Meatloaf

Here is a family recipe. It goes like this:

Meat Loaf

3lbs lean ground meat
1 tablespoon black pepper
1.5 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoon fresh basil
2 tablespoon of minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy
2 whole eggs
3 slices of whole wheat bread crumbled
1 large Texas onion fine chop
4 stalks celery fine chop
1 large whole zucchini fine chop
1 cup of ketchup
Thoroughly mix with hands in large bowl
Take a 12” cast iron skillet or the like and rub down with olive oil
Form your Meat Loaf to fit in skillet (see photo)
Cover in aluminum foil so the seal does not lose any moisture (see photo)
Cook in oven on bake at 325 for 45 minutes then drain and take off aluminum top
Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned (see photo)
Finish with a couple minutes on low broil (see photo)
One of my favorite things is a fried meat loaf sandwich the next day…off the hook good !

Forks in the road – If I did not have kids I would add a whole chopped up habanero pepper. If habaneros are too much jalapenos or serranos work great. You can substitute soy for Worcestershire. I like to mix it up so we don't get bored. For instance, I added Panda Oyster Sauce and a little fish sauce for a real zip! Watch the high sodium ingredients and keep it minimal. Natural meat is high in sodium.

You can add a little honey if you like it sweet. Ketchup sweetens it enough for me.

Don’t use ketchup and uses fresh sun dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, paste and wine – Works great! You don’t even need the paste with more wine!
Add fresh cilantro – it kind of dominates the basil but is very flavorful and I like it!