Mom's Loaded Meatloaf

The air finally feels a little bit cooler as fall arrives here in the Bluegrass, and it always makes me want loads of comfort food. The first meal I start craving is my mom’s meatloaf with creamy mashed potatoes and green peas. It always brings back memories of childhood. Memories like the smells in our kitchen when the meatloaf is baking, the cool temperatures outside, and music playing on the kitchen radio - usually the local station here in town. The jingle of Quicksie 98.3 always ringing in my ears as I finish up my homework at the kitchen table.

This meatloaf is loaded with veggies, giving it a welcome burst of flavor compared to its more boring versions. I always remember scraping each bit of this meatloaf off the plate and when you got some mashed potatoes and peas with the scrape, it was heavenly! Those bites were the best. Then it was time for seconds. Hey, I was a growing girl. Believe me you will want seconds too.

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Loaded Meatloaf:

YIELDS: 9 servings

COOK TIME: 1 hour

TOTAL TIME: 1:30 hours

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cups onions, finely chopped

¾ cups scallions, finely chopped

½ cup carrots, finely chopped

¼ cup celery, finely chopped

¼ cup red pepper, finely chopped

¼ cup green pepper, finely chopped

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

Salt to taste

Finely ground pepper

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 eggs, well-beaten

½ cup catsup

½ cup half and half (I use ¼ cup heavy cream)

2 pounds ground beef chuck

12 ounces Italian sausage

¾ cup fine, dried bread crumbs (I use fine almond flour to make it Keto friendly)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter in a heavy skillet. Add next 7 ingredients. Saute until tender. About 10 minutes. Stir often. Set aside to cool and refrigerate for an hour. Combine all the spices and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat with a whisk well. Add the catsup and half and half. Whisk thoroughly, until well blended. Add the meat and bread crumbs to the egg mixture. Add the chilled veggies and mix with your hands for about 5 minutes until everything is evenly distrubuted. Knead for about 5 minutes.

With damp hands form into an oval shape and place in a non-stick loaf pan. Place pan inside a larger baking dish. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the pan. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.

Remove pan from the water and baking dish and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.