Meatloaf and mashed potatoes

I would have never though of meatloaf as a budget meal until I was shopping for the ingredients to make meatloaf and found a 10 lb package of ground beef for about $20.  Considering that 10 lbs of meat will make 5 batches of meatloaf and that each meatloaf will feed my family for 2 meals with some leftover and that the cost of the other ingredients is low, that means that a meatloaf meal costs less than $3 for my entire family, not including the sides. And meatloaf sides can be inexpensive too.  I always need to have mashed potatoes with my meatloaf, which are cheap.  Add a vegetable side from whatever is on sale and you've got a whole meal.

This inexpensive beef was 80/20 (80% meat, 20% fat).  I usually go for 93/7 so I have less fat cooking out of my meat.  When buying a small amount the 93/7 is not too much more expensive than the 80/20, but when buying in bulk, the 93/7 was almost twice as much.  For that price difference I will deal with the extra fat!  I didn't want super greasy meatloaf, so I cooked my meatloaf on an oven-safe rack inside a sheet pan.  All the grease drained into the pan.



Next time I make this I think I will make the meatloafs smaller.  This time I made them the size I am used to making, which fits my loaf pan.  However, since I'm not cooking it in a loaf pan, I can make them any size I want.  You could even make individual sizes.  I've seen muffin size meatloafs that might be handy for when you need a smaller meal.

Difficulty: Easy
Category: Simple Side
Recipe Column: DR
Adapted From: Good Eats

1 1/4 cups bread crumbs
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp thyme
1/2 onion, small dice or shredded in a food processor
1 carrots, small dice or shredded in a food processor
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice or shredded in a food processor
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

1. Thoroughly combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.  

To freeze: 
Divide the meat mixture into the desired number of meatloafs and shape.  You could put them in foil pans to freeze, but I prefer to shape them in loafs and wrap them tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap. It costs less and takes up less space in the freezer.

Meatloaf shaped and ready to wrap.

I twist the ends of the plastic wrap to help shape the loaves and keep the plastic wrap tight.

To serve:
Thaw in the refrigerator for 48 hours.  Usually I suggest thawing 24 hours, but because the meatloaf is a large, frozen mass, it takes longer.  You could shorten the thaw time if you make individual meatloafs.

Place the meatloaf on an oven safe rack inside another pan lined with foil, so the grease can drain away. Place in a 325 degree oven.  Combine:

1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp cumin
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash hot sauce
1 tbsp honey

Glaze the meatloaf with this mixture after it has been in the oven for 10 minutes.  Continue to cook the meatloaf until it reaches an internal temp of 155 degrees.  Check a few different spots to insure the temp is consistent.  I don't know why, but even when fully thawed frozen meatloaf does not cook evenly.

Serve with mashed potatoes from the freezer or microwave mashed potatoes and a vegetable side.