Lisaopolis.comLisa’s Adventures in the Kitchen

Last night I was in the mood for some different then the same old dinner menu. I decided to make meat loaf, since I rarely eat meatloaf (maybe once or twice per year). This was my first time making it myself (the previous times I have had meatloaf my mom, and my boyfriend made it). I searched the online for a recipe, and found one at allrecipes.com that seemed simple, easy, and yummy, so I decided to give it a try.

I morphed the recipe a fair bit, but I think I should have morphed it more. The recipe calls for 3 cups of grated cheese. I used that amount and I think it was way too much! That says a lot coming from a major cheese lover. The next time I make this I’ll use 1 ½ – 2 cups of grated cheese instead. I also added a few other ingredients that the original recipe didn’t call for to make things more interesting.

The recipe turned out really well, but next time I make it I think I’ll add some Worcestershire sauce to make things more zesty.

This dinner was a house hold hit, and there was very little left over. Here is the recipe.

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

1 ½ – 2lbs extra lean ground beef
1 ¼  cup of bread crumbs
1 large white onion minced
2 cloves garlic minced
3 large eggs
several shakes salt
black pepper to taste
a few shakes crushed red pepper flakes
garlic powder to taste
3 cups of grated cheddar cheese (I recommend using less)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well
( I used my hands and kneaded it like cookie dough). Press a layer of meat mixture into a meatloaf pan. Then sprinkle a large amount of cheese on top. Press the remaining meat mixture on top of the cheese layer in the pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

Note the meatloaf isn't burned, it's just dark brown around the edges, probably because the pan is so old

I served my meatloaf with cheddar perogies, and green salad.

Do you have a favorite meatloaf recipe?