meatloaf Archives - The Midnight Baker

Taco Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:34 +0000

When you can’t decide on tacos or meatloaf, here’s your answer~

Taco Meatloaf: A Little Bit Of Mexico

If your family is into Mexican food and “Taco Night” is a weekly meal, then change things up a bit with this meatloaf!

You can dress this up or down any way you want. If there’s leftovers, crumble up the meat for a quick regular taco dinner.

In fact, it may be a good idea to double the recipe just for that alone!

Taco Seasoning

The amount of taco seasoning you use is up to you for how “spicy” you want this.

I will use only one envelope of the commercial type or the entire recipe of my restaurant-style taco seasoning. If you like a bolder taco taste, then use two envelopes or double my recipe for homemade.

Commercial taco seasonings vary in taste I have noticed. Some taco seasonings are a bit too heavy on the cumin for my taste as I’m not overly fond of the flavor. My homemade version goes very easy on this spice, so if you want to use my recipe and like the taste of cumin, just add more! Feel free to adjust the amounts of the other ingredients in my recipe. To my way of thinking, cooking for your family is all about their tastes so take it and make it your own!

Dress It Up

Sure this can be served plain with potatoes or rice and a veggie, but why not jazz this up a bit?

Instead of gravy, I will top the slices with either freshly made or commercial salsa A quickie pico de gallo works equally as well. With a food processor or a Ninja system it’s very easy to do! The basic components are onions, seeded tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño and cilantro. The amounts you use are up to you!

The Recipe

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Taco Meatloaf

This delicious taco meatloaf is perfect for a bit of Mexican flair in your comfort food.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Total Time1 5

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: comfort food, meatloaf recipe, taco meatloaf, Tex-Mex

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 348kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
1.75 cup cracker crumbs Saltine or Ritz
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
3 tbsp taco seasoning (see NOTES)
1 cup salsa or pico de gallo

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil.
Mix all ingredients, except for the salsa, in a large bowl.
Shape into a loaf on prepared sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes, or until center of loaf is 160 degrees F per a meat thermometer.
Top with salsa or pico de gallo (if desired)

Notes

You can use 3 tbs of bulk taco seasoning or 1 recipe of my taco seasoning recipe

Nutrition

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Copycat Cracker Barrel Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 26 Nov 2017 00:00:22 +0000

At Cracker Barrel, meatloaf is one of the most popular items on the menu. Try this easy copycat recipe and see why!

Meatloaf: Simple, Tasty And Comforting

One of the first things most people think of when they hear “comfort food” is meatloaf.

Everyone has their favorite go-to recipe for meatloaf and I always say if you ask 10 people for their favorite recipe, you’d get 10 different recipes.

If you’ve ever been to Cracker Barrel, America’s “comfort food” restaurant, chances are you’ve tried their meatloaf. But if you haven’t, here’s a chance to make one just as good as theirs right in your own kitchen!

Copycatting The Original

There’s versions of this meatloaf all over the internet.

I found the recipe I based this one off of on Best of Long Island and Central Florida blog. Linda was a weekly participant in the blog hop I used to run and she really makes fantastic dinners. I also love that her Retriever is a big part of her blog being a fellow dog lover myself. I know if she said that this was good, I was sure to like it too.

One thing I did notice from all the recipes I looked at was that they seemed to exclude one of the original ingredients–green pepper. Maybe those folks didn’t like that taste or for dietary reasons could not eat it. I chose to add it back, albeit a small amount because I wanted an essence but didn’t want that flavor to overpower the others.

Another thing I did differently was add an extra egg, merely because I felt the mixture needed it and substituted extra-sharp cheddar for either the mild cheddar or American cheese the restaurant uses. I also shredded my own cheese because I feel freshly shredded is far superior to the stuff in the bag.

The Topping Is The Crowning Glory

This sweet and sour topping is the perfect thing for this meatloaf!

It’s simple with common ingredients and when it bakes on top of the meatloaf it gets thicker and sticky. Putting bad manners aside, your first thought is to gleefully lick it all off the top of your slice–you can do that when no one is looking!!!

You can use any mustard since there’s only a teaspoon. I used spicy brown–my store’s brand–and it was very good. However, yellow or dijon would be excellent choices too.

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Copycat Cracker Barrel Meatloaf

At Cracker Barrel, meatloaf is one of the most popular items on the menu. Try this easy copycat recipe and see why!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: copycat recipe, Cracker Barrel recipes, meatloaf recipe

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 485kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
3 eggs
45 (1 1/2 sleeves) Ritz crackers crushed
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper can be omitted if you prefer
4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Topping:

1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp yellow mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil.
Mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs then add the cracker crumbs, onion, green pepper, milk, salt, pepper and cheese; stir to combine.
Add the ground beef and mix well. Turn out the meatloaf mixture onto the prepared pan; shape into a loaf.
Bake for 30 minutes then spread topping on top of the meatloaf. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the center is 160 ℉.
Let stand for 5-10 minutes to rest, then slice and serve.

Nutrition

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Cheddar Ranch Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 23:00:25 +0000

If you love ranch and cheddar, then this is your meatloaf!

Cheddar Ranch Meatloaf Equals Comfort Food

Meatloaf is one of those perennial comfort foods.

Even the thought of it brings back memories of wonderful family dinners from most folks’ childhood. It’s also one of the most popular items on old-time diner menus.

So you really can’t go wrong with serving meatloaf for dinner!

Infinite Variations On A Theme

Meatloaf is one of those things where you can have almost infinite variations.

Ask ten people how they make meatloaf and you’ll have ten different recipes! It’s much like pot roast in that respect.

Off the top of my head, I’d say most folks use ketchup or BBQ sauce as an ingredient in their meatloaf. I’ve done that a couple of times myself, but believe it or not, I’m not a great lover of meatloaf. Therefore, I look for more unusual seasonings.

A number of years ago, what I thought was a terrible mistake yielded one of my best-loved meals: Maple Meatloaf. And yes, it has a very unusual secret ingredient, and that was a total mistake too!

I wanted to give this meatloaf a ranch flavor because that’s a flavor I appreciate.

This Is A “Guy Pleaser”

If you’re stumped on what to feed a group of guys, you can’t go wrong with meatloaf!

Most Fridays, I cook a hot lunch for a friend and the two fellows who work for him. These three guys are also food critics for my newest recipes, so they were the first to try this.

The final word was this cheddar ranch meatloaf was delicious and there wasn’t a crumb left. That says a lot because the loaf I made would have easily served 6-8 people.

I also found this great tasting too–and remember, meatloaf isn’t one of my most favorite meals either.

The Recipe

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Cheddar Ranch Meatloaf

If you love ranch and cheddar, then this is your meatloaf!

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Total Time1 5

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheddar cheese, easy meatloaf recipe, ranch seasoning mix

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 481kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 envelope ranch seasoning/dressing mix -OR- 1/4 cup homemade ranch seasoning
2 tbsp au jus gravy mix
1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
3 eggs
1 tbsp dried onion flakes -OR- 2 tbs finely minced fresh onion
2 tbsp cream or evaporated milk
3-4 slices American cheese optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
Shape into a loaf and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment.
Bake for 60 minutes or until center of loaf registers 160 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
Garnish with cheese slices if desired.

Nutrition

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Slow Cooker Savory Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:00:34 +0000

Easy and savory crockpot meatloaf for the slow cooker.

Easy Crockpot Meatloaf

Here’s a simple, tasty and yes, cheap meal to make!

I’m not a big lover of meatloaf, to be honest, and find that the fewer and simpler the additions to the meat produce the best-tasting end product. Unless, of course, making a gross (what I thought was) mistake and coming up with a meatloaf I loved–my Maple Meatloaf.

But usually I find some ground beef in the freezer and want to use it. This time I wanted to make the one that cooks in the slow cooker in cola–until I found out I had none. And I wasn’t going to get in the car and make a trip to the store just for that.

So I looked in my fridge to see what I could add besides ketchup and bbq sauce. I had both but didn’t fancy that flavor. I had chili sauce–which I love and is a basic ingredient in my Comeback Sauce, so I used that.

Now for the other seasoning, I decided to go a bit rogue and use some au jus gravy mix. I have a big supply of that because I use it as a seasoning in other crock pot dishes. Figured it would taste fine used as a meat seasoning.

I mixed it all together and plopped it in my slow cooker and hoped for the best. What I did to make removal easier and keep the meatloaf in one piece was place a couple of strips of heavy-duty foil at the bottom of the crock and laid the loaf on top of them. I had enough foil so that there was overhang. The lid sat nicely on top of the overhang so no heat escaped.

The results were delicious and moist! Maybe not gourmet, but a great family meal.

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Slow Cooker Savory Meatloaf

Here’s a simple, tasty and yes, cheap meal to make!

Prep Time5

Cook Time8

Total Time11

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crockpot meatloaf recipe, easy meatloaf recipe, slow cooker meatloaf

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 307kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef
3 eggs
2 tbsp dehydrated minced onion -OR- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh onion
2 tbsp au jus gravy mix
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix all ingredients and place in a 5-7 quart slow cooker.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, high 3-5 hours. Always check at minimum time. Times are approximate as all cookers cook differently.

Nutrition

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Pinwheel Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 00:00:20 +0000

Pinwheel Meatloaf

One of my mother’s treasured recipes. Comfort food at it’s best.

This is a recipe my mother transformed. Originally, she said, the filling was mashed potatoes. She thought it would taste better with a soft-bread stuffing. What do they say? Mother is always right? YEP!!

Mine never looks as good as my mom’s. Her stuffing stayed relatively white. Mine doesn’t…however, it tastes the same, and that’s what counts!!!

This is made like a jellyroll. The ground beef is rolled into a rectangle, the stuffing is spread on top of the meat, then rolled up. She cooked this in a “V” roasting rack so it never sat in the fat. The use of the roasting rack is optional, of course, but I suggest using it, especially if you are watching your fat intake.

The Recipe

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Pinwheel Meatloaf

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy meatloaf recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 558kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs very lean ground beef

STUFFING

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbsp parsley
4 tbsp butter
2 cups soft breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rack in a roasting pan
Mix all stuffing ingredients in a bowl; set aside
Roll out ground beef between 2 sheets of waxed paper to make a 12 x 8-inch rectangle.
Spread stuffing on top of meat and roll up, jellyroll style, from shorter end. Seal seam.
Place meatloaf on rack in prepared pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until center of meatloaf is 160 degrees F

Nutrition

Pinwheel Meatloaf

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Annie Glenn’s Ham Loaf

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Annie Glenn’s Ham Loaf

This meatloaf is not only spectacular tasting, but it’s the famous family recipe of Annie Glenn, wife of American legend John Glenn.

Who else is addicted to the miniseries “The Astronaut Wives Club?” I am because I lived through that time of Sputnik and Mercury. John Glenn was a hero to me then, and he still is! Mr. Glenn is in his 90s and is still vibrant and active. So is Mrs. Glenn.

Annie Glenn is a hero too. In mid-life, she conquered a debilitating stutter with the help of an experimental program. The Glenn’s have always been inspirational for their achievements.

I read that this recipe was a family favorite of theirs and when Mrs. Glenn served it to Vice President and Mrs. Johnson, Lady Bird asked her for the recipe because they loved it so much.

Serve at your next launch party!

It was hard tracing down the original recipe. It was a good thing I read the book as well because it told the ingredients, but not the amounts. There’s many versions of this, but I found it in Google’s archives of a 1961 Milwaukee newspaper.

I will caution that the sauce gets the consistency of Karo syrup towards the end of the cooking and the ham loaf is sticky and pretty hard to remove from the pan, but even if it starts to break up–and I let mine rest for about 25 minutes after removing from the oven–it’s totally delicious! Real retro comfort food–and the dinner of champions!

Tender, moist and mellow flavor

Read more about the Glenn’s at the John & Annie Glenn Historic Site

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Annie Glenn's Ham Loaf

This meatloaf is not only spectacular tasting, but it’s the famous family recipe of Annie Glenn, wife of American legend John Glenn.

Prep Time35

Cook Time2

Total Time2 35

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: meatloaf recipe

Servings: 8

Calories: 471kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 eggs beaten
1 1/4 cups scant milk
2/3 cup saltine cracker crumbs
1/3 cup instant tapioca
1 tbsp minced onion
1 lb ground smoked ham
1 lb ground pork
4 oz ground beef

BROWN SUGAR SAUCE

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water

Instructions

Mix the eggs, milk, cracker crumbs, tapioca and minced onion in a large bowl. Stir well and let sit until slightly thickened–this will take about 30 minutes.
While the egg mixture is sitting, prepare sauce–mix all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat till boiling. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 13×9-inch pan with non-stick spray.
Mix in the smoked ham, pork and beef. Blend well. Turn into prepared pan and shape into a loaf.
Drizzle sauce over ham loaf.
Bake for 2 hours, basting with sauce frequently (I did this every 15-20 minutes).

Nutrition

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Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Calling all bacon cheesburger fans. This is your meatloaf! Eat it hot or cold on a bun–just like the burger joints.

This is one quick and easy meatloaf. Mix it, bake it, that’s it.

I have to admit that generic meatloaf is not my favorite thing to eat. I have discovered another good one quite by accident, and that’s my Maple Meatloaf where what I thought was going to be a disaster became one of the best I ever tasted.

Just like the burger joints

Since I love bacon cheeseburgers, I figured I’d have a go at something that resembled that so I tried this with classic steak/burger seasonings.

I chose to top the meatloaf with bacon rather than include it in the mix. To me, it was more like a real cheeseburger that way. I made a fancy lattice and wrapped the formed loaf in that, but if you are not so inclined, laying bacon across the top and tucking it under will do just as well.

If you want to bake this in a classic loaf pan, then you have to wrap it with bacon before putting it in the pan. I rarely use a loaf pan to bake meatloaf due to the fat. I prefer to shape it into a loaf and bake it on a rack in an oblong pan. That way, the fat just renders out and the meat isn’t sitting in it, and with this particular meatloaf, there will be fat because of the bacon.

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Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Calling all bacon cheeseburger fans. This is your meatloaf! Eat it hot or cold on a bun–just like the burger joints.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, cheeseburger, meatloaf recipe

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 489kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs very lean ground beef
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce -OR- steak sauce
1-2 tbsp ketchup use the 1 tbsp if using steak sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese cut into 1/4-1/2-inch cubes
8-10 slices bacon*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the bacon. Form into a loaf shape.
Top with either a fancy bacon lattice, or lay strips across the top. Make sure to tuck the bacon under the bottom of the meatloaf.
Place in an oblong pan (I used 11 x 7-inches with a rack) and bake for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature is 160 degrees F.
Serves 6-8

Notes

*I made a lattice with 8 slices of bacon to top the meatloaf--4 across, 4 down. You can use less bacon if you don't want to get fancy, but the top should be covered with bacon.

Nutrition

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf–gobs of cheese!

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Maple Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000

FROM KITCHEN “DISASTER” TO TREASURED RECIPE

Maple Meatloaf

I’ll begin by saying, “I HATE meatloaf.”
Always have since I was a child. My kitchen odyssey has been at times
to experiment with this hated dish to see if I could come up with
something the least bit palatable–to me at least.

About
4 or so years ago, I decided to give this a go yet again. Figured at
least my dogs would be happy to eat the failures as they were in the
past.

I thought breakfast sausage
might do the trick since I always liked that at least. With the thrill
and anticipation of yet another kitchen experiment, I happily started
defrosting my bulk sausage roll and a pound of ground beef that weren’t
working too hard in my freezer. Come to discover I was out of plain
breadcrumbs and didn’t feel like trekking to the store just for that, so
I figured a substitution of some Pepperidge Farm poultry stuffing that I
still had in the bag would fill the bill rather nicely.

Delicious and unusual meatloaf

So I get everything mixed up nicely and ready to shape, when to my horror, I discovered I’d bought and mixed in MAPLE
flavored sausage. A bit saddened at this potential waste of good food
(dogs were excited though LOL), I shaped and baked this anyway.

After about 30 minutes, a very appetizing aroma was coming from my kitchen. I couldn’t believe this; meatloaf???? Smelling good??? I couldn’t wait to taste test this.

Eureka!
I’d found it! From these potential disasters often come treasured
family favorites. This is one of them and here it is.

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Maple Meatloaf

A delicious meatloaf recipe with maple sweetness added.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, Pork, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bulk sausage, easy meatloaf recipe, ground beef

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 450kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
8 oz maple-flavored bulk sausage
1 cup dry poultry stuffing such as Pepperidge Farm
2 tbsp warm water
2 large eggs
2 tbsp finely chopped onion

Instructions

In a large bowl, add stuffing mix and onion. Add 2 tbs of warm water and toss to coat. Crumbs should not be wet, just slightly damp. Let this stand until water is absorbed, maybe 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Shape into loaf and bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature is 160 degrees (it will rise to 170 during the standing time). Slice and serve. Mashed potatoes go nicely with this, and of course, gravy that you can make from the wonderful drippings.
Slow Cooker Directions: Mix and shape as directed above. Place in a 5 quart slow cooker (preferably on a rack) and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, HIGH 3-5 hours.

Nutrition

Maple Meatloaf

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