It’s fall. Glorious fall! The leaves and weather are changing. The crisp cool air brings about the desire for some warm comfort foods. Ideally, some warm comfort foods that everyone in your house will love to eat. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to convince your kids to eat what you made. I may have the perfect option to add to your repertoire: meatloaf. Yes, you read that correctly: meatloaf. Truth be told, as a kid I was never a huge meatloaf fan, but I truly feel this recipe changed my opinion of meatloaf.
I came across this recipe several years ago from my friend Katy who was also a mommy blogger. She swore by this recipe as not only being yummy, but also being a fan favorite among her kids. At the time, I only made this for my husband, but as the years have gone on and we have grown our family, it has become a staple in our house.
So let’s get down to it. You can prepare this dish in one of two ways. You can either put the meatloaf in a meatloaf pan and cook it all together. Our personal favorite way is to make mini personal meatloaves. I love this because the portions are easy to figure out and work with. And everyone has approximately the same sized portion.
In addition, this meal is so easy to make and usually you have all of the ingredients on hand. You could easily whip this up in about 15 minutes and throw it in the oven. It does not take hours and hours of prep work. Because it is so easy and delicious, it tends to be my go-to when taking food to a family with a new baby or any other occasion that lends itself to providing food for someone else. This dish is also great warmed up the next day, or freezes well if you needed to.
So how do we do it? I’m glad you asked. You can use either ground beef or ground turkey. You could also double the recipe and use both. Start by whisking together one egg with ¾ cup of milk. Mix well. Add ½ cup of quick cooking oats, one teaspoon of salt (optional), and one cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the egg mixture.
Mix all of these well again. Gently fold in one pound of ground beef. You can use a kitchen spatula and a meat chopper. Honestly, sometimes the best way to combine all of these together is to use your hands. Go wash your hands, roll up your sleeves, and get in there. Once everything is combined, form the mixture into little personal meatloaves. A single batch yields about six meatloaves depending on how big you make them.
After the loaves are all formed, scoop the topping on top of each loaf. To make the topping, combine ⅔ cup of ketchup with ½ cup of brown sugar and 1 ½ teaspoons of yellow mustard. Mix all ingredients well and spoon on to meat loaves.
Be sure to stir well to avoid lumps of brown sugar. Bake the meatloaves for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. And it is truly that easy. This dish pairs well with mashed potatoes and veggies. My kids personally like it with corn, but any vegetable will do.
I hope you love this meal as much as my family does. I would love to hear your thoughts after you make this. Drop us a line in the comments below.
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