First, some substitution notes. We forgot parsley at the store, so we substituted a few dashes of dried parsley flakes instead. Also, because Mrs. Yuppie isn't a huge fan of concentrated volumes of cheese, we decided to grate our cheddar instead of cubing it. This may have had something to do with our results (more on that in a second), so if you try this recipe with cubed cheese, you'll have to let us know what you think!
The first two steps are probably optional depending on who you talk to. The breadcrumbs, which we made fresh using a spice and nut grinder and half a slice of wheat bread, are first toasted in a small, oil-less pan for a few minutes. Motion is key here; don't let the crumbs sit in one place too long or they'll begin to clump together. It's not terrible if they do, but clumping can lead to burning.
Next, the onions and garlic are sauteed in cooking spray for 3 minutes. No surprises here, but try to let them cool off a bit afterward. (You might even send them for a quick trip to the freezer to speed up the process.)
Finally, all ingredients save 1/4 cup of ketchup are combined in a single bowl. You can place the egg in the bowl first, beat it, then add everything else for the least possible messy dishes. This is also why we recommend cooling off the hot items; otherwise, they go into the cold egg and cheese and things start melting and cooking. It's a bad situation.
The meat mixture is shaped into loaves on a broiler pan, which goes in the oven on 425 for 25 minutes, giving us a total, start-to-finish time of 37 minutes, just as advertised!
These meatloaves came together quickly, but seemed a little too moist - seriously, we almost thought they were under-cooked! As we mentioned before, this might be because of our choice to grate the cheese, so be sure to let us know if you try it with different results. All in all, this was a quick, tasty dinner that's sure to please, even if it won't quite knock your socks off.
No comments:
Post a Comment