dinnertonight:
Magnificient Meatloaf with Fennel
Every family needs a meatloaf to call their own. Forget old Aunt Millie’s tough, gray mystery loaf—she was a sweet lady but a terrible cook. My recipe is quick, easy and can be adapted to suit your family’s particular likes and dislikes. Play around with the recipe, ask for their feedback, and once you get Full Family Approval, don’t mess! Make your meatloaf the comfort meal they never want to miss.
Here’s What You Need:
Olive oil, a splash or two
Onion, one medium-sized, diced
Garlic, 2-3 cloves minced
Celery, one stalk, cut into small pieces
OPTIONAL #1: Green pepper, diced; Carrot, diced; Fennel, diced
Dry mustard, ½ teaspoon
Paprika, ½ teaspoon
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2 pounds ground meat (mix and match to your family’s taste: beef, chicken, turkey, pork, Italian sausage meat, diced smoked bacon)
Oatmeal, regular, ½ cup uncooked
Flat-leaved parsley, handful, chopped
Egg, one, beaten
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
Ketchup (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Optional #2: Tofu, diced small; cheddar cheese, grated; red pepper flakes, to taste
First Do This:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Splash olive oil into a large oven proof skillet and sauté the vegetables.
Sprinkle dry mustard and paprika on top, stir, and cook until barely tender.
Remove from heat and leave vegetable mix in skillet.
3. In a large mixing bowl, gently hand mix meat, uncooked oatmeal and
parsley. DO NOT OVERWORK—this makes the meatloaf gray and gross.
4. Add egg, a few dashes of Worcester, a few squirts of ketchup, and salt and
pepper. Add optional #2 and gently hand mix all. Resist the urge to
overmix.
Then Do This:
5. Scrape vegetables from skillet into mixing bowl and gently, gently, gently
hand mix. Do not wash skillet.
6. Swipe skillet with olive oil again and transfer meat loaf mixture from
bowl into skillet in a mound.
7. Gently shape into a loaf. Long and low cooks best. Do not press hard,
but only apply as much pressure as necessary to form loaf.
Create a slight indentation along the top length-wise.
8. Squirt ketchup on top indentation and bake for about one hour.
If top starts to burn, cover with tented foil.
Finally:
9. Serve with Mrs. Roosevelt’s Anti-Vampire Roasted Garlic Bread
(this month’s Dirty Story,) baked potatoes, or mashed potatoes.
10. Left-overs make excellent sandwiches. Slice cold onto whole-grain
bread and garnish with grainy mustard.
