I feel like there is such a negative connotation when it comes to meatloaf recipes, but we’ve found a lot of luck with the Mennonite Country-Style Recipes cookbook—a cookbook I grew up using and enjoying being the recipient of for many of my mother’s meals!
In fact, I was thrilled to make this recipe at the beginning of our marriage, for the first time, and my husband liked it so much he said it was better than his mom’s! Now I’m sure it actually wasn’t better than his moms, but I decided to enjoy the compliment and relish it!
Ever since, this has been the only meatloaf recipe I have tried and used—and our family has always loved it. I’m thinking it might be partly because of the ketchup, brown sugar mixture for the topping!
Two things to note about this recipe:
- I have slightly adapted it from the original cookbook, for instance I do not use the liquid smoke.
- I always make two batches of meatloaf and freeze one for later (which is why this recipe makes 12-16 servings). I do this to save money when I buy meat in bulk, but also because it saves me time and cleanup—and gains me a quick easy second meal in the future!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of ground beef
- 1 cup quick oatmeal
- 4 T. cornmeal
- 2-3 slices of bread crumbs (I just cube the bread)
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of tomato juice (or can use can of tomato soup)
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 Tbsp vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Spread into a 13×19 baking pan if you want a large amount and then freeze the leftovers. Or spread into two smaller pans and freeze the one.
- Spread the ketchup mixture on top (1/2 cup ketchup, 1/8 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp mustard—or just throw together whatever you have til it tastes good!)
- Bake 350F for one hour (45 minutes if doing two smaller dishes).
If you love this recipe, you’ll also likely love all the other recipes in this Mennonite Country-Style Recipes cookbook. My favorites (the folded corner pages😜) include zucchini cake, barbecued spareribs and mix-in-pan pie crust!
