Simple Meatloaf Recipe Kids Love
-A lot of kids don’t like meatloaf, not sure why, but seems to be the case most of the time. My mom always made a very basic meatloaf and my kids actually requested this meal quite often. Only take a few minutes to prepare and requires very little fuss. This recipe is for a 3 pound meatloaf, that will give you plenty of left overs for sandwiches or to heat up the next night or for lunch. My kids wanted me to be sure to post this, so they can get the recipe easily from the Notions and Needs website.
Oven Temp 350 degrees F-2+ hours
Ground Beef- 3 lbs
Saltine Crackers- 2 inner wrapped packages
Eggs- 2
Ketchup- 1/3 cup
Milk- 1/3 cup
Onion- 2 tbls dried chopped or 1/2 cup freshly chopped fine (1 small vidalia or yellow)
Pepper- to taste, about 1/2 to 1 tsp
If using unsalted crackers 1 tsp salt can be added as well
Take 3 lbs of ground beef or hamburger and place it in a large bowl that will give you plenty of room to mix in the ingredients. Crush your packages of crackers by either placing them in a large zipper bag and crush with rolling pin or the flat side of a meat tenderizer. I prefer using my small food processor similar to the one in my Corn Flake Baked Chicken recipe post. I like my cracker crumbs to be rather fine and without big pieces of cracker in them. I’ll add one package of crackers at a time to my ground beef to mix it evenly. After adding one package of crackers, I’ll add both eggs, milk, ketchup and the onion to my ground beef. After washing my hands completely and drying them I dig in and start smooshing and squishing the mixture with my fingers and hands, rotating and turning it over often. Your crumbs will fall to the bottom so it’s important to keep rolling it in the crumbs. After it is mixed well, I’ll add the other package of crumbed crackers mixed with my pepper and additional salt if any. Mix completely through your ground beef mixture. If it tends to want to fall apart easily use a little more milk or another egg if your eggs were small. It should hold together and allow you to form a nice large loaf with your hands that does not separate. I smack it and form it out of the bowl, like making a giant hamburger ball.
I like to use a meatloaf pan I acquired several years ago. Unfortunately, like many great products it is no longer available, but you can find similar products that are still available. I personally prefer one that has a tray with open sides over the ones that have one pan with holes that nests inside one without holes. Removal and clean up is much easier with the ones that have lift out trays. I’ll use aluminum foil to line my pan with. I do this by turning the pan upside down and use it to form my foil, gently shaping the corners and sides of the foil to fit the pan. I then gently lift it off the pan, turn it over and insert my foil into the pan. I insure it is pressed evenly and snug to the shape of the pan, so my tray will not tear the foil when I insert it. I lightly oil the sides of the foil that the meatloaf will come in contact with and the bottom and ends of my tray to reduce sticking. Once the pan is prepared and the tray has been inserted I place my meatloaf mixture into the pan. I attempt to form it to the size of the pan with my hands before I put it in the pan, then I finish shaping it. For smaller loafs, you can form it to one end of the pan and use a piece of foil that has been folded to press against the end that comes short of reaching the end of the pan. I personally like a tall meatloaf rather than a short one. It makes for nice slices when making a sandwich.
I place it in the oven for an hour and a half tented with a small piece of foil to keep it from over browning on the top. After time is up I remove the foil tent and frost it with a nice layer ketchup. I return it to the oven to continue cooking for 30-40 mins longer.
Baked potatoes or squash is great with this entree, since the oven is going and there is plenty of room. You will want to get those in the oven before it’s time to frost the meatloaf. May even make some biscuits or rolls to go with it as well. They are easy to prepare after you frost your meatloaf with the ketchup and return it to the oven. By the time your done making your biscuits, there is just enough time to cook them and have everything ready at the same time. This is great on those chilly days.
Meatloaf pans are a great way to precook things like boneless BBQ Ribs. I prepare the pan with foil just as I do with meatloaf, so I can easily drain off the juices and fat, remove the foil and place my ribs back into the clean pan, then coat with my favorite BBQ sauce to continue cooking until the sauce is thick and baked on. I completely cover while cooking rather than just tent it though when I’m precooking to drain off fat.