Meatloaf: Love it or Hate it?

Recipe: Yankee Meatloaf with Mushroom and Shallot Gravy

Brent has been wanting meatloaf for a while. Well actually he has been wanting Beef Stroganoff but I told him no because THAT recipe is already on the blog. I’m a cruel a girlfriend, aren’t I? Meatloaf was his second choice and he said he wanted my stuffed meatloaf. Again, I said no, THAT recipe is already on the blog.

So finally I told him I would make this dish for him and he was very happy with the end result. In fact, he ate half of it in one sitting. I’ve made this version several times before, but for some reason he acted as if he never tried it before. Boys can be so strange.

Meatloaf is one of those dishes that vary wildly from recipe to recipe. Mine is more meatball like in texture and not “loafy”. This is how my mother made it and I prefer it that way. I also prefer to cook mine in a loaf/bread pan. I find that cooking it like that makes a moister meatloaf, and again this is how my mother always did it.

Yankee Meatloaf

*Serves 4

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 1.5 lbs ground beef

- 1 small red pepper, diced

- 1 small white/yellow onion, diced

- 1 cup mushrooms, diced

- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

- 2 eggs

- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3-4 cloves)

- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil

Directions:

1. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, sauté peppers, onion, and mushrooms in oil/butter. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until they start to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl break eggs and lightly scramble together. To the bowl add ground beef, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, Worcestershire, garlic, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and cooled veggies. Mix with hands until combined.

3. Put meat mixture into a loaf pan (mine is 9x5 I think) and press down to remove any air pockets. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 to 1 hour and 25 minutes. (Temp should read 160 when cooked through.) Let meatloaf stand for about 10 -15 minutes before serving.

Mushroom and Shallot Gravy
*Serves 4
(printable recipe)

 Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups mushrooms, sliced
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided in half
- 1 ½ tablespoons flour
- 2 cups beef broth*
- Salt and pepper, to taste
*You can use chicken or veggie broth if you want to serve this gravy with chicken or turkey.

Directions:

1. Sauté mushrooms and shallots in 1.5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until softened. About 8-10 minutes.

2. Next add remaining butter. Once melted, add flour and whisk together. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add beef broth to the pan and bring heat up to medium-high. Whisk flour mixture into beef broth and bring to a low simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce by 1/3 and then remove from heat.

Thoughts: I only call this Yankee Meatloaf to distinguish it from the other versions I make from time to time. And this was the first time I paired it with the mushroom shallot gravy. The meatloaf is perfectly delicious on its own, but I wanted the gravy for the mashed potatoes and it was fantastic over the meatloaf as well. The meatloaf had a lot of flavor, was very moist, and had a nice little brown crust on top. Which is totally one of my favorite parts of the meatloaf!

I originally made this gravy to dress up some boring pork chops and instantly fell in love with it. It was great on pork (really great on meatloaf), and would also work great with chicken. Such a simple sauce, but so versatile. It’s quickly become one of my go-to’s.