Italian Meatloaf - 2nd Try

[shoyski]

Laura B,I'm not sure if Lindrusso posted about the muffin tins or not; I know I posted it on one site regarding the meatloaf. I wanted to follow up on the freezing part....I took the meat muffins out of the pan,put them on a cookie sheet and stuck them in the freezer for about an hour or so...then dumped them in a freezer zip-lock bag.

Cyn, I did not find the loaf to have a sweet taste...maybe it was the kind of basil you used? Just a swag.

[Danielle]

I made this last week, and I really liked it. I took the advice of the others who made and and omitted the sun-dried tomatoes. I did use fresh basil, and I thought it lended a very nice and different taste to the meatloaf. I guess it had a slightly sweet taste to it, which I contribute to the basil. Very yummy!

[Laura B]

Aaaah, shoyski! I think it WAS you! I have such a bad memory sometimes and I was too lazy to look up that old post to figure out who had suggested it. It really was a great idea and I doubt I will ever make meatloaf any other way again! Thanks (and sorry for not giving you proper credit the first time. and sorry to lindrusso, too, you have plenty of other great ideas though!)

[anna]

LauraB- I'm no authority on freezing and I do love the idea for meatloaf muffins, but I thought i'd pass this along - A friend of mine has a meat smoking/processing plant and he says not to put foil directly on a food you're freezing, that if you leave it frozen for a while some of the aluminum or gray stuff gets onto the meat. He says after seeing some of the damage to meat done by the foil, he strongly recommends plastic wrap first, then foil, then ziplock bag. Just thought you'd like to consider that, but I have no data to back that up - just his opinion. Makes sense though... Also, how many muffins did this recipe make? I know there's been some discussion already, but I couldn't remember if it's the same # (and therefore the same nutritional info) that you get from the loaf. Thanks for your tips re: no tomatoes-I'm going to try this one soon!

[Laura B]

anna - thank you for letting me know about the tinfoil. I will be sure to use the frozen meatloaf very soon so as to avoid any unwanted food damage and will use plastic wrap first in the future. The recipe makes 12 muffins and the recipe says it makes 12 slices, so it could not be more perfect!

[Luvlax]

Ok, folks, i thought the italian meatloaf was fabulous. The first time i subsituted shredded mozarella. it just melted and disappeared. provolone is the way to go. i used fresh basil and the dried sun dried tomatoes. i do not recommend changing the recipe one bit. it was even better the next day as cold sandwiches. my 3 year old and 4 yr old ate it. Wow!!!! I think by cooking it on the broiler pan the fat drains down. the second time i cooked it with my convection oven. That way i knew the inside was cooked.WE never have any left over to freeze because we eat it for two nights dinner and lunch!

[Peggy]

Hi everyone!

I made the meatloaf tonight exactly as written. At 1 hour it was exactly 160 degrees so I took it out and let it sit for about 15 minutes before I tried to cut it. I started cutting it into slices and it disintegrated!! The flavor was fine but it was very low on curb appeal. (Didn't stop my family from gobbling it up though!) Anyone else have a problem with this? After dinner I tried slicing up the remainder and it still fell apart so I don't think it was because it was too warm.....?????

Any ideas???

Peggy

[Laura B]

On another thread that discussed this meatloaf, many people mentioned it being mushy and falling apart. When I made mine the first time, it was a bit on the soft side. However, I did not have this problem with the muffin tin method. And mine was not overdone, either. I think mine only got up to 150 degrees (I was impatient and eveything else was ready) and it was a perfect consistency.

[Laura B]

I made the Italian Meatlof again last night and it was even better (in my opinion) this time without the sun-dried tomatoes. Once again, I did not have fresh basil. This did not seem to have a bad effect. I think everything I didn't care for in the taste last time was coming from the tomatoes.

I also used the tip (from lindrusso I think) to use a muffin tin. It made perfect little servings in about 20-25 minutes.

I froze the leftovers by wrapping each "muffin" in tin foil and then placing them in an airtight container. Was this the best way to go about that? I am a novice at freezing things.

[Cyn]

Great idea about using the muffin tins. It has to look better that that mass of hamburger on the cookie sheet. Thanks.

One tip, if anyone forgets to drain the tomatoes before adding them (like I did), an extra 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs evened it out nicely.

Did anyone else thing the meatloaf was a little too sweet?

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by Laura B:
Thanks (and sorry for not giving you proper credit the first time. and sorry to lindrusso, too, you have plenty of other great ideas though!)

I just saw this thread. No problem, as long as you give me undeserved credit for GOOD ideas - like this one.... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by lindrusso (edited 08-17-2000).]

[CATHIEA]

Another country heard from on this- I LOVE sun-dried tomatoes. I have my own meatloaf recipe that is very similar to this CL, only I used ricotta instead of provolone. It turns out less soft if I have lots of "space" around the loaf for juice to run out (instead of packing to the edge of the pan). I am so excited about the muffin idea. I made my last meatloaf into giant meatballs to drop cooking time. It was very strange looking on the plate!
CathieA

[lanie]

Does anybody have the Italian Meatloaf recipe or how can I find it????? Thanks - Lanie http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[venus]

I tried the search function and it worked!! Yay! I'm so excited http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif This looks really good. Why is it bad with the tomatoes?

ITALIAN MEAT LOAT WITH FRESH BASIL AND PROVOLONE

1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup(2 ounces)shredded sharp provolone cheese
2 large egg whites
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground round
cooking spray
1/3 cup ketchup

1) Combine boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl, let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain tomatoes, finely chop.
2) Preheat over to 350.
3) Combine 1/2 cup ketchup, breadcrumbs, and the next 6 ingredients (breadcrumbs through beef) in a large bowl. Add tomaotes to meat mixture. Shape meat mixture into a 9 x 5 loat on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread 1/3 cup ketchup over meatloaf. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Cut into 12 slices.
Yield: 6 serving (serving size: 2 slices)

[lanie]

Thanks Venus! Would like to know why with the sundried tomatoes too? I love them - do they just 'not go' or just to liking? AND - how long do you cook the meatloaf if one puts them in muffin tins - I cannot find that anywhere and really didn't want to keep on about this - don't want to get booted already - ?????????? Please http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Susann]

When I made it, I made it with the sd tomatoes and it was great! I think it was just a personal preference thing.

Lanie-scroll up and you will see Laura B.'s post. She recommended 20-25 minutes in muffin tins. Hope that helps!

[Laura B]

I don't think anyone thought it was BAD with the sundried tomatoes. Just that those of us who are not fond of the things like this recipe better without them.

BTW I have made this several more times with the muffin tins and it works so well. Those ones that I froze were EVEN BETTER when I thawed them out and had them for lunch (didn't freeze them long as I was worried about the tinfoil problem mentioned above).

[slwright]

I made the italian meatloaf with ground turkey and it was great! A nice variation and even healthier. I had no trouble with it being too crumbly, and it was sweet, but not too much.

[Liz K]

Can someone explain how they made the meatloaf using muffin tins? How much meat did you put in the tin? Does it become more fattening because the oil can't drain away? I am intrigued by this method.

[Laura B]

Liz - I just divided the meat evenly amongst the 12 holes in a standard sized muffin tin. As far as becoming more fattening, I'm not sure. I did notice that there was grease in the bottom of each hole when I removed the meatloaf, so at least some of it drained and stayed in the pan. I didn't really press the meat in there very tight though and that may affect it.

[LuvATeacher]

For those of you who eliminated the sun dried tomatoes, did you substitute them for fresh chopped tomatos or just leave tomatoes out entirely? I would love to make this recipe but, like some others here, have an aversion to sun dried tomatoes. Thanks!

[lanie]

Going to make the meatloaf tonight - are these breadcrumbs fresh seasoned or dry seasoned? If fresh - they would soak up more of everything - right? What did you all use? Thanks - lanie

[ginny177]

I used a jar of home canned tomatoes (n.s.) and dried bread crumbs(seasoned). To me, the kick of the recipe came from the fresh basil (I used a bit extra) -- Thought the meatloaf was a keeper !

[lanie]

Thanks very much Ginny - going to try tonight - seems everybody likes this one - I will put the sundried tomatoes in it as we like them - thanks - lanie http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[andi]

Originally posted by LuvATeacher:
For those of you who eliminated the sun dried tomatoes, did you substitute them for fresh chopped tomatos or just leave tomatoes out entirely? I would love to make this recipe but, like some others here, have an aversion to sun dried tomatoes. Thanks!

My grocery store was out of sundried tomatoes so I substituted a can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning (I think it was DelMonte). I did drain them...It was delicious and I don't think I'd use the sundried now.

[lanie]

Well I have to tell you - I made the 'meatloaves' in muffin tins and it is VERY good - used the sundried tomatoes - absolutely great - now I yielded 6 quite large 'muffin' loaves - definitely a keeper - had to bake for probably 45 minutes due to the size of individual ones - put on a jellyroll pan - but not a lot of fat came out - but used very lean beef - great recipe!

[kltcarley]

We loved this recipe. I formed the meatloaf mixture into 6 minature loaf shapes and place on a broiler pan to bake. This reduced the baking time and let the fat drain off. It turned out great. I think I like it better this way because there was more ketchup topping on each individual loaf.