Randy’s Tangy Meatloaf Recipe

Well, this is a first for me!  A recipe on my blog.  Rest assured, this blog will continue to be about our travels and life as full-time RVers.  After retiring, one of the things that I wanted to spend some time doing is cooking.  I have done a lot of cooking outdoors on the grill and still learn some new tricks there too.  So far I have tried a few different things in the kithen.  One was a tomato and basil bisque that we tried at Cafe Margaux in Cocoa, Florida (thanks to my cousin’s wife Carol for this place).  Recipe link here.

While that was an incredible soup, it took me about 3 hours in total make it.  We had enough for several days.  Again, it was very good appetizer type soup.  Not sure if I would do it again, just due to the amount of time required to prepare.  I made about 1/2 of this recipe from website.

Next up it was to make a meatloaf with all fresh ingredients.  I started with a basic recipe found on the internet and have heavily modified almost everything over many iterations.  Added some things and deleted others.  Yep, I do like a good meatloaf.  And this one is not boring.  So, if you like a not so boring meatloaf, give this one a try!

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion, garlic and green pepper 5 minutes, until onion is tender.
Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, mix the onion, green pepper and garlic, beef, oats, egg, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 of the can of tomato sauce.
Gradually stir in the milk slowly until mixture is moist, but not soggy. Transfer the mixture to a 5×9 inch loaf pan.
Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 25 minutes at 350 degrees. After 25 minutes, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
In a small bowl, mix the remaining tomato sauce, ketchup, and Tobasco sauce. Pour over the top of the meatloaf, and continue baking 20 minutes.
Check for an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 Cup minced onion
2 Cloves minced garlic
1/2 of a whole bell pepper, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1 lightly beaten egg
2 Tablespoons sour cream
3/4 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8 oz can tomato sauce, divided (will use the other half in the top sauce)
1/4 cup milk (optional)
3 oz ketchup
15 drops Tabasco sauce (add more or less if desired)

This recipe makes 4 good sized portions.  We will eat half of it and stash the rest in the fridge for an easy leftover meal in a couple of days.  Pat will usually make a green vegetable and a salad to go with it.

Anyway, that is my one-off recipe on this blog as I try to expand some hobbies and give Trish a well deserved break in the kitchen.  If you try it, let me know in the comments what you think.  If you make some improvements, even better.

Take care and God Bless.