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At first when I had thought of making meatloaf, it was a bit intimidating. I thought, “Would I make it right;” “Would I put in the proper ingredients;” “Would my family like it the way I choose to make it or would they want it a different way;” “What was the best recipe…”? After much research for recipes online and in books, I chose one from a recipe book from Fort Loudon, PA. The meatloaf recipe was entered by my dad’s uncle, Uncle Percy “Bill”.  Out of all of the recipes I came across, “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” recipe was worth a try. Uncle Bill even included a recipe for a piquant sauce to top off the meatloaf. 

My Family’s Tastes

This seemed like a very simple recipe. Of course I had to alter it, and thought my family was sure to give it a thumbs up, or at least eat everything on their plate without complaining.  I was originally not quite sure how the piquant sauce would go over with my picky eater. Therefore, I made that as an optional topper, to put on after cooking.  After I made “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” and served it to my family with mashed potatoes and green beans or corn, my whole family decided they enjoyed this very much. My picky eater did not try it with the piquant sauce. The next time I made “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf I included the piquant sauce on top before it went into the oven.  That was not a hit for my picky eater, but the rest of my family enjoyed it very much.

“Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” recipe is below, but meatloaf in general can be made a variety of ways.  Some options include using a different meat. For example, instead of ground beef, use turkey for the meat. Another change is cubed bread crumbs or panko crumbs (I prefer panko). Most recipes include eggs; ketchup; brown sugar. To change it up, Uncle Bill suggested to use salsa instead of ketchup. Another option is to use steak sauce instead of ketchup. Some of my friends add vegetables to sneak into their kids’ diets (for those kiddos who don’t like vegetables).  Meatloaf can bring out creativity while cooking. 

Creative Meatloaf

One of my friends made meatloaf for April fool’s day for dinner.  She put the meat into muffin cups before baking.  After they came out of the oven she topped the meat muffins with prepared mashed potatoes, to resemble cupcakes with frosting on top.  Of course, the baking time would need to be adjusted if using muffin cups versus using a loaf pan.  The amount of time to bake would decrease, just be sure to check the internal temperature of the meat.  It should be a minimum of 160 degrees.  Let me know how you like “Uncle Bill’s Favorite Meatloaf” recipe or how you make it differently.  Did you add the piquant sauce or use other ingredients or serve it with something different?