I love themed dinners and replicating a TV dinner sounded like so much fun. Enter the proverbial meatloaf. I am not old enough to remember the Swanson ads for meatloaf with either tomato sauce or gravy, but I am old enough to remember when airplanes served dinner….in coach. I still have fond childhood memories of this microwavable airplane food dispensed in perfect proportions. I wanted to recreate the element of surprise that captured me during that first in-flight meal.
I settled on meatloaf with a tomato-based sauce nestled alongside mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and haricot vert. Not quite your typical TV dinner but oh-so delicious. You can make the meatloaf in one large log or cook as individual portions. I like to create multiple individual portions in small rectangular glass containers and freeze whatever we don’t eat. For vegetarians, this is equally as delicious with beyond beef.
Featured in some of the photos are the quilts of my great grandmother, Cammie, and my most talented high school friend Katherine Montague. The former Ajax waitress turned teacher has turned her hobby of quilting into an art. Many a southern grandmother has sewn a special quilt, but Katherine’s are thoughtful, unique, and heartfelt. When I think of meatloaf, I think of cuddling up in one of Katherine’s quilts in front of my TV and enjoying my TV dinner in style.
Meatloaf
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 pieces 1x
Description
I still have fond childhood memories of this microwavable airplane food dispensed in perfect proportions. I wanted to recreate the element of surprise that captured me during that first in-flight meal.
Ingredients
Meatloaf
- 1 Tbs butter
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 cups onion, chopped (about one small onion)
- 1/4 cup carrots, diced
- 1/4 cup celery, diced
- 3/4 cup mushrooms, diced
- 1/2 Tbs garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked together
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp thyme (optional)
- 3/4 tsp ground pepper
- Salt, to taste
Sauce
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 3 Tbs sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a Dutch oven, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Uncover and add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Stir to combine and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- In a separate bowl, combine the beef, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, milk, breadcrumbs, thyme, pepper, and salt to taste. Add the sauteed onion mixture to the beef mixture and stir to combine.
- Form into a log or individual serving sizes on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl.
- Pour the sauce over the top of the meatloaf. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 30-45 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 10 minutes.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Dinner, Comfort Foods, TV dinner