One Click: Meat Loaf

Hands up for meat loaf! At our house, we love it. I often double the recipe, making extra and freezing it for those days I don’t feel like cooking. I made two today - no recipe - just ground beef, ground pork, and a center layer of chopped onion fried with a chopped apple and four slices of chopped bacon. To make that layer stand out, I ladled it with a little salsa. 

Into the oven one’s about to go, while the other - labeled and wrapped - went into the deep freeze. With inflation raging and meat expensive, I make many meatless meals, and buy meat and fish only when they’re on sale. Even if high food prices aren’t a concern for you, please change your shopping habits to support others, and please donate to your local food bank.

I saw a cauliflower for $9 the other day, and a small bunch of green onions for $5! If you say no to such prices, prices will come down. Some of these meat loaves are penny-pinchers - tasty ones, too! The first two meat loaves use only ground beef; the next two use ground beef and pork; the Greek Pie meat loaf uses ground beef, pork, and veal. One Click is all you need to find each: 

Best-Ever Meat Loaf

George’s Meat Loaf

Greek Meat Pie

Onion Meat Loaf

Rice Meat Loaf

If you prefer, search Meat Loaf: see One Click.

Onion Meat Loaf

Here, for your Covid-19 kitchen, is yet another dollar-stretcher using more ground beef (over these past few weeks) than I’ve ever choked down enjoyed in my entire life. This super-easy meat loaf requires only a short prep time and an hour in the oven. You’ll need a packet of dried onion soup mix to make it, or click here: How to Make Dry Onion Soup Mix.

Onion Meat Loaf:

2 eggs

One 3/4 oz. (23 g) packet dry onion soup mix  

1/3 c. (80 mL) ketchup

3/4 c. (180 mL) warm water

1-1/2 c. soft white or brown bread crumbs, not compacted, crusts removed

2 lb. (0.9 kg) lean ground beef 

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Lightly grease standard loaf pan. Stir in dried onion soup mix, ketchup, water, bread crumbsm and ground beef. Mix well with clean hands. Pack into loaf pan. Bake, uncovered, 1 hr. Drain off far before serving. Ready for a slice of Onion Meat Loaf? Yields 6-to-8 portions. 

For more Meat Loaf recipes, see One Click: Meat Loaf or see the Indexed Meat Loaf: One Click. 

Best-Ever Meat Loaf

This loaf lives up to its name! It’s economical - exactly what we need during these difficult times. While reading over the recipe suggests it may have too much salt, don’t reduce it. This recipe is substantial, but may be doubled or halved; it freezes well. My friend Judy Catherwood passed along this recipe. It’s the best meat loaf I’ve ever eaten or made: Don’t leave out a single ingredient!

Best-Ever Meat Loaf:

2 large eggs

2/3 c. (160 mL) milk

2 tsp. (10 mL) salt

1/4 tsp. (2 mL) fine black pepper

3 slices fresh bread, crumbled (see Bread Note)

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1/2 c. (125 mL) shredded raw carrot

1 c. (250 mL) grated cheddar cheese

1-1/2 lb. (0.68 kg) lean ground beef, all fat drained off (see Meat Note)

1/4 c. (60 mL) demerara sugar

1/4 c. (60 mL) ketchup 

1 tbsp. (15 mL) prepared mustard (“baseball” mustard)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. In a large bowl, break eggs, whisking lightly with a fork. Add milk, seasonings, and crumbled bread; continuing to whisk with fork until bread disintegrates. Add onion, carrot, cheese, and beef, mixing well with clean hands. Pack into 9 x 5-in. (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan. In small bowl, combine brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard; spread over loaf. Bake 1 hr. Let stand 10 min. before removing from pan. Serve hot or cold (see Sandwich Note). Serves 4-to-6.

Bread Note: Homemade whole wheat or white bread is ideal for this meat loaf: By sopping up the fat the meat releases, it makes this loaf tender and delicious. Commercially baked white bread is excellent for convenience, but loses its texture and flattens. You can certainly use it, but a soft-textured homemade bread is best.

Meat Note: I routinely double this recipe to save time “next time.” I’ve found that using equal parts of ground beef and  ground pork produces an outstanding loaf. I now do this routinely. I freeze the second loaf, unbaked in its pan, wrapping it with two layers of foil. I don't make the brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard sauce until just before the loaf goes into the oven.  

Sandwich Note: Sliced and served cold, this meat loaf makes heavenly sandwiches!

Combine ketchup, brown sugar, mustard.

Spread over unbaked loaf.

This excellent loaf goes fast! Expect seconds!

A shredder produces long strands;
a grater produces short ones. 

For more Meat Loaf recipes, see One Click: Meat Loaf. Or Meat Loaf: see One Click.

Greek Meat Pie

Greek Meat Pie

Although I almost never use veal, the combination of ground veal, beef, and pork softens the texture of this no-pastry meat pie, rather than presenting the “knobbly” texture of most meat loaves or pies. Preparing the ingredients before you start seems to make it all move along faster. It’s fun inventing recipes; I don’t do it often enough. This one’s my own creation.

Greek Meat Pie:

1 tbsp. (15 mL) canola oil

3 tbsp. (45 mL) red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Equal thirds ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal, together  totaling 1-1/2 lb. (680 g)

1 egg

1/3 c. (80 mL) fine, dry bread crumbs

1/4 tsp. (1 mL) dried thyme

1/8 tsp. (0.5 mL) salt

1/4 tsp. (1 mL) fine pepper 

1/3 c. (80 mL) drained, rinsed, crumbled feta

3 tbsp. (45 mL) drained, pitted, coarsely chopped black olives

3 tbsp. (45 mL) diced green pepper

1/4 c. (60 mL) plus 2 tbsp. (30 mL) grated mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 c. (125 mL)  tomato sauce

2 tbsp. (30 mL) commercial, shake-on Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Assemble and prepare all ingredients before starting. Heat oil over medium setting, adding onion and garlic until softened. Set aside to cool.

Combine beef, pork, and veal with softened onion and garlic, kneading with clean fingers until evenly distributed. Add egg to meat mixture, combining well. In small bowl, combine bread crumbs with seasonings, kneading evenly into meat mixture. Divide meat mixture into two equal portions, pressing half into 8x8 in. (20-x20 cm) baking dish. Sprinkle with feta, olives, green pepper, and 1/4 c. (60 mL) mozzarella. Lightly flatten and press remaining meat over feta mixture. 

Spoon with tomato sauce, using spatula or back of spoon to spread evenly over meat. Sprinkle with Parmesan and/or remaining 2 tbsp. (30 mL) mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, 25-to-30 min.

Note: Should you make this meat loaf in a standard loaf pan, you’ll need to bake it, uncovered, 55-to-60 min. Remove from baking dish with slotted spoon or spatula, leaving the fat in the casserole dish rather than on your plate.

About 1/2 lb. (226 g) each of beef, pork, and veal.

Combine meats thoroughly.

Onion, garlic, and thyme, ready to

be sautéed and mixed with meats.

Whisk egg into meats.

Press half meat into casserole dish or pie pan.

Rice Meat Loaf

When was the last time you had meat loaf? This gluten-free dish is one of my favorites, with rice binding the meat instead of bread crumbs. The original recipe combined beef, pork, and veal. I’m philosophically opposed to veal production, so routinely substitute extra pork and extra beef. Whatever you choose to do, this recipe is excellent.

Rice Meat Loaf:

¾ lb. (350 g) lean ground beef

¾ lb. (350 g) lean ground pork

¾ c. (185 mL) partially cooked rice (see Note)

¼ c. (60 mL) milk (see Note)

2 tbsp. (30 mL) minced onion

¼ c. (60 mL) ketchup, divided

1 eggs

1-½ tsp. (7.5 mL) Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp. (1.25 mL) salt

1/8 tsp. (0.6 mL) dried marjoram

1/8 tsp. (0.6 mL) dried thyme

¼ tsp. (1.25 mL) powdered mustard

1/8 tsp. (0.6 mL) coarsely ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Combine meats, rice, milk, onion, ¼ c. (60 mL) of the ketchup, eggs, and Worcestershire sauce in large bowl, mixing well with clean hands. Combine salt and dried seasonings in small bowl. Add seasonings to meat mixture, working in with hands to disperse evenly. Pack half meat mixture into 9 x 5-in. (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan. Pour reserved ketchup over meat in pan, patting remaining meat on top. Bake, covered, 15 min. Remove foil and continue to bake 45 min., until meat browns and pulls away from sides of pan. Drain liquid from pan before serving.

Note: See Index for How to Cook Rice. If you remove the rice 10 minutes before it’s cooked, it will nicely absorb the liquid in this recipe. If rice is fully cooked, reduce milk to 2 tbsp. (30 mL) 

For more Meat Loaf recipes, see One Click: Meat Loaf. Or see Meat Loaf: One Click.

Add the milk ...

And the rice, mixing well.

Recipe makes 1 large meat loaf ...

Or 4 mini-loaves.

Cover briefly to cook meat through before browning.