Apr 22, 2014

Holly's Chicken Meatloaf

Our baby dinners have finally come to an end. I'm depressed. Morgan also mentioned that it is now time to remove the blue bow from the mailbox.  This is a capital BOO HOO!  I just love that damn bow (it also hides the disintegration of my mailbox.  Thanks, carpenter bees).

One of our last dinners was this great meatloaf that my friend Holly (her daughter's outgrown clothes comprise the majority of DH's wardrobe- she is my one-stop shop) brought over.  She described it as meatloaf you will love even if you don't like meatloaf.  I love meatloaf, and loved this.  Please excuse the iPhone pics of the leftovers consumed the next day.

I gobbled this up- it is simply delicious and very different from your typical meatloaf which is doused in ketchup and bread crumbs.

Holly's Best Meatloaf EVER

  • 3 T unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cups finely chopped yellow onion
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped scallions
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
  • 2 good sized cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1-1.5 t of salt
  • 1 t freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 t (or more to taste) cayenne pepper
  • 1 t ground cumin
  • 1/2 t ground nutmeg
  • 3 eggs, well beaten
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 2 pounds lean ground chicken
  • 1 lb of sausage meat (without fennel- Holly used bulk sausage and it was fab)
  • 3/4 cups panko crumbs
Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and add the vegetables.  Cook stirring often, until he moisture has evaporated, about ten minutes.  Try not to brown them..  Set aside to cool briefly, then refrigerate for one hour.

Combine all of the spices with the eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat well.  Add the ketchup and half and half and blend well.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Let the meat "warm up" a bit at room temp before mixing with the panko and egg mixture.  Add the chilled veggies and knead everything with your hands for about five minutes.
Pout the mixture into a large baking dish and form a loaf the size of a large loaf of Italian bread (about 17"L x 5"W x 1.5"H.

Place the baking dish into a larger pan that can hold water halfway up the sides of the baking dish.  Pour boiling water into the larger baking dish.  Place the layered pans in the oven and cook the meatloaf uncovered for 35-40 minutes.  Let the meatloaf rest for 15  minutes after removing it from the oven.  Invariably, the fat comes out of this dish while baking.  I usually take the meatloaf out of the baking dish and blot with several paper towels before putting it on the serving dish.  This makes great cold leftover sandwiches and freezes well.

In other news- doesn't Deeds look adorable in his new clothes?  These are from Little Hoot Designs, which my dear friend Colleen owns.  I have loved their dresses and tees for DH, and now Deeds is finally getting some clothes other than pjs.
So serious here.  Probably pissed off that he is sitting in a bouncy seat in my flower beds while I work in the yard and Miss Priss plays with the hose.

I know Easter is over, but this family of bunnies has decided to permanently move to my kitchen table.  The extra bunny child has a revolving identity of Gigi, Jordan (my niece who was just visiting) or Ellie (DH's best friend), depending on Dell Harper's mood.  As always, we have some fascinating condos round these parts.

2 comments:

  1. Deeds is a doll. That recipe looks yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not a meatloaf fan but that actually sounds good to me. Deeds is absolutely precious!

    ReplyDelete

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