Eating In: Mom's Meatloaf
Editor's Note: After last week's decidedly labor-intensive roast chicken, Chef Scott has decided to take the week off. And with so many interns coming into town who may be having their first experience with an oven, we've decided to feature a recipe for the cooking novices out there. Our interim chef will be none other than DCist editor Rob Goodspeed, who's never made a mirepoix but has been known to use the microwave on occasion.
The family meatloaf recipe is frequently the butt of jokes and rarely a subject of serious consideration. However, simple to prepare and in the words of Wikipedia "an extremely versatile dish," a basic meatloaf recipe can be useful to master. So, during a recent visit with our parents we had our mother write out the family recipe. We were assured it works equally well with ground turkey and has quite a bit of "flexibility," which we think means it's hard to screw up. So, without further ado: Mom's Meatloaf.
Shopping List
1 to 1.5 Lbs Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
3/4 cup Oatmeal
1 beaten egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
Other veggies if desired
Other spices to taste (among the spices we recommend: chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, thyme -- and sometimes even curry powder)
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Chop the onion and any other special vegetable-y ingredients you were contemplating -- we've had meatloaf with shaved carrots and mushrooms if you are feeling adventurous. 
In a large bowl, mix the ground meat, oatmeal, onion, and tomato sauce together. Make sure the large lumps of meat are broken up -- we used a wooden spoon to stir the mixture. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add to the rest of the ingredients. Season as desired with salt and other seasonings. We won't reveal our precise mixture, but it might have included a little garlic powder and some other common spices.
Bake for 1 hour or until meat is no longer pink in center. We were told you can also prepare meatloaf in the microwave, but for that mom suggests we divide the meat into two lumps and cover with a paper towel and cook for 10 minutes or until done.
As you can see, we served the meatloaf with some frozen vegetables (classy!). It was rather tasty and the leftovers the next day were very good. How does our recipe compare to your family's traditions?
