half the sauce with none reserved for topping.

But at the end of the day, I was more concerned about whether or not the hubby would like it. Verdict? He thought it was pretty damn tasty. Hooray!! All in all, not a bad try. :)

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Anita's Meatloaf
(adapted from my awesome Mother-In-Law's recipe <3)

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar

For the Loaf:
1 to 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup onions,, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh italian parsley, minced
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
a little less than 1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

 
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Combine ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar in a small bowl to make a sauce. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, milk, salt, and ground pepper. Stir in the oats until well combined. Crumble in the ground beef and mix until just combined (don't overwork the meat!).

Transfer meat mixture to a foil-lined baking sheet. Tightly pack and mold into a loaf then place in the oven to bake, setting the timer for 40 to 45 minutes.

Halfway through of cooking, remove loaf and spread half the ketchup sauce on top. Return to the oven to finish cooking (internal temperature should read around 155F to 160F). Afterwards, let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving with reserved sauce.

Makes about 4 servings.