You’ll Loaf This! – Making Martha Stewart’s Meatloaf

Ha, ha…sometimes the dumbest jokes are the funniest. But, seriously. You will love this. At least you will if you like meatloaf. And who doesn’t like meatloaf?

So, I got this particular recipe from MarthaStewart.com and it’s honestly the best one I’ve ever had. And super easy to make. And it costs next to nothing. So, here we go.

First, take a cookie sheet and cover it with foil. You’ll thank me when it’s time to do the dishes.

 

Then, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Next, in a food processor or blender make breadcrumbs from 3 slices of white bread.

Place bread crumbs in a bowl, stir in 1/3 cup milk and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine 2 pounds beef (the official recipe calls for a mixture of pork and beef but I find the pork unnecessary), 1/2 grated medium onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 1/2 tsps salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Ok, I realize those photos are not the most appetizing, but raw meat rarely ever is (and whoda thunk that an egg and ketchup would like like something out of a horror movie!). And rest assured my hands were washed. Really, the only way to truly combine all the ingredients is to just stick your hands in there and start mashing.

Then, add the bread mixture. Now the official recipe says to mix it in gently with a fork, but I found that didn’t work very well. I just dump in the bread mixture and mix it in with my two mitts. I’ve had no problems with the end results.

Then place the mixture on the cookie sheet and shape into a loaf. They give you specs but really just shape it like a meatloaf. I think we all know the approximate size.

Place it in the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes brushing twice with ketchup. I found the easiest way to do this is put it in the oven for 20 minutes, brush some ketchup on, another 20 minutes, some more ketchup, another 20 minutes and you’re done. I know this works out to 60 minutes total but you can you never be too careful with ground beef.

Take it out of the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes and start slicing. Enjoy!

I always like to serve it with mashed potatoes and a green veggie (peas, brussel sprouts, green beans, etc.) And the next day it makes the best sandwich, just stick a slab between two slices of good old white bread. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Here’s a link to the official recipe.