cookbook_challenge

This week, I made meatloaf from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

Ingredients
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or 2 cups soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf sage, basil, or oregano, crushed
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lamb, or pork
1/4 cup catsup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard

Instructions
1. In a bowl combine eggs and milk; stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, sage, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper . Add meat; mix well. Lightly pat mixture into an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan.
2. Bake in a 350°F oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until internal temperature registers 160°F. Spoon off fat. In a bowl combine catsup, sugar, and mustard; spread over meat. Bake for 10 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Thoughts and Variations
I used dry bread crumbs, one very small onion (probably still more tham a quarter cup), roughly 1 teaspoons dried parsley (because I didn't have fresh), sage, and 800g ground beef (which is almost 2 pounds rather than 1 1/2). My pan was also closer to a 9x4x4, which worked out well because I had slightly more meat mixture than expected. The instructions on this one were easy to follow, and the dish came out rather well, even though I totally forgot to add the pepper.

It was very tasty and I think I shall make it again. This was my first time making meatloaf, so I wasn't sure it would be worth it, but it turned out well enough that I will keep this in mind for the future, especially since it's so little work up front, and the long oven time gives me the ability to do other things at the same time. I do need to figure out how to make the top crispy though; the ketchup mixture stayed more liquid than I expected, and I really like the caramelized texture that happens when my gram makes meatloaf.