Meatloaf Meatloaf Double Beetloaf...

Hey y'all,

I know I'm lagging but the ball is starting to really roll on transitioning my blog to its own site! I'm so excited I could do a happy dance. (Actually I did, you just can't see it) so for the next few weeks the posts are going to be a little skimpy. But once things are up and kinks all worked out I'm going to be unstoppable. Lol

Who knows what movie my title line is from? If you can finish that line then we might need to become friends in real life. ;-) Earlier this week my kiddo requested her favorite meal.....meatloaf! Yes my child LOVES meatloaf. When I say loves meatloaf, I mean she has been known to eat nearly an entire meatloaf by herself. Yes, and she does not care if everyone has their share. Lol

So of course I had to oblige her. I mean who says no to a kid asking for a meatloaf dinner?!?

These are my basic meatloaf ingredients. 

1lb ground turkey

1 whole egg

1 small onion

1/2 large green bell pepper

3 garlic cloves 

1 can tomato sauce (used only about half of this can total)

Italian seasoning

12 saltine crackers (give or take a cracker)

And yes I like to use crushed saltine crackers instead of breadcrumbs for a few reasons.  1) they add seasoning 2) I like the firmer texture that they impart (almost as if you toasted the breadcrumbs but without the extra work) 3) they're easy to come by in a pinch since I pretty much Always have saltines on had 

Small dice the onion and half of the bell pepper. Mince the garlic

Throw the ingredients together with the ground meat. That is about a quarter cup of tomato sauce. Your looking for the texture to be a bit looser than say a hamburger patty. This is going into the over for awhile and we don't want a dry loaf. 

I have made meatloaf so many times I can just smell it to see if it's seasoned well with the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. But if you still need practice there's no reason you can take a small piece and cook it really quickly in a pan to taste for seasoning adjustments. I'm all about learning to understand your food so that you don't need a full on recipe to make simple favorites. What's the worst that can happen? You learn that next time it wouldn't hurt to add a little salt? No big deal. Lol 

After everything is mixed together well the meat mixture is spread down into a loaf pan. When you cook meatloaf in a loaf pan it takes awhile to cook all the way through. This one was at 375 covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes. 

Then I removed the foil and poured a bit more of the tomato sauce on top. A quick sprinkle of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Then back into the oven uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Or until the sauce has thicken up on the meatloaf and the juices in the pan run clear. 

Of course the kiddo was ecstatic and ate two big servings of meatloaf, almost completely neglecting the sides dishes. Lol but that's okay it's not everyday and she was happy. 

What was your favorite meal as a kid? Hmm, I had too many favorites to name just one. Maybe my grandma's chicken and dressing. Mmm 

Peace and Namate Y'all