Napa Farmhouse 1885™: my mom's meatloaf (connie's)

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

my mom's meatloaf (connie's)

what a month it has been! first, my computer's hard drive crashed 4 weeks ago and i went for a week without being on line. then i got really sick...it turned into pneumonia and i have been bed ridden for three weeks. today is the first day that i feel a bit better...and the first day i feel like cooking. happily, it is meatloaf week at food network. what a perfect dish for getting back into the kitchen.

i was talking to my mom a few weeks ago about her meatloaf recipe. she has made it my entire life and it is the family favorite. i have not made it in years and promised her that on my next visit we would make it together. i made today's version from memory....happily, it looks, smells and tastes like hers.

this recipe makes a huge meatloaf...enough for a big family dinner and lots of sandwiches for the next few days. i still get pretty tired each day, so a dish with leftovers works really well this week. served with garlic smashed potatoes, crisp green beans and a large green salad, this is a perfect comfort food feast dinner.

my mom's meatloaf (connie's)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for greasing pan
1 medium white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup italian parsley, minced 8 oz tomato sauce, divided
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups dried whole wheat bread crumbs (homemade or store bought)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 lbs ground pork

preheat oven to 375 degrees. using olive oil, grease a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. set aside. in a medium saute pan, heat the 1/4 cup olive oil until it just begins to shimmer. add onion, garlic and large pinch each salt and pepper. saute for 4 minutes. set aside and allow to cool.

in a large mixing bowl add the parsley, 4 oz tomato sauce, eggs, bread crumbs and large pinch each salt and pepper. add cooled onion mixture and combine. add ground beef and pork. gently, using your hands, mix meat into other ingredients until just combined. do not overmix. form into a loaf shape and add to prepared baking dish. spread remaining 4 oz. tomato sauce over meatloaf.

bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. the interior temperature should be at 165 degrees so check with an oven thermometer. continue cooking if necessary until meatloaf reaches proper temperature.

do you have a favorite meatloaf recipe you would like featured? feel free to post or link in the comments section of this post.