Dutch Meatloaf

Okay - after all that chicken this month...I was REALLY craving some RED MEAT (let's hear a hallelujah from our hubbies)...

So I made one of my EASIEST and most trustworthy meatloaf recipes....which is really saying something, because, SERIOUSLY...how hard is meatloaf?

If you're like me, you a ba-jillion meatloaf recipes, but one of my favorites comes from this recipe book...

Don't let the cover full you...it may look all clean and new...but inside....

It's stained and torn and written in...just like any well-used cookbook should be.

I think the reason I like it so much is that my mother bought it for me back when I first got married and COULD NOT COOK, and this book used really familiar ingredients (most of which I already had stocked in my pantry) and delivered excellent and consistent results.

Dutch Meatloaf is the first meatloaf recipe I ever attempted...and it my go-to meatloaf recipe if I need one on the fly...

I don't really double this, as it serves 6...but I buy meat in bulk and separate it into 1 pound increments. So, the recipe calls for 1-1/2 pounds ground beef, but I thaw and use 2 pounds...and then I estimate the rest of the ingredients accordingly.

We served it with roasted red potatoes, canned biscuits, and a lettuce salad.

Dutch Meatloaf

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 medium onion, chopped

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 egg

1-1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3/4 cup water

2 TBS brown sugar, packed

2 TBS prepared mustard

1 TBS vinegar (I use apple cider for the extra tang)

1. In a medium bowl, lightly mix beef, bread crumbs, onion, 1/2 can tomato sauce, egg, salt and pepper. Shape into a loaf in a shallow baking pan.

2. Combine remaining tomato sauce with rest of ingredients; pour over loaf.

3. Bake at 350 for 1-1/4 hours, basting loaf several times throughout.

courtesy "Best Recipes from the backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Jars" by Ceil Dyer