Ollie's Best Ever Meatloaf

Mini meatloaf pans

I love meatloaf. There, I've said it. I know it's considered a humble and not very exciting dish but over the years I've managed to create what my family calls the best meatloaf ever! It is great to make for fussy kids as it has vegetables but they're hidden. And it's not hard to make, plus it doesn't take hours of your time. Win-win for many busy moms.

Ingredients:

1 normal size package ground beef (or half beef and half pork)

1 sweet pepper (red, yellow or orange) diced

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Marjoram

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. milk

3-4 slices brown (wheat) bread, crumbled

For Blender:

1 onion

1 carrot

1 stalk celery

1 egg

1 garlic clove

Topping:

1 c. ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

Method

Blend onion, carrot, celery, egg and garlic until almost smooth. Small chunks are okay. I like my Ninja blender - it's fast and does an amazing job of making a smooth mixture.

Blend the onion, carrot, celery, egg, garlic

Start with the meat, add flour, then mix other ingredients (except for the bread) in a bowl. Pour in blender ingredients and mix thoroughly. Now add bread one slice at a time until the mixture is a good consistency, not too dry but not too wet.

 

Mix topping ingredients thoroughly

Fill one 9x5 loaf pan or eight 3.5x2 mini-pans with your mixture then brush the topping over the top.

Bake at 350’ for one hour for loaf pan or 30-35 minutes for the mini-pans. Internal temperature should reach 160' minimum

Note: This freezes well - you can lay out on parchment covered baking try to freeze partially then vacuum seal on Gentle-Wet setting or wrap in tin foil and then seal inside a ziplock bag.

Optional

You can substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef or beef/pork, then use 1 tsp. sage instead of marjoram