By Renee Martinez
Everyone has their favorite meat loaf recipe – this is my personal favorite because of the extra veggies and delicious glaze. I usually use onions, carrots, and celery because they are staples in my house on any average day but you can really pitch in anything you may discover in your fridge…like bell peppers, broccoli, etc. The ingredients list is pretty loosey-goosey because it’s meat loaf and you should put in whatever makes you happy.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic
About 3 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or a mix of dried basil, thyme, oregano, and parsley)
2 teaspoons Lawry’s Salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix (or 1 1/2 pound ground beef, 1/2 pound ground veal, and 1/2 pound ground pork)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup fine dried bread crumbs
GLAZE:
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle.
Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat and sautee the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and 1 teaspoon Lawry’s salt, and black pepper. Cook until the onions and soft and golden, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, meatloaf mix, milk, ketchup, the remaining Italian seasoning, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the cooked vegetables and bread crumbs, and mix well.
Pour the mixture into a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. Smooth the top of the loaf with the back of a spoon.
Make the glaze – combine the ketchup, brown sugar, Worchestershire sauce, and about 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional) in a bowl. Pour and spread this mixture evenly over the top of the meatloaf.
Bake the loaf for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until juices run clear when a knife is inserted into it.
Enjoy with some baked sweet potatoes or squash!!!
About the Author: Renee Martinez consults and speaks professionally on social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, public relations and branding. She is the president of Ruby Marketing Communications (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company that specializes in providing branding, social media strategy and integration, and creative services. Her blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media for her active audience.
Renee has contributed as a featured monthly columnist in the monthly jewelry industry publication, JCK on matters related to internet marketing as well as in InStore Magazine as a featured blogger where she writes about developing effective marketing strategies for the jewelry industry using social media. She is the founder of: Social Media Biz Summit (www.socialmediabizsummit.com), the first large-scale SM conference to come to Buffalo, NY; #jewelrychat, a weekly twitter chat for the jewelry industry and www.RaisingBoysWorld.com. Renee teaches social marketing courses at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY for the business school as well as offers small group social media marketing training and educational seminars for businesses in Western New York and beyond.
Renee has dabbled in internet marketing arena since the early 90′s and is not ashamed to call herself a “marketing geek”. From chatting in AOL, “sharing” music on Napster, and teaching HTML classes before it was considered “cool” to developing comprehensive social media strategies, effective public relations campaigns and managing online communities (most recently Chevy Girls Buffalo).
She enjoys being able to help people find their voice online and to create buzz about their product or service that will give them the results they desire. Renee can be found on Twitter (@reneemmartinez) and Facebook (http:/www.facebook.com/RubyMarCom).
