Best Meatloaf!

July 22, 2008

My husband and I have good friends named Matt and Jenny. One night we joined them for dinner and I had the best meatloaf of my life. I have had a pretty sad meatloaf experiences (like most of you out there) where the meatloaf was like a solid block of greasy meat. Yuck. But Jenny's meatloaf was perfection. Not too bland, perfect amount of binder, perfect seasoning. I had to get the recipe. Imagine my surprise when she said You won't need a pen and paper, I can just tell you and you'll remember.

I made it for my sister (who had 3 kids at the time) and she loved it and promptly made and froze 5 more for an upcoming surgery she was having. I also recently made this for a dinner party with family and friends and it got rave reviews by all. Yes, this one's a keeper! Trust me.

*On the day I took these photos I made three meatloaves so amounts shown in pictures are tripled.


Super Simple Meatloaf
Recipe from Jenny Meese
(recipe makes 1 loaf and can be multiplied.)

1-1&1/2 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 can manwich
1 box stove top chicken stuffing


Directions
- Place stove top stuffing in gallon sized ziplock bag. Seal bag and use a rolling pin to crush. (this is optional, but my sister and I both felt the bread crumbs were too large in the finished meatloaf when added straight from the box)



- Combine all ingredients (including seasoning packet from stuffing) in a large bowl.


- Mix with hands. Feels kind of creepy, but in a fun, childhood way.



- Place in loaf pan and top with ketchup (if that's how you like your meatloaf)




- Bake at 350* for 40-55 minutes or until internal temperature is 155*

Freezing Instructions
-Place raw meatloaf mixture in disposable aluminum loaf pan.
-Cover with foil and freeze.
-Thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours before baking.
- Bake as directed.


Healthier Options
- Replace half pound of raw hamburger meat with lean ground turkey.

Don't Try
- Manwich "bold". We like spicy food, but it turned out nasty.
-Other flavors of stuffing besides chicken. We have tried both pork and beef and both produced a weird taste.

Serve With
- Stuffed Baked Potatoes (recipe to follow this month)
- steamed veggies.

13 comments:

JDM July 25, 2008  

I love that you posted about this.
It really is amazing for such a quick fix dinner!

pink4u July 29, 2008  

I made the meatloaf last night and my family went crazy....they loved it!!!

Thank you so much for sharing!
Very easy to make and in little time!

Dana (*danavee*) July 30, 2008  

Genius! Manwich! I never would have thought of that!

*reyanna* August 03, 2008  

It says one egg in the recipe, but there were two in the bowl in the photo. Is that because you doubled the recipe? Thanks! :)

Anonymous,  October 02, 2008  

Hi, I was just wondering where the stuffed potato recipe is to go along with meatloaf. Thanks

Anonymous,  November 13, 2008  

Made this meatloaf the other night and made an extra for the freezer. Yum! I can't believe how good it was!

Anonymous,  December 10, 2008  

Thank you....thank you...thank you. I had a great meatloaf recipe from the Chicago SunTimes that I had for nearly 20 years and lost it somehow. Have not made meatloaf since....my poor husband will be thrilled.

reeree62 December 10, 2008  

OK, I really want to try this!!!!! My question: when you add the Stovetop mix, crushed, do you also add the packet of seasoning mix in the box??

Cassie January 04, 2009  

I have this cooking in the oven right now. I'm actually making it for tomorrow night. It'll just have to be heated up when I get home from work.
The box of stovetop I accidently bought was the kind already mixed with the spices. I'll see how it comes out.
My family's meatloaf recipe is kind of oriental (soy sauce and water chestnuts) so this will be a nice change.

Pchan May 24, 2009  

OMIGOSH!! I love meatloaf. thank you so much for posting this. I can't wait to try it.

Jodi October 29, 2009  

This morphed into three meals for us. First it was meatloaf, then I mashed up the rest (about half a loaf) and mixed it with mushrooms and crushed tomato for spaghetti, and last I used the sauce for open faced sandwiches with mozzarella. Not bad for $7 a meatloaf. :) Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Unknown March 29, 2010  

Freezing tip for small families that like meatloaf - I make mini individual loaves (about 6 for an average meatloaf recipe), flash freeze for 2-3 hours and then wrap in plastic and aluminum foil. Then the night before cooking, or the morning before, move them to the fridge for defrosting, however many you will need.

I will definitely try this recipe too, but in my mini-loaves.

Jenni :) November 06, 2010  

I finally made this today & wow, was it yummy! I have never liked meatloaf in my life, but this one is fantastic. I was able to get 8 mini loaves out of 1 recipe! Now, I'll have fully-cooked, perfectly portioned mini-meatloaves in my freezer :) Thanks!

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A new recipe will be posted each Monday and, of course, you can always search the archives by category.

The Goal of this blog is not just to give you my recipes, but to teach you which ingredients freeze well, which don't, methods and tips to help you freeze your own recipes...because who knows better what your family likes than you?

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