In Praise of Boring Meatloaf

Let's face it, meatloaf is boring -- but oh so tasty. It is the only entree that goes well with soggy canned sweet peas and everyone and their mother has a meatloaf recipe. Allow The 99 Cent Chef to throw his whisk into the ring with his 99 cent version.

Ground turkey is a light alternate to a typical beef meatloaf. The Chef also has a tasty spin on Mom's classic ketchup topping: just add soy sauce. All ingredients are from the 99c only Stores (the Chef has also purchased frozen ground turkey for one dollar a pound at Ralphs and Albertsons.)

Ingredients for Meatloaf (serves 2 - 3)
1 pound 99c ground turkey - okay to use more expensive ground beef.
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 small package mushrooms (about 6 ounces) sliced
1/4 cup half and half cream or milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon 99 cent chopped garlic - jar or fresh
1 tablespoon oil
2 slices of toasted bread, crumbled (in the photo the Chef uses leftover 99 cent dark Russian, but any favorite bread will do.)
1 teaspoon dried herbs - any combination of oregano, basil, thyme and/or sage
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Meatloaf Ketchup Topping
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoon soy sauce

 Directions
Saute onions, bell pepper and mushrooms in a tablespoon of oil until tender -- about 10 minutes (add garlic half way through sauteing.) Add toasted bread and all meatloaf ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

 To a lightly oiled loaf pan add the meatloaf mix. For topping, stir together ketchup and soy sauce then spread over meatloaf.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees, depending how "thick" your meatloaf is (the Chef likes his molded similar to a bread loaf.) The meat loaf, when done, may have a lot of liquid in pan, just  let it cool off for 5 minutes. The meatloaf will reabsorb the juices like a sponge and create a divinely moist entree.