MeatloafTad Seaborn/The Globe and Mail
I call this my weeknight meat loaf because I tend to make it midweek to get us to the weekend. Meat loaf is easy and delicious – just allow a bit of time for some prep for making bacon and sautéing onion and garlic. After that it's pretty much a one-bowl wonder. Cold meat loaf on rye (with mustard!) travels well to school, work or picnics to the park. This will make two loaves.
Ingredients
12 strips of bacon
medium onion
5 minced cloves of garlic
6-7 slices of white bread
1 cup of milk
500g of lean ground beef
500g of lean ground pork
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of dried sage
2 teaspoons of salt
bread crumbs
Method
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prep the following: Cook 12 strips bacon, chop into small pieces. Dice a medium onion and sauté with 5 minced cloves garlic till softened. Into a bowl roughly cube 6-7 pieces of white bread and add 1 cup milk, combine gently.
Into a large bowl add 500g lean ground beef, 500g lean ground pork, 2 eggs and the bread mixture. Combine well (I used my hands). Now add the bacon, sautéed onion, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried sage (or use alternate herbs) and 2 teaspoons salt. Combine well. Divide in two.
Cover your cutting board liberally with bread crumbs and gently roll each portion of the mixture in the crumbs to coat and create two similar size loaves (length can vary but thickness should be close). Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and brush each with egg white (1 per loaf – you can do this with a fork). Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the bottom of the sheet. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour or until the internal temperature reaches 160 F. Rest 15 minutes before cutting. Store leftovers in the fridge.
Sue Riedl