Meatloaf Mania

Meatloaf is one of those classic comfort foods. If you are not a meat eater, I guess you could throw together some kind of tofu and nut loaf, but I just don't think it would be quite the same.

I have a slew of meatloaf recipes. I've probably even posted one or two before, but I am too lazy to scan through all my posts to find out. The recipe I am sharing today is an amalgamation of a couple of really delicious recipes I've been using for years. One came from a cookbook titled Eating Well by Burt Wolf. He shared the meatloaf recipe used by Clyde's, a very popular restaurant which first opened in Washington, DC, many years ago and soon became a chain. The other recipe came from the New York Cookbook, a huge favorite of mine. Paul Schwartz contributed his unusual meatloaf recipe. I took the two, mixed them up, omitted all the ingredients I didn't have on hand or didn't care to use, added my own touches, and voila!

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup whole milk, warmed for 2 minutes in microwave

Dump oats into warmed milk and let sit for at least 10 minutes.

2 TB. butter
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 large kale leaves, finely chopped (or 1/4 cup chopped parsley)
1 TB minced garlic
1 lb. ground beef, grass-fed if possible
1 lb. country sausage meat
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon low sodium seasoned salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large skillet, melt the butter and saute the veggies until wilted and translucent. Add the garlic and cook only 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat and allow veggies to cool slightly. Mix the raw meats together in a large bowl. Add the oat mixture and the raw eggs. Mix in all the seasonings and spices. Add the cooked veggies and blend all ingredients well. Shape meatloaf into a rounded dome and place into the large skillet. Bake for at least 1 hour or until no longer pink in the center. Makes 8 servings. (Great with mashed potatoes and green beans on the side!)

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