Easy Meatloaf Recipe

Remember when you used to go to your Grandmother's house for dinner? You may also remember that as soon as you opened the front door, the aroma of Grandma's meatloaf made your mouth water. Every time I smell meatloaf cooking, I think of my Grandmother who passed away at the age of 72. A few years later I was thinking about my Grandmother and her meatloaf recipe, so I contacted my sister to see if she had it written down. Since my sister was a big fan of my Grandmother's cooking also, I got lucky and she had it written down. I recognize that this is a very basic meatloaf recipe, but I thought I would send it in to share anyway. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. By the way, whenever I visit my sister, I request that she make Grandma's meatloaf for dinner.
Randi K., Mount Sterling, Ohio

Grandma’s Meatloaf

Here is my Grandmother Sarah's basic recipe for meatloaf. Serve it with mashed potatoes and green beans, then close your eyes and you’ll be transported back in time to Grandma’s house.

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds of ground beef
• 1 cup of catsup
• ¾ cup of of old-fashioned Quaker uncooked oats
• ½ cup of chopped onion
• ½ cup of chopped green pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ⅛ teaspoon of pepper
• 1 pinch garlic salt

Cook in an 8x4-inch loaf pan on 350 degrees for one hour. Make sure to preheat the oven before you put in the meatloaf. Did you know that you can use that old-fashioned potato masher to mix your meatloaf? It works like a champ plus you don’t get your hands all covered in meatloaf mix. You will probably need to use a rubber spatula to clean off the sides of the bowl while you’re in the process of mixing it.

If you are lucky enough to have a heavy duty mixer like a KitchenAid mixer, that's even better. Simply add the ingredients, turn the mixer on and let it do the work.

Planning on making mashed potatoes?

Here is an easy way to wash potatoes in the sink under cold water. Williams-Sonoma has a product called potato scrubbing gloves. These gloves have a rich textured knitted nylon that scrubs away dirt and debris without damaging the potato skin. The gloves have the word potato printed right on them and come with hanging loops so that they can be stored on a hook. Using these gloves is much easier than using a nylon brush or other potato scrubbing device.

Unless your hands are exceptionally small, make sure that you order the large gloves. The cost for these potato scrubbing gloves is around $9.95.