Betsy Bailey

I used to dislike meatloaf as a kid, but recently I gave it another try. I realized the issue for me was big chunks of onion in my meatloaf. I like the onion flavor, but prefer not to crunch into a hunk of it. It’s a texture thing.

Anyway, I found this recipe which I thought looked pretty tasty. Turns out I didn’t have any breadcrumbs in the house – so I put it to my Twitter friends: Meatloaf with oatmeal or yucky? The resounding feedback was firmly in the oatmeal camp. It improves both the texture and the nutritional value. I have to agree – it was delicious. My first meatloaf in years turned out wonderfully! Very flavorful, with a tender texture. I agree that serving this with buttery mashed potatoes and corn makes the perfect all-American meal.

You can halve this recipe, but this is the amount required to feed my hungry family (and almost isn’t enough!!).

Perfect meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal
3 pounds lean ground beef
2 cups milk (or less – add slowly and evaluate the mixture as you go – my first loaf was a little too wet)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup onion, chopped VERY fine
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup barbecue sauce or ketchup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix all the ingredients except the barbecue sauce together, then divide the meatloaf mixture into two ungreased loaf pans.

3. Spoon barbecue sauce  or ketchup on the top of the meatloaf and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.