Day 16: Glazed Mini Meatloaves

All this outdoor dutch oven cooking has made me really grateful for our modern conveniences. It is certainly much easier and quicker to cook indoors. But it just isn't as much fun. My ancestors came across the plains from Nauvoo, Ill. with the Mormon pioneers. They couldn't carry much with them, but you can be sure they had some kind of dutch oven. I'm sure one pot meals were the norm for them. I am learning a healthy dose of respect for the women of the "old days". I can also see why the dutch oven style of cooking has survived for hundreds of years. You can do anything with these babys! And the more you do it, the easier it gets. It is so nice to finally be getting a feel for all this, and I love doing it.

I am always on the lookout for a great meatloaf recipe. So many of them are heavy and dry and don't have great flavor. But I think I have found one that is a keeper. I found this recipe at My Kitchen Cafe.

Glazed Mini Meatloaves

D.O. size depends on how many you make

2/3 cup saltine crackers, crushed fine (I used Italian bread crumbs)

1/4 cup whole milk

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

3 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 large egg

1 1/2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground meat (beef or pork or a combination of both)

2 tsp. oil

Glaze

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 tsp. cider vinegar

Stir cracker crumbs, milk, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, egg, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the meat and combine until uniform. Shape meat mixture into oval loaves, you should get about 5 good sized loaves.

Heat the oil in your dutch oven. I doubled the recipe so I used a 14" D.O. and about 35 coals on the bottom. Add the meat loaves and cook until well done on one side, then carefully flip them over to cook the other side.

While the meatloaves are cooking, mix glaze together until it is smooth. When the meat is browned on both sides, drain off as much of the grease as you can. That was pretty hard with a 14" oven! Now spoon the glaze over the meatloaves and bake until cooked through. Mine took about 30 minutes with 9 coals on the bottom and 18 on top. I used new coals for the baking.

If I were doing this indoors I would put the meatloaves on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

The Finished Product

What I Learned

This was an easy recipe. I am amazed at how well things cook when you get the heat at least close. It just gets more and more fun to do this.

The Review

This is my favorite meatloaf recipe so far, and believe me--I have tried quite a few! So many of them are dry and tough and just don't taste good. This recipe was moist and had great flavor. The kiddos loved it and so did my hubby. Any recipe that everyone including the 2 year old will eat is definitely a keeper! This on gets an A.