9. Italian Meatloaf With Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
- Dash of dried rubbed sage
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (divided)
- 3/4 cup seasoned fine bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated, plus 2 to 4 tablespoons for topping)
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons dried minced onion (or about 1/3 cup finely chopped onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Combine 1/2 teaspoon each dried leaf basil, oregano, and marjoram, and a dash of dried rubbed sage for the Italian seasoning.
- Combine the ground meats, about half of the tomato sauce, the bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, eggs, garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir or mix until blended.
- Pack into a lightly oiled loaf pan.
- Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Carefully pour off the excess accumulated fat, and spread the remaining tomato sauce over the loaf; sprinkle with a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.
- Continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes longer.
- Turn out of the pan, slice, and serve.
Tips
- To keep the meatloaf from baking in the drippings, use a meatloaf pan with a rack insert.
- Don’t over-mix the meatloaf mixture. Use your hands or put all of the ingredients in a large food storage bag to mix.
Variations
- Replace the ground pork with mild Italian sausage without casings or use partly ground veal in the loaf.
- Overlap 3 or 4 mozzarella cheese slices over the final topping of tomato sauce, and then bake the meatloaf for 10 to 15 minutes longer.
- Use soft bread crumbs instead of fine bread crumbs for a moister meatloaf.
- Substitute some grated carrot or potato for part of the ground meat. It’s a good way to hide vegetables from the kids, and the loaf will be slightly lower in calories.