The Leftover Guru

Today’s delicious dish – Beefy Meatloaf and Gravy 

There are a lot of ways to make meatloaf, and it seems that everyone has some favorite (and non-favorite) meatloaf ingredients.  I especially love meatloaf that tastes beefy, and I don’t care much for meatloaf that tastes tomatoey.  I can’t stand chunks of stuff in meatloaf, and I don’t particularly like ketchup or barbeque sauce on meatloaf – I like gravy.  This is my favorite meatloaf recipe – it makes a consistently firm, meaty entree with tasty gravy.  Although not everyone in my family likes gravy on meatloaf, they do like gravy on their rice or mashed potatoes, and they have ketchup on their meatloaf.

I prefer to use a mix of meats in meatloaf, because the texture improves, and so does the flavor, when it’s not all beef.  This recipe uses ground pork and moderately lean ground beef.  But feel free to substitute other meats.  I have made this with ground turkey instead of ground pork, and I have also used one pound each of ground beef, ground pork, and ground turkey.

This recipe uses plain breadcrumbs, but you can use panko or Japanese breadcrumbs if you want a little more texture from the breadcrumbs.  This recipe also uses beef base or beef bouillon crumbles, to give the meatloaf a nice beefy taste.  Be sure to dissolve it in the milk.  Sometimes beef base is very sticky and pasty, but it will dissolve if a little heat is applied and you keep whisking it.

Part of your uncooked meatloaf mixture will be used for another dish on another day.  If I have time, I usually make the reserved amount into smallish meatballs (instructions below) and bake them for 20 minutes.  Then I put the cooked meatballs in a container or bag and freeze until I’m ready to make the next recipe.

Remember that it is generally acceptable to freeze meat once when it’s raw and once when it’s cooked.  If you are starting with fresh (never frozen) ground meat, it is fine to freeze the uncooked mixture.  If you are starting with meat that has already been frozen and thawed, it should be cooked before being frozen.

 Beefy Meat Loaf and Gravy   

• 2 pounds 85/15 ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
• 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 Tablespoons beef base or beef bouillon crumbles
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 eggs
• 14.5 oz. can beef broth
• water, as needed
• 1 Tablespoon red wine
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Turn on oven to 350 degrees.

Place meat in a large bowl.  Combine breadcrumbs and spices in separate bowl.  Place milk and beef base in microwave safe container.  Microwave for 2 minutes, then add Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce and whisk until completely combined.  Whisk in eggs.  Add dry mixture and wet mixture to meat in large bowl and mix until well combined.

Remove 1/3 (about 1 1/4 pounds or 20 ounces) of the mixture and set aside for next recipe (Meatball Stroganoff).

Shape the remaining mixture into 2 meat loaves (each about 1 1/4 pounds) and place in a 9” x 13” pan.

Bake in oven (uncovered) for 30 minutes.  Then pour can of beef broth over meat loaves and continue to bake for another hour.  Drain liquid from baking dish for use in gravy.  You’ll need about 1 3/4 cups of liquid, so add water to make that amount.  Add red wine to this liquid mixture.  Stir and set aside.

Place oil, flour, pepper, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Stir well and cook on medium-high heat until roux is lightly browned.  Whisk in liquid mixture, and cook, whisking often, until thickened.  Taste and correct seasonings, if necessary.

Divide each meat loaf into 4 portions, then cut each portion into 2 slices.  Serve each portion topped with 1/4 cup gravy.

Makes 8 servings of meatloaf (about 5 ounces each) and gravy (about 1/4 cup each)

Nutritional information (per serving):    390 calories, 27 grams fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 25 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams sugars, 1 gram fiber, 111 milligrams cholesterol, 914 milligrams sodium

Cost per serving:  $1.50

Preparation time:  2 hours

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What happens next?

Leftover meatloaf has many uses.  I love to have the leftovers from a meatloaf dinner for my lunch at work.  And then there are meatloaf sandwiches – delicious!  Sometimes I heat up meatloaf slices, then layer with cheese inside buttered bread and cook in a skillet, making wonderful grilled meatloaf and cheese sandwiches.  We also like cold or hot meatloaf on bread with mustard and ketchup.  Leftover meatloaf can be diced up and added to spaghetti sauce for a tasty meat sauce to go with pasta.

Cooked meatloaf will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days, and freezes well.

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Another day’s delicious dish – Meatball Stroganoff

 This recipe comes together pretty quickly, especially if you have already cooked the meatballs and had them waiting in the refrigerator or freezer.  If the meatballs were frozen, remember to thaw them.  I usually move a bag from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before I plan to make this recipe.  It is a good idea to bring the meatballs up to temperature before adding them to the sauce.  I microwave them for 2 minutes and then let them sit while I make the sauce.  Of course, if you are following the recipe exactly, you will be cooking the meatballs while you make the sauce, and so they will be piping hot.

If you want to make Meatball Stroganoff but don’t have the Beefy Meatloaf mixture reserved, you can combine a pound of ground beef with about a half cup of bread crumbs, an egg, a quarter cup of milk, and some seasonings.  Then you can proceed with the recipe as seen below.

You may want to add onion to this dish.  Feel free!  Saute the onion a bit before you add the mushrooms to the skillet.  You may need to add another teaspoon of oil to allow the mushrooms to sauté nicely.

I love how Kitchen Bouquet Seasoning Sauce adds a nice meaty flavor to gravies and sauces.  If you don’t have it, you can omit it.  If you want to buy it, you’ll find it near the Worcestershire sauce and steak sauces in your grocery store.

 Meatball Stroganoff

• 1 1/4 pounds Beefy Meatloaf mixture (about 1/3 of the recipe)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 16 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cans (14.5 ounce) beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Seasoning Sauce
• 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Turn oven on to 350 degrees.

Shape Beefy Meatloaf mixture into 30 small meatballs, using a scant Tablespoon of mixture for each.  Bake for 20 minutes.

While meatballs bake, make sauce.  Melt together olive oil and butter in large skillet.  Add sliced mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cook on medium-high heat until tender.  Reserve 1/2 cup beef broth.  Add remaining beef broth and Kitchen Bouquet Seasoning to skillet and mix well.  Stir reserved beef broth into cornstarch until smooth.  Add to skillet while stirring.  Bring up to a boil, turn down burner, and cook until thickened, stirring often.  Add meatballs and sour cream.  Stir well and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Serve over noodles, rice, potatoes, or grits.

Makes 5 servings (6 meatballs and 3/4 cup sauce each)

Nutritional information (per serving):    478 calories, 35 grams fat, 14 grams saturated fat, 23 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrate, 6 grams sugars, 1 gram fiber, 125 milligrams cholesterol, 1541 milligrams sodium

 Cost per serving:  $2.60  

 Preparation time:  1 hour