Meatloaf and Salisbury Steak

I have had a few questions regarding my meatloaf and salisbury steak recipes.  I hope you'll try them! both are awesome! 

All American Meatloaf: 

(I received this recipe at dinner club a few years ago and have never made another meatloaf since.  My friend Kristin over at Finding the Joy in the Everyday gave it to me!)

1T oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons cider vinegar

2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
2/3 cup crushed saltines, more if needed
1 and 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 pounds meat (ground beef, meatloaf mix, turkey, or pork--whichever you like best)

1. Heat oven to 350*. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened (5 min).  Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Set aside and cool (especially if freezing and not cooking right away)

2.  Meanwhile, mix ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar and set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, worcestershire, salt, pepper and tabasco together.

3. Mix the meatloaf mix, crackers, parsley, onion mixture, and egg mixture until evenly combined and mixture doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl. 

4.  With an icecream scoop (or your clean hands), scoop the mixture and drop it into a full size muffin tin.  If you are freezing this, at this point I take mine to the freezer to flash freeze, then after they are firm, pop them out and put them in a freezer bag for later baking.  If you are cooking right away, brush the meat with half of the ketchup mixture and bake for 45 minutes.  If you are freezing, do this step after you have returned the meatloaves to the muffin tins and they are completely thawed. 

5.  After 45 minutes, brush with the remaining ketchup mixture and continue to bake another 15 minutes. 

Using the muffin tins isn't necessary, but helps with portion control and produces that nice edge around each meatloaf muffin so there is less fighting over the end of the meatloaf!  Plus, I never cook a whole pan just for us, our family just doesn't eat that much in a sitting right now.  I tend to double or triple this recipe when I am making it...enjoy!

Salisbury Steak:

My mother in law makes salisbury steak all of the time...and I love it (and so does Aaron) I have tried it a couple of times and though mine isn't exactly like hers, it is a real hit!  Any time my mother in law makes salisbury steak and someone asks her for her recipe, she responds..."just like meatloaf, but with half of your meat sausage".  So....I used the the base of the recipe above and added sausage.  I recently made 2 pounds ground beef, 2 pounds sausage...added crackers, egg, onion and garlic sauteed, salt and pepper, w sauce, and tobasco.  I mixed it well and made it into patties.  Then, before freezing...I cooked them most of the way.  I gave them a nice crusty sear and get most of the way cooked. You can use your broiler, grill pan, george forman grill, or a griddle.  My mother in law uses the george forman....I used the griddle.  I did the pre-cooking, laid them on a plate lined with paper towel and let them cool.  I then put them in portioned bags, knowing how many we usually eat in a sitting.  ( I ended up with 4 bags of patties)  On cooking day, I pull them out, put them in the crock pot or in a baking pan, make up some brown gravy and cook, serve these babies with mashed potatoes and corn....and enjoy!

Happy Cooking! Let me know if you try these recipes and how you like them!

Blessings to you and yours!

Amanda