Trisha Yearwood's Meatloaf - My Way

This year for Christmas I received this cookbook - Trisha Yearwood's Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. It's full of great recipes that not only look fun and yummy - they look like things that my family would actually eat.

It's a crap shoot sometimes - even if I really really like the author of the cookbook - my family will sometimes rebel against trying the recipes or the ingredients will not be available in my area. But this cookbook is great! I didn't have a single doubt that my family would enjoy all of the recipes.

Meatloaf
Trisha Yearwood's Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 pounds lean ground beef
20 saltine crackers, crumbled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Gently mix all ingredients. Shape the mixture into two loves and place side by side crosswise in a 9 X 13 X 2 inch pan. Bake loaves for 1 hour, or until they are browned. Transfer to a platter immediately and allow the loaves to cool slightly and firm up before slicing.

My version - I did exactly as the recipe suggested - but as I was mixing (by hand which my kids thought was really gross) I thought that my mixture needed a few more crackers and a bit more ketchup. My kids took turn squirting a bit more in since my hands were covered in ya know - Meat.  Once I got the loaves formed I realized that there wasn't a topping included - since this is my favorite part of meat loaf - I added more ketchup to the top and sprinkled it with brown sugar.

While my kids complained that they didn't like meatloaf - every single bit of the 2 loaves were eaten. I had orginally thought that we would have enough left over for meatloaf sammies the next day - No Chance.

Neatloaf

Note from Sara:  My side business gets pretty crazy during the holidays, so over the next several weeks, I'll be posting recipes from some amazing substitute bloggers.  This week, my friend John has generously stepped up to the plate.  He's one of my favorite writers ever (seriously), so definitely check out his blog!


Neatloaf: A Tasty Vegetarian, Gluten-Free Fake Meatloaf

You’re about to witness a groundbreaking moment here on the Blah to Ta-Daa blog. I’m humbled to not only be invited by Sara to cross post a tasty supper recipe, but also to be the first dude to volunteer in the history of the Blah to Ta-Daa blog. I am honored and quite excited.

As yet another short preface, please don’t be scared of this recipe because it’s vegetarian or the name sounds funny. Sadly there’s no other way to describe it other than “fake meatloaf”. If you give it a chance you might really enjoy it.

Short backstory: One of my favorite places to eat in San Diego was Jyoti-Bihanga, a tasty vegetarian/vegan restaurant run by the Sri Chinmoy folks. If you aren’t familiar with them, I’ll tell you this - they make a fantastic fake meatloaf, they call it Neatloaf. You can imagine how excited I was when a friend of mine e-mailed me the recipe, so now I can have delicious Neatloaf in the comfort of my own home here in North Dakota.

Since I cook for a Celiac sufferer, I make the recipe gluten free by simply replacing the Special K with gluten free corn flakes or one of the gluten free Chex varieties that are on the market. This can change the consistency a little bit, but keeps the recipe well within the realm of deliciousness.

Cheers!
John,
at Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes



Here are the ingredients for the Neatloaf:
4 large eggs
1/4 cup Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1/3 lb low-fat ricotta cheese
1/3 lb firm tofu (squished up into small pieces)
1/4 cup vegetable oil, of choice
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
4 cups Special K cereal (substitute GF corn flakes or Chex to make gluten free)
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic

Here are the ingredients for the sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup (you can also substitute catsup)
1/8 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup molasses
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
Cayenne pepper (to taste - a pinch is plenty for me)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 300°F.
2. Saute the onions and garlic (in just a little bit of oil).
3. Beat eggs in bowl, the mix together all ingredients except Special K.
4. Mix well, and add Special K last.
5. Turn into a 9 x9 baking pan sprayed with cooking oil. 
6. Bake 1 hour.
7. While Neatloaf cooks prepare sauce, whisking together all sauce ingredients in a bowl. I typically like a lot of sauce so I double the sauce part. 
8. Remove loaf from oven, pour sauce over the loaf and cook an additional 10 minutes.
9. When loaf is done, if you can avoid the temptation, it’s best to let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
10. Best served with mashed potatoes and gravy and a side veggie.

It’s a bit of a complicated recipe, but don’t get scared, it’s not hard.  I usually double the recipe and use two loaf pans – one is for dinner that night and leftovers, the other one goes in the freezer for super easy dinner down the road.  If you do freeze a loaf pan, cover with aluminum foil and reheat in the oven.  The leftovers also freeze really well and make delicious lunches, definitely a highlight in the household. 
 

Note from Sara:  This is not John.

This is Alycia, his lovely girlfriend, and one of my best good friends.

Cajun Style Meatloaf Patties

This recipe is adapted from Rachel Ray's Cajun Style Meatloaf Patties found in her Book Of 10 cookbook.

Cajun Style Meatloaf Patties
Ingredients:

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/8 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt & freshly ground pepper
(I omitted the salt)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
(I omitted this as well. Nutmeg & beef? Not in my book.)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
5 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
(I used 1 tablespoon in the non-stick skillet and felt that I would omit it completely the next go round)

Gravy:

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock
(I used a Knorr beef boullion cube with 1 cup water)
1/4 cup heavy cream
(I substituted 1/2 & 1/2 for the heavy cream)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
(I substituted 1/8 cup dried because it was raining and I didn't feel like venturing out into the garden)

Rachel says to:

"Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and create a well in the center of the meat. Fill the well with the bread crumbs and dampen them with the milk. Pour the egg over the bread crumbs and then add salt, pepper, the Worcestershire, nutmeg, tomato paste, green peppers, garlic, and scallions. Mix together and form into 4 large oval patties, 3/4 inch thick."

Teresa says to:

"Dump all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your clean hands. Form 4 large oval patties, 3/4 inch thick."

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat with the vegetable oil. Again, I think you can do with out this completely in a nonstick pan. (Avoiding grease splatters that still escape even when using a splatter screen :) Fry the meatloaf patties for 7 minutes on each side. This timing was really accurate so I wouldn't deviate from it.

Remove the meatloaf patties to a platter, tent with foil, and return the pan to the heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, the onions, and the red pepper flakes. Cook for about 2 minutes and then sprinkle the onions with the flour. Cook the flour for 1 minute and then whisk in the stock and the heavy cream. Bring the gravy to a bubble. Taste and season with salt & pepper. Stir in the parsley and remove the gravy from the heat.

We served these Cajun-Style Meatloaf Patties with veggies from our garden and field, corn on-the-cob, steamed green beans and cherry tomatoes.
When David sat down to dinner he said, "What did I do to deserve this?" The gravy is delicious. Really. I'd lick the pan clean if I was by myself in the kitchen! :) This was a 4 spoon recipe for our family.

Meatloaf Muffins

This recipe was given to me by a Weight Watchers leader.  It is great because it is easy to make and it is cooked and served in single servings.....making it super easy to control your portion!  Serve it with some healthy veggies or a salad and you have a perfect meal.

This recipe is rated 4 spoons.



Ingredients:
2 pounds 95% fat free ground beef
1 package of stove top stuffing
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
2 eggs

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together.  Divide mixture evenly into 12 muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Looking to mix it up a bit?  Try topping it with salsa to add a little bite.