The Motherloaf Recipes

MOM'S MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine ground beef, cracker crumbs, tomato sauce, eggs, onion, bell pepper, salt, thyme, and marjoram in a large bowl and mix well. Shape beef mixture into two equally sized loaves. Place both loaves in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix ketchup and corn syrup in a small bowl to make a glaze.
• Remove baking dish from the oven and remove foil. Brush glaze onto the loaves. Return baking dish to the oven uncovered, and continue baking until loaves are no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

CLASSIC MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the carrot, celery, onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic in a food processor, and pulse until very finely chopped, almost to a puree. Place the minced vegetables into a large mixing bowl, and mix in ground chuck, Worcestershire sauce, and egg. Add Italian herbs, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix gently with a wooden spoon to incorporate vegetables and egg into the meat. Pour in bread crumbs. With your hand, gently mix in the crumbs with your fingertips just until combined, about 1 minute.
• Form the meatloaf into a ball. Pour olive oil into a baking dish and place the ball of meat into the dish. Shape the ball into a loaf, about 4 inches high by 6 inches across.
• Bake in the preheated oven just until the meatloaf is hot, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.
• Remove the meatloaf from the oven. With the back of a spoon, smooth the glaze onto the top of the meatloaf, then pull a little bit of glaze down the sides of the meatloaf with the back of the spoon.
• Return meatloaf to oven, and bake until the loaf is no longer pink inside and the glaze has baked onto the loaf, 30 to 40 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the loaf should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Cooking time will depend on shape and thickness of the meatloaf.

THE MOTHERLOAF

Steps:

• For the meatloaf:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine the cracker crumbs, oats and milk to soften in a medium bowl. Combine the ground chuck, ground pork, onions, milk, parsley, celery, ketchup, green peppers, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, mustard, marjoram, thyme, seasoned salt and eggs in a large bowl. Add the oats mixture and mix well, but do not over-mix.
• Portion the meat mixture into eight 8-ounce cupcakes and place into the prepared muffin pan. Smooth the tops of each portion. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, about 30 minutes. Unmold and set on paper towels to absorb any additional liquid. (The meatloaf can also be cooked in a loaf pan.).
• For the mashed potatoes:
• Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in a pot covered with cold salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well. Place the potatoes, milk, sour cream and butter in a mixing bowl and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• For immediate enjoyment, using ice cream scoop, scoop the potatoes on top of a meatloaf cupcake. Serve with your favorite gravy.