Freezer Cooking – Meatloaf Recipe

Sorry about the late posting today.  We had a surprise trip to the ER.  Solveig fell off a chair in the kitchen and hit her head pretty bad.  She was lathargic and though conscious, very unresponsive so we brought her in.  She was her normal self by the time the doctor saw her, so everything is good.

Anyway…

Today I’m sharing my mom’s slightly modified meatloaf recipe that I use in my freezer meal rotation.  This recipe is for 1 meatloaf.  However, you are saving yourself no trouble or work if you just make 1 of these for the freezer.  You can sure make one for supper, and be no worse off.  Really, in order to save you time you need to make a few of these at the same time, in the same bowl.  I make this recipe x6 on a freezer cooking day, but I need my RBB (Really Big Bowl) to fit all that.

A couple of preliminary notes:

-it’s best to buy your ground meat the day before or the day of preparation, or at least take the meat from your freezer the night before.  You don’t want meat that has been thawing that day, or it seems to not mix quite as well.

-the recipe calls for ground beef, but I often do half ground beef and half ground pork.  Not always, but sometimes. It adds some great flavor, and actually saves a few dollars.

-this produces a meatloaf that is more on the dry side than other recipes I’ve tried.  I don’t like a really wet meatloaf, mostly because this is the one I grew up with.  If you have a favorite meatloaf recipe, just use your ingredients, and follow the preparation instructions below.

-If you use the options of oatmeal or salsa, I recommend you pulse them in your food processor before adding them.  It’s not terribly necessary, but it makes the meatloaf a bit less crumbly. I often pulse my diced onions too because Knut and I like onions, and my kids hate them.  When they don’t see them, they don’t complain!

Meatloaf -1 batch

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup of quick oatmeal or bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 small onion diced
1/4 cup ketsup or salsa of choice

Mix all ingredients together in bowl.  Mix very, very well.  My grandma and I used to wash our hands up to our elbows, and mix with our hands to get it really good.  She always said that was the secret.  Today I use a wooden spoon, because it’s seriously a lot of meat in the bowl.

When all the ingredients are mixed together, simply separate loaf-sized portions into gallon sized Ziploc freezer bags.  Label and freeze.  When ready to use, thaw, press into greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

It’s lovely because when you want meatloaf, you don’t have to track down the ingredients.  You don’t have to dirty any dishes besides the loaf pan.  It’s really good with baked potatoes, brown rice, or cous cous on the side, along with your favorite garden vegetable or two steamed.  It’s also yummy to lay bacon across the top as it’s going in the oven.  I’m sure that’s not very healthy.  Dinner is served.