My children didn't even know what meatloaf was, as I had never made it before. My childhood memories of meatloaf did not provide any encouragement for me to make that dish for my family.
When I ran across this recipe, it was so highly rated that I decided to try it out. My family loved it! I have made it many times since. I even made it for a friend's family when she was convalescing after surgery. Her son said, "This is better than your meatloaf, Mom!" :) She requested the recipe and now makes it for her family.
I used to use the slices of bread but I really like using dry bread crumbs better (about 1 cup). I don't end up with any visible chunks of bread in the loaf.
Very moist and tasty! A few substitutes: I used 1 small can tomato sauce in the meat mixture in place of lemon juice and ketchup mixture; eliminated beef bouillon granules and added salt pepper and garlic powder; and used 2 slices of bread instead of 3. I've also made this dish just using ketchup as glaze and it comes out great! I baked potatoes at the same time; total cooking time was closer to 1 1/2 hrs. My husband and grown children love this meat loaf! Grandkids don't like the onions; onions should be chopped fine or they don't cook through. This dish also cooks best with very lean beef under 7% to 15% fat. Serve with corn and a simple tossed salad for a great easy meal.
As much as I love my mom, her meatloaf recipe wasn't the best. I've been looking for one to replace it,and this is the one! The best part about this recipe is the glaze/sauce. I doctored the actual meat loaf up a little bit with some minced garlic and finely chopped green peppers and onion, some seasoning (garlic salt, onion powder, etc), some steak sauce, etc... I also used bread crumbs instead of the cubed bread. It came out perfect anyway-very moist and flavorful. Double the amount of sauce so you will have some extra. I served the leftover on a couple of little toasted French rolls with melted Provolone and extra sauce as a meatloaf sandwich. Great recipe-thanks!
This recipe is a keeper! Here are my changes: Topping 1 cup ketchup, 3 tblsp. Brown sugar, 2 tblsp. Lemon juice & 2 tsp. mustard powder Meatloaf 2 lbs. ground beef
1 cup plain bread crumbs, 6 tblsp. Lemon juice
2 eggs, 1 package beefy onion soup mix, ½ tblsp steak sauce, ½ tsp. garlic (from the jar). I formed 3 small loaves and put topping on at the beginning. Thanks Delia!
My Mother's recipe is close; we use vinegar instead of lemon juice. Use 1/2c italian bread crumbs/or 3/4c oatmeal instead of bread. Everyone that has ever eaten it says Eureka!! when they taste the meat and the sauce together. Thanks for sharing your recipe with everyone. Finally, they've discovered our secrets.
Betty Russell
I have yet to find a meatloaf that I REALLY love until this one!! The glaze is wonderful and adds a great flavor to the meatloaf. I did use 3/4c breadcrumbs rather than the bread slices. I have just found in the past that bread slices sometimes makes the meatloaf soggy. If you're looking for a fabulous meatloaf - this one is a definate keeper!!!
This recipe turned out really well. It was very moist and had a nice tangy sauce that was similar to Boston Market's. I made the meatloaf (my first ever) according to directions except for the following things: I added about 1/2 pkg of onion soup mix and used 1 cup of bread crumbs instead of bread cubes. I also followed others' suggestions of using only 2 TBSP. of brown sugar for the sauce. It was still plenty sweet - we wouldn't have wanted it any sweeter. Will make again.
Better than my mom's!!! Just like others, I used 1 c. bread crumbs instead of the bread. I chose to omit the onions from the meat mixture, and add 1/2 tsp. onion salt, to save my 6 yr. old from picking through it. I also added 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and 2 cloves of garlic to the meat. I doubled the sauce recipe, adding more sauce to the meat and used a mixture of half lemon juice and half apple cider vinegar. Then, the BEST part, was choosing to add potatoes and large onions around the meat. I sliced 3 large potatoes, and half an onion and mixed them with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little of the sauce mixture. Rather than waiting until the end to add the sauce, I put it on at the beginning. I cooked everything for around 1 hr. 15 min at 375. It was delicious. Everyone had seconds and my son said they were the best potatoes he had ever eaten. I was sure to pick out the large onions for him, then, everyone was happy! This is my NEW meatloaf recipe!
I just love the recipe. I make it all the time. I was low on ketchup so I added some chili sauce (Heinz makes it) and some barbecue sauce in the fridge. I also substituted lemonade for the lemon juice. Still tasted great. You can pretty much add anything you want and this will still come out great. It's the sauce you put on afterwards that really makes it. And I always end up adding some breadcrumbs because it's still too moist with just the 3 slices of bread.
Nobody in my family liked this. It was very sweet and too lemony.
