Meatloaf- Variation on a Theme...

Okay, who has not made a meat loaf? Meat loaf is one of those really comfort foods, especially when you have hot (or cold) meat loaf sandwiches the next day! For me to begin to present the recipe for how I make meat loaf would be impossible... it is different EVERY time I make it. Literally, when I say I use everything BUT the kitchen sink in my meat loaf.. sometimes that is true. There are some constants... ground beef ( or a mix of sausage and ground beef), salt ( I have a soy sauce fetish, I try to use soy sauce more often whenever I can), pepper, bread or bread crumbs, eggs and inevitably an onion is diced up and thrown in as well. As far as anything else goes... well.... let's see... Ketchup, Mustard (Dijon, dry, yellow, grain, you name it!) Bacon slices, fresh mushrooms, cheese stuffed, Dry Onion Soup Mix, rosemary sprigs and bacon on top while baking, garlic, roasted garlic, it goes on and on it truly does. The one thing I have never ever done, or tried, has been the baking of some kind of tomato product on top of the meat loaf, although people swear by it. I do present a recipe here for fun and frolic. So here are 2 recipes. The first one I have tried and is a delicious, basic meat loaf. If someone tries the second one leave me a post and let me know how you liked it!


Basic Meatloaf

This delightful, nourishing dish has a British flair to it and is very yummy. I would add more salt to the loaf than the recipe calls for.....

2 cups Freshly made Bread Crumbs ( or dried)

1 onion, chopped fine

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2 tsp, Dry Mustard

1 1/2 tsp. Soy Sauce ( or salt, again, add more than the recipe require otherwise it comes out under seasoned)

1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1/2 to 3/4 cup Milk ( Be careful with this, start with the 1/2 cup see how the mixture feels, if you need to add more but no more than the 3/4 cup otherwise the loaf will not set and will crumble when you go to slice it!)

Mix everything together in a bowl. Form into a loaf. Bake for 1 hour to an hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. You can also just put it into a loaf pan if you are so inclined. Now what you can do with this is put 4 strips of raw bacon on the top, just make sure to tuck the ends either into or under the loaf, and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary under the bacon would go nice as well. (Thank you 2 Fat Ladies for that yummy idea!!)


Tomato Meat Loaf

1 can Campbell's tomato soup
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. minced onion
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, divided
1 egg, beaten
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. water

In bowl, mix thoroughly 1/2 cup soup, beef, crumbs, onion, 3 teaspoons Worcestershire, egg and pepper. Form into a loaf and bake at 350 for an hour to and hour and 15 minutes. combine remaining soup and Worcestershire, water and reserved drippings, in a sauce pan and heat through to make sauce. I know people who also put a layer of ketchup on top of the meatloaf or Heinz Chili Sauce and bake it that way as well! The chili sauce is delicious! Never tried the ketchup...