Thursday, June 12, 2008

Pretty Darn Good Meatloaf

Throw in your food processor (or chop in small pieces by hand if you're so inclined):

2 garlic cloves
3 stalks fresh celery (the shorter kind...not the super-huge chemically altered kind)
1/2 large-ish onion
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
2 small carrots
a nice sized chunk of red and/or yellow bell pepper (you want about 1/2 cup minced)
1/4 cup of minced herbs: basil, oregano, thyme, sage (or you can use a dried Italian blend (1 heaping tablespoon)

Whirrrr until uniformly chopped to bits. Dump into a bowl along with:

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce (whichever is your meatloaf preference)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red or black pepper
2 eggs
1/2-1 tsp dried cumin
2 pounds ground beef, buffalo, venison, etc

Squish it all up with your hands until combined. Form into a loaf in a 9 x 13 pan and top with more ketchup or barbecue sauce. Bake at 350 for an hour or until you're sure it's done.

How is that for a haphazard recipe?! Meatloaf is one of those things that is much better the second time around. This freezes awesome.