I have mentioned before that I come from a fairly large family. I have 4 siblings. 3 sisters and 1 brother. All older than me. Ha! I love rubbing that in. I have still have my mom and dad. However, my mom is in a nursing home now. You will hear me refer to Mom and how she used to do this is that or what she used to cook. I don’t want anyone to get the impression that she is no longer with us. She just doesn’t cook anymore. But, believe me, she is always in the kitchen with us in spirit. Food and cooking was a big part of her life. She had a lot of mouths to feed at home.
Besides that, she was a cook our local elementary school for years and years. She took the job over from her own mom when Grandma fell ill.
She was there behind that lunch counter for me from my kindergarten year until I left the elementary for junior high and then she was there for her grandkids as they came through that very same school. The other lunch ladies were her close friends and she enjoyed her job so much. Those ladies shared recipes with one another and from time to time I will refer to a recipe that has that origin. Now, I do have to admit that Mom didn’t teach me much in the kitchen. At least not formal teaching. I did watch and I caught on to techniques and hints. I guess that after cooking all day she just wanted to get dinner on the table and didn’t have it in her to run a cooking school too. I don’t blame her. I learned anyway and I use many of her recipes today. I don’t even attempt to improve upon them. They are just too good as they are. So, today I want to give you Mom’s recipe for meatloaf. Big deal, you say? Well, it is. Everyone should know how to make a good meatloaf. It will save your sanity to have this kind of go-to meal in your recipe box. I think that meatloaf gets a bad rap too. It is sometimes considered a crappy diner meal. My son’s friends could not understand why the prospect of meatloaf for supper was cause for excitement. Ok, so maybe not excitement. Maybe, pleasant anticipation. I mean, I would have been seriously concerned if two young boys got excited about meatloaf. This dish makes a nice, comforting meal. You can make the loaves up ahead of time and pop them in the oven when you get home and you probably have the ingredients in your kitchen.
To start with, I like to use “budget burger”. That is a mixture of ground pork and beef. The percentages depend on the brand. My local grocery makes it 50/50 but I have also purchased 75% beef and 25% pork. Both are good. The point is that I use the mixed ground meats because they are juicier. The higher quality ground beef will produce a drier meatloaf but you could also use a ground beef with a higher fat content and it would be fine too. This recipe makes one larger loaf that will feed 4 – 6 people or (as I like to do) form it into 2 smaller loaves. I find that they get done quicker and there is a greater ratio of sauce to meat. I use the Campbell’s tomato soup but you can use any brand that you like. I used to be able to buy a large can that was labeled family size that was perfect. I can’t find that in my stores now. I purchase 2 of the new family size cans and I don’t use quite all of the second one.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the burger, eggs, oatmeal, onion flakes, salt and pepper in a large bow. You almost have to use your hands for this. It is the only way to get it all mixed evenly. Just roll up your sleeves, take off your rings and dig in.
Form the meat mixture into 1 large loaf or 2 smaller ones. Place in a casserole dish or cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Add about 1 cup of water to keep the meat from drying out and overcooking on the bottom.
Bake for 1 hour or until the loaves are cooked almost through. If you cut into one there should be no or very little pink left but you don’t want for the outsides to be too browned either.
While the meat is baking mix 1 and ½ cans of tomato soup and 1 cup of ketchup. Stir until combined.
Remove the meat from the oven and carefully pour off any excess grease that has collected in the bottom of the pan. This is easiest done by transferring the meat to a platter and then returning it to the baking dish once the grease has been removed. Pour the soup mixture over the meatloaf making sure to cover entirely. Return the meatloaf to the oven and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the sauce is hot and bubbly. Remove from the oven and slice into 1 inch slices (or bigger if you prefer a big hunka meatloaf). Spoon some of the sauce over the slices and serve. The sauce is really good on mashed potatoes too. I always, always, always serve mashed potatoes with meatloaf just like Mom did. It just wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t.
Mom's Meatloaf
This easy meatloaf with a tomato based sauce makes a nice, comforting meal. You can make the loaves up ahead of time and pop them in the oven when you get home.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. of burger of your choice
- 1/4 cup onion flakes
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup of Quick or 1-minute oats
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of water
- 1 1/2 family size cans of tomato soup concentrate
- 1 cup ketchup
- Cooking spray for baking dish
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 2 Mix the burger, oats, eggs, onion flakes, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
- Step 3 Form the meat mixture into 1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves.
- Step 4 Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with cooking spray
- Step 5 Place the meatloaf or loaves into the baking dish and add the water to the bottom of the dish.
- Step 6 Bake for 1 hour or until the meat is almost completely done.
- Step 7 Remove from the oven and drain the fat from the pan.
- Step 8 Mix the tomato soup and ketchup together in a medium bowl.
- Step 9 Pour the soup mixture over the meatloaf and return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the sauce is hot and bubbling.
- Step 10 Remove from the oven and slice.
- Step 11 Spoon some of the sauce over the slices and serve.
