On Mondays, We Eat Meatloaf

My mom’s mom was a really great cook. Your typical grandma stereotype; small woman, big presence, especially in the kitchen, where she always wore an apron and a smile. She churned out these huge meals for me and my family when we came over for Sunday supper like it was nothing. It probably was just second nature to her after keeping her family of 8 fed for so long.

My mom didn’t inherit this knack for the kitchen. We always had a pretty balanced dinner, but it seemed to be at the expense of my mom’s sanity. She doesn’t really like being in the kitchen, so how she managed to feed a family of six every night was pretty amazing. Sure, we had plenty of frozen and canned goods in there, but this was the 90’s and the organic aisle didn’t exist yet. 

One of the things my mom always nails is meatloaf. It’s my grandma's recipe and it always turns out delicious. I loved meatloaf growing up (b/c my mom and Grammy have the best recipe ever) but I could tell there was a bit of a stigma towards this food. Meatloaf might not sound like the most appetizing thing on the menu, but don’t judge this entrée by its name. I’ve toyed around w/ a few versions of meatloaf, even though I have my grandma’s recipe in my kitchen. I’m honestly a little scared to try it; what if I can’t do it justice? 

So I stick to the nondescript recipes I find on Pinterest for a food that has so many memories for me. We typically had meatloaf for dinner on Mondays when I was growing up, so I made it tonight. It wasn’t my grandma’s meatloaf by any means, but until I get the courage to try that one, I might have found a good fallback. I healthied it up a little bit -something Grammy would never do- but I can toy around w/ these versions all I want. When I finally do make her recipe, I won’t change a thing.

Adapted from Food Network 

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme 

1 teaspoon garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock
6oz can tomato paste
1lb ground turkey – can use ground beef, meatloaf mix, whatever your preference, obviously
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F

Drizzle some olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and keep on the heat until the onions are translucent but not brown. Remove from heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste.

In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don't mash or the meat loaf will be dense. Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for 65-70 minutes, until the meatloaf is cooked through.