Recipe Thursday: Meatloaf

I grew up half-knowing what my parents used to make meatloaf. Not everything, or proportions, just that worcestershire sauce, egg, spices, and oatmeal played a part, along with ground beef. In making it myself, I've added and subtracted, and made plenty of my own mistakes, some of which lead to crumbly-because-it-is-dry meatloaf or crumbly-because-it-is-too-wet-meatloaf. Go me.

Hehe. Even through all the trials, I still don't know what all of the proportions are. But here you have a rough meatloaf recipe that has seen me through:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Have 1 lb ground meat [beef, chicken, turkey, whatever you have, we tend towards chicken] thawed.

In your bowl, combine 1 egg, up to a tablespoon of italian seasoning [give or take, as always], about a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, one or two squeezes of ketchup, and a scant quarter cup of oatmeal [I have the rolled oat, not instant!!!]. These are all things that I tend to have on hand, and can easily be swapped out for other things. No worcestershire, use soy sauce, in moderation. No italian seasoning? Use oregano, basil, and most anything else you do have. No ketchup? No loss, use tomato paste if you have it. No oatmeal? Do you have instant potatoes, or breadcrumbs?

Mix.

Add the thawed meat. [I usually use the same fork I used to mix the other ingredients together to sort of break up the meat as I add it]

You're supposed to mush it all together with your hands, but I don't always want to do that. So, I use the fork to mix it all together.

I pat it all into a loaf pan, and smooth the top. I also squeeze ketchup on the top, because my husband really likes that. A loaf this size will cook in about 30 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit. If you want to make a larger loaf, just add time [and seasoning!].

How do you feel about meatloaf? Do you have a beloved family recipe that you swear by? Or have you sworn off the stuff?