Growing up in the ’70s, I remember one of the most traditionally made dinners was meatloaf. My mom had her version #tastethelove, my friends’ moms had their version, and my grandmother had her version. They were all delicious but so very different. I think that’s what makes this dish so common throughout many households but so individually unique is meatloaf is a blank canvas. You can add ingredients you like making your meatloaf specifically to your liking. Traditionally meatloaf is made with ground beef, but that’s not the case anymore, ground pork, chicken, or turkey can be used to make meatloaf today.

My Homemade Meatloaf is a family favorite. Let me show you what goes into my Homemade Meatloaf, starting with the roasted garlic.

Prep Time: 15 minutes (prep the vegetable while roasting the garlic)
Cook Time:  2 hours 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Equipment: 2 large mixing bowls, 1 rimmed baking sheet pan, 1 (12-inch) sauté pan, 1 (3-quart) saucepot

Ingredients:
1-pound of lean ground sirloin (90% lean)
2-pounds of ground pork
1 bulb of garlic, 4 roasted garlic cloves, minced, 2 raw cloves, minced
1 1/2 onions, small dice
3 ribs of celery, small dice
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup roasted Piquillo peppers, finely diced
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
2 cups breadcrumbs, Italian-style
1/4 cup half-and-half
4 tablespoons Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup

Ingredients For Brown Gravy:
4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 dash Kitchen Boquet, browning, and seasoning sauce
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups of chicken broth, unsalted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400-degrees F.
Peel and discard the papery out layer of the garlic bulb, leaving intact the skins of the individual cloves. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/4 to 1/2-inch from the top of the cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

Set the garlic on top of a piece of foil. Drizzle a couple of teaspoons of olive oil over each exposed head, using your fingers to rub the olive oil over all the cut, exposed garlic cloves. Sprinkle each head with a pinch of Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Wrap the garlic bulbs up in the foil. Place the foil packet on a rimmed baking sheet pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cloves are lightly browned and feel soft when pressed. Remove from the oven, carefully open the foil packet, and set aside to cool.

While garlic is roasting prep all the vegetables.

In the meantime, in a large sauté pan, over medium heat, add olive oil, diced onions, diced celery, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and minced garlic. As the veggies start to soften, add 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, and freshly chopped thyme leaves, stir to combine. Sauté the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes. Turn off and remove from the heat to let cool.

Adjust oven temperature to 350-degrees F.

In the large mixing bowl, with the diced roasted red peppers, add the roasted minced garlic, beaten eggs, Italian-style bread crumbs, half and half, fresh chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, Kosher salt, fresh black pepper, dried oregano, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and the cooled vegetable mixture, mix to combine.

Next, it’s time to add the meat to the bowl with all the other ingredients. Using your hands, mix in the meat until it’s all just combined, do not overmix. After everything is combined and all that goodness is mix throughout, form the meatloaf and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Form the meatloaf delicately into a pretty looking loaf. Refer to the picture above. There’s no need to do anything else to the meat. The oven will take care of making it look all nice, beautiful, crispy, and brown. Trust me!

While the meatloaf is in the oven make start the Lumpy Mashed Potatoes, Click the link below for the recipe.

I bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 155-degrees F. Transfer the meatloaf to the counter, cover with foil and allow to rest for another 15 minutes. There will be some carryover cooking time.

Directions For Brown Gravy:
In a saucepot on medium heat, melt the butter, add the fresh thyme leaves. Next, the flour and whisk together making sure to get all visible lumps. Add Kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, continuously whisking until mixture turns light brown in color. Turn the heat down to low and slowly add the chicken broth, whisking constantly. Add Kitchen Boquet and Worcestershire sauce. Turn the heat back up to medium. Continue whisking until gravy boils and thickens for 3 to 5 minutes.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/

https://lindalouhamel.com/2015/07/06/lemon-pepper-asparagus/

https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/07/22/recipe-for-lumpy-mash-potatoes/