Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Much better than it looks - honestly!
--Dutch Meat Loaf



Dutch Meat Loaf
Best Recipes From the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars Copyright 1979, 1981 and 1982

1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 medium onion, chopped
1 8-oz. can Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 egg
1 ½ tsps. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¾ cup water
2 Tbs. brown sugar, packed
2 Tbs. prepared mustard
1 Tbs. vinegar

In medium bowl, lightly mix beef, bread crumbs, onion, ½ can Hunt’s tomato sauce, egg, salt and pepper. Shape into loaf in shallow baking pan. Combine remaining Hunt’s sauce with rest of ingredients; pour over loaf. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 ¼ hours. Baste loaf several times.

Makes 5-6 servings.
_________________________

I never realized how unattractive meat loaf was until I saw this picture. No wonder it gets a bad rap. Sorry, but there is little time in my schedule for getting decent pictures these days. Honestly, this is one of the best meat loaves I've ever made. It's pretty standard and if you don't like meat loaf, this probably won't change your mind, but if you do like meat loaf, I thought this was a really good version of one. This is a recipe from Hunt's and from doing a quick Google search, I think it's a popular meat loaf recipe. According to the cookbook, it was one of Hunt's most requested recipes.

I cooked it on Sunday night and Monday when I got home from work, I sliced it and grilled it on my Griddler. That's my favorite way to cook meat loaf and it's fast too (faster than heating up a whole meat loaf in the oven and tastier than nuking it). I wish I had made two and frozen one. I'm definitely going to make this again.

Many recipes in this cookbook say that they were the most requested from consumers. I wonder how many requests for recipes companies actually received. Before the internet, I think a lot of people went to companies for recipes. I've acquired loads of small recipe booklets that companies would send out at the consumer's request. Usually there was an address on the package or in a magazine - now there's a web address. I wonder if companies are still producing these recipe booklets. Hmmm. I'm going to have to look into that.

Question of the Day: Have you ever requested a recipe or recipe booklet from a company? I don't think I ever have. My cookbook guy occasionally sold me boxes of recipes clippings, small recipe booklets, etc that he would get along with the cookbook lots he bought at auction. I can tell from this evidence that some women made a major hobby out of it.

3 comments:

Heather said...

I had a really good booklet from Gold Medal Flour some years ago that was supposed to be recipes to make with kids. It had a really good strawberry muffin recipe. Who knows where it is now though...

Anonymous said...

Years ago I used to collect them, but I think I just ended up throwing a bunch out. Though I do remember specifically requesting alcohol recipe booklets from Baileys and Kahlua!
I think this recipe is my mothers standard meatloaf recipe she's made since I was a kid.

Leah Smith said...

Paula, I adapted your meatloaf recipe and posted my changes on my blog with a link to your site. Thanks for the great inspiration!

Sad to say, my picture may be worse than yours!

Here is the link:
http://www.kitchymamameals.com/2011/02/meatloaf-and-potatoes-night.html