Simple comfort food

A Sunday afternoon at the lake and it’s time to start thinking about what to prepare for dinner. I have some ground beef in the refrigerator and  Yukon gold potatoes in the vegetable basket. Since it’s almost the middle of June, under normal circumstances I probably would think about hamburgers from the grill along side  potato salad.

However, today is not your normal warm, sunny day at the lake. The watercraft are covered, the yard is soggy from two days of rain and it is 52 degrees outside. The house is cool and it doesn’t feel like a burger kind of day. I’m thinking of turning on the oven to warm up the house. Burgers and potato salad become meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

Simple Comfort Food

Everyone has their favorite meatloaf recipe and I thought I would share mine. I’ve made it so often that I usually don’t measure. You can adjust the seasonings to your taste. I often vary the herbs, using fresh when I have them. If I want to make it Mexican for example, I add jalapeño, cumin,and cilantro. Meatloaf is not fancy…it is simple comfort food.

Crusty meatloaf

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with non-stick foil. In a mixing bowl combine the following:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 slices of  bread,  processed to bread crumbs
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 egg
1 T. Worcestershire sauce plus 1 additional T. to top before putting in the oven
2 T. ketchup
2 t. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Form into two loaves (I make two loaves because we both like lots of crisp crust), place them on the lined  baking sheet.  Top with the additional tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Bake approximately 45 min. to 1 hr. until done and they have an attractive brown crust. Let rest before slicing.

This recipe is so simple. You might want to add a topping during the last 15 minutes of cooking. It can be served as is or  with ketchup, brown gravy, BBQ sauce or salsa.

I served the meatloaf topped with caramelized onion brown gravy. Along side, I  served chive and garlic mashed potatoes (I throw a smashed clove of garlic into the pot with the potatoes as they are boiling), and buttered sugar snap peas.

I would love to hear how you would top this crispy meatloaf.

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