When my mother was having one of the younger ones- Peggy, Walter, not sure which- Dad took over the kitchen. He was a good cook the times he cooked and this week he showed us the joy of cooking with beer. Spaghetti sauce- beer, leg of lamb- beer, meatloaf- beer. I’m sure my memory has enhanced these memories- because why would Dad cook us kids a leg of lamb? Anyway, habits come honestly and I find myself cooking with beer….a lot.
There are so many recipes for meatloaf, I’ll just put one of our basics here. Start with some good lean ground beef, then add some great seasonings, maybe a healthy filler and some liquids and bake. In a large bowl put your two pounds of ground beef (15% fat or less), a cup of oatmeal uncooked, a cup of fine chopped onion, a cup of shredded zucchini if you have it, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 egg and half a beer- any kind.
Mix well and place in a greased or oil sprayed bread pan. If you don’t have a bread pan, just shape this in a cast iron skillet or glass baking pan. Make a few indents on top and fill with your choice of bbq sauce, honey, ketchup, mustard or a mixture of these. A few slices of partially cooked bacon with honey is Freds favorite.
Bake 350 degrees for one hour to one hour and 15 minutes. Great hot or leftover cold. Don’t worry kids- the alcohol burns out as it bakes.