An American Classic: Meatloaf

Rosemary crusted Meatloaf

Today's post is a classic and easy to make meal from the continent of North America. Who doesn't love meatloaf? Its low fat, because its grounded, its super easy to make and the process is so short, that you wont get so frustrated cooking it, that you don't want to eat it.

Ground beef has about 180 calories per 3oz and about 90 calories from fat. Considering other meats, this is pretty good and I don't mind at all. But if you're watching the waistline like I do some of the times, you can also try ground turkey breast in the space of the beef. For the 3oz, ground turkey breast is about 126 calories and 63 calories from fat. This is a good deal less, if you've ever been on a treadmill, seeing how much effort it takes to burn a calorie from fat.

A super brief history of the meatloaf, according to my favourite unauthenticated site: Wikipedia:

"American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork, and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times."


Since you know what meatloaf is, where its from and the nutritional value (all in a nutshell), here's how you make it :D

Ingredients

1lb ground beef/turkey/pork (pretty much any type of ground meat you want)
Salt
All purpose seasoning
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Paprika (optional)
6 tsp Soy sauce
1 large sized onion (diced)
3 pegs of garlic (grated) * a peg is one of the pieces from the whole clove ;)*
Dried Rosemary
Dried Dill weed

Method

1. Empty the meat into a large bowl
2. Season the meat with salt and all purpose seasoning to taste (tastes vary)
3. Add a pinch each of the Cayenne pepper and the paprika
4. Add soy sauce
5. Throw in diced onions and garlic
6. With hand or wooden spoon, mix all the content with the meat, until fully incorporated
7. With hand, knead the meat for 2 minutes and form meat into a large ball
8. Place ball on a greased baking sheet
9. From there, form ball into a loaf like shape and sprinkles top with rosemary and dill
10. Preheat oven for 5 minutes at 350° F
11. Place loaf in oven and bake for 1 hour

After an hour take the loaf out, allow to cool slightly and slice.

I like to serve my meatloaf with a bit of brown rice and some vegetables. But i'm not you. Serve it with whatever you want. eat it by itself! Its all up to you.

Here's what my meal looks like! Don't feel worried if yours doesn't look the same

Hope you enjoy your meatloaf! however you make it!

From me to you

Buon Appetito!!

Lisa Rhooms