Mom’s Meatloaf

Mama's Meatloaf with Mashed Potato Broccoli Tomatoes and GravyMom Knows Best

Next to mac & cheese, meatloaf is probably one of the most common comfort foods. If you add some mashed potatoes and peas you have the comfort food trifecta. I have found that people are rather passionate about meatloaf…they either love it or hate it.

For better or worse, everyone has their special family recipe for meatloaf. Say the word meatloaf in my family and you are bound to get a number of strong reactions, depending on who is making the meatloaf and who is doing the eating.

My grandmother was an excellent cook, and made any number of tasty dishes for her family over the years. But meatloaf was not one. I’m not sure where things got sideways, but her meatloaf was pretty bad. Sorry Gam. Truth hurts.

My mother, however, made awesome meatloaf. Well, I thought it was awesome. My sister was not really a fan, and there was always grumbling whenever it was announced that we were having meatloaf for dinner—which was pretty often, ‘cause it was easy, tasty and made great sandwiches the next day for lunch.

Mom’s recipe is the same recipe that is on the back of the dried Lipton Onion Soup mix box, but Mom adds her own personal touches, and they are TOP SECRET. (Okay, maybe not TOP SECRET, but it sounds cool.) Basically, they involve swapping out some ingredients, and using whatever is on hand instead of bread crumbs.

For my version, I start with the onion soup mix. Most of the time, I use a mix of ground beef and ground pork,which makes it taste more like a meatball. If I want more of a beefy flavor, I’ll use all ground chuck. Usually I make my own breadcrumbs from the sad, leftover ends of the sandwich bread. (I think they are better than the dried ones you buy in a can.) But sometimes I just rip the bread into small pieces. Never do I use ketchup. It ‘s just wrong. As for the eggs, sometimes I mix them with a little water and sometimes I use milk. Depends on my mood.

We tend to have meatloaf for dinner every couple weeks, which may seem like a lot. But it is one of the few dinners that we all agree on, and that I am pretty sure will actually be eaten by all.

Here is my version of Mom’s Meatloaf. 

Mom’s Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 envelope Onion Soup Mix
1 pound fresh ground chuck
1 pound fresh ground pork
3/4 cup bread crumbs (I like to make my own from the ends of the sandwich bread.)
2 eggs, beaten with 3 tablespoons water or milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl
Shape into a loaf on a foil lined cookie sheet, or place in a standard sized loaf pan.
Bake uncovered for one hour or until a thermometer reads 155 degrees when inserted into the middle.
Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve.

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