Chilly Nights…Cozy Blankets…Meatloaf

I said it, meatloaf.

Meatloaf.

I said it again. You’re either smiling at the thought of a hot, savory and seasoned loaf of baked beef or you’re nose is so wrinkled, that you can no longer breathe through it.

It is typically one of those two reactions when you tell someone your family ate meatloaf for dinner.

Ya either like it, or ya don’t. That’s ok.

I find it irresistibly simple, swift and savory that I cannot pass it up on a cold fall night. I have messed around in the kitchen with several forms of meatloaf. 100% beef, 50/50 pork/beef, 33/33/33 pork/beef/lamb, chicken, turkey, etc.

It’s all in the binder and the herbs. That’s my two cents and I am keepin’ them.  The binder has taken many forms in my kitchen as well to include 1 egg and either packaged breadcrumbs, panko, leftover butts of bread, crackers, pretzels, etc.  I have found that fresh farm eggs, purchased from a local farmer are the best and I have stuck with my own breadcrumbs, which are using the butt ends of the weekly bread, seasoned with dried rosemary and Herbes de Provence. I put the bread in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then cool (fully, or it becomes a dough when pulsed) and pulse in a food processor.

My meat choice fluctuates depending on what I have on hand. Just add which meat you want. Double the beef if you don’t want lamb, use dried herbs instead of fresh, etc. You get the idea. Enjoy!

“My love is meatloaf flavored. I just wish my meatloaf was also meatloaf flavored.” -Dora J. Arod

Herbes de Provence Meatloaf

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 pound ground Beef
1 pound ground Lamb
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf Parsley 
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Thyme leaves 
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
(Order Here from a local Minnesota store, one of my favorite!)
2 large Eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground Black Pepper
1 cup dried Bread (2 butt ends set aside to dry for 24-48 hours, or toast just before use) (Panko or dried breadcrumbs work)
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence

Cooking Spray (or oil)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
3. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. In a large bowl mix beef, lamb, parsley, thyme, 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence, eggs, salt and pepper.
5. Place the dried bread in a food processor along with the 1 tablespoon of Herbes de Provence until finely ground.
   1. Do not process if bread is warm, it will clump and will not mix well into the meat.
6. Add the onion and garlic mixture and toss the mixture gently with clean hands.
7. **Put parchment paper into a loaf pan and set the meat into the pan and form a nice rectangle down the middle of the pan.
8. Bake for 45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 150 degrees F.
9. Remove from the oven and cover with tinfoil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
10. Remove foil, lift loaf out of the pan using the parchment and slice.

**If using muffin tins, spray with cooking spray or grease with oil. Divide the meatloaf into 12 pieces and put them in the muffin tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the thermometer reads 150 degrees F.

Enjoy!