Ahhhh....Autumn is in the air and that means the return of my favorite cooking season! For some reason I am always inspired to cook more during the Fall season...maybe because I enjoy the cool breeze coming through my kitchen window or maybe it's because I love the bounty that Autumn brings forth such as apples, squash, and potatoes! Or it could be that Fall is my favorite season of the year. Whatever the reason, I always make meatloaf to start of the fall season.
Ever since I was a young child meatloaf has been my most favorite meal, hands down. I always felt weird liking 'meatloaf', as most kids loved pizza, macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets. But when my mother told me we were having meatloaf for dinner I'd usually sit at the table 10 minutes before dinner was served just because I couldn't wait to eat the meatloaf! I remember always dipping each bite into ketchup (which I still do to this day) and loving it with mashed potatoes and peas! The next morning I'd make myself a meatloaf sandwich for breakfast on wheat toast with a piece of american cheese and ketchup. When I would come home from college I'd ask my mom to make 'meatloaf'...even if I was only home for the weekend. I just LOVE MEATLOAF! And I'm proud to say my husband, 4 year old son Jack, 3 year old son Charlie and 1 year old daughter Lily, all follow in my footsteps!
I would never eat meatloaf anywhere elsethough...only my mom's...UNTIL one night I was at a Residential Life meeting in my junior year at college and I was so hungry! The woman who was in charge of all the R.A.'s in college had us over for a meeting. Her husband was cooking meatloaf and it smelled so good. Being the curious person that I am I went over to see his finished product. I thought it looked GREAT! As I told you, I would never eat anyone else's meatloaf except for my mom's. But this guy's meatloaf looked good. He had black olives, mushrooms and onions in it. He offered me a bite and I hesitated slightly but then accepted because I was starving. Boy was I glad I did!. It was as good as my mom's! And I really loved the olives, onions and mushrooms in it . After I got married I created my own meatloaf recipe...it is a combination of my mom's and that guy Todd's. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do!
Kim's Farm Fresh Meatloaf
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground pork (from Pat's Pastured)
1 lb ground beed (from Pat's Pastured)
3/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
2 small cans sliced olives
1 egg
1/4 cup ketchup
2 TBS worcestershire sauce
1 TBS yellow mustard
2 TBS parmesan cheese
1 tsp italian seasoning
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl until just combined (do not over mix).
2. Spray rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and put mixture onto pan forming an oval about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide.
3. Drizzle ketchup on the top and cook in oven for 1 hour (it was 1 hour exactly in my oven). I cook until sides start to brown and it is firm to touch. You do not want to overcook or undercook. You want it to be juicy. Should be just about an hour if you follow recipe and temperature exactly!
4. Let sit for 10-20 minutes before serving.
Great with your favorite sides! I love yukon gold mashed potatoes and acorn squash with butter and brown sugar!
A Note on the MEAT YOU EAT:
Our family only eats meat 1-2 times per week due to many reasons. When we do eat meat it's always from Pat's Pastured, a beautiful and humane farm right in East Greenwich. http://patspastured.com/ If you are going to eat meat make sure it is from a local farm such as Pat's. It is the ONLY meat you should be putting into your body! I've done so much research that has shown so many reasons why not to eat the meat from the grocery store. Even at Whole Foods you need to be asking the right questions and researching what the label means. Meat from the grocery stores have many issues. To name a few: animals are treated poorly such as being kept inside 24/7 never seeing the sun or getting fresh air, not being able to move due to extremely tight quarters , and just not being able to do anything that is natural and important to them like rooting in the dirt or making nests. Also, what goes into the meat is NASTY! Antibiotics, animal waste...the list goes on. How about pink slime! YUCK! Just start googling this stuff and you will find more TRUE information than you need. Hopefully I've made my point about which type of meat should be in this meatloaf or any meat dish you eat! If you are worried about cost and only being able to afford the cheap grocery store meat, try eating meat from a local farm 1 x per week and making vegatarian dishes the rest of the week! The flavor of this meat is phenomenal...you will NEVER go back to grocery store meat.