Homestyle Meatloaf with Brown Sugar Glaze
Make ahead dinners are more than freezer food and slow cooker soups. This homestyle meatloaf with brown sugar glaze can be tossed together the night before and baked after you get in from work. It’ll be done before the news is off.
“I guess I’m going to have to castrate my own cow. ” I told my husband over dinner a couple of nights ago.
Most men would have choked on their dinner, but my husband never broke his chewing stride.
“Do you know how to castrate a cow?” He asked.
(This is where most men would say something like “Honey I’ll help you” or “I don’t want you to get hurt, I’ll make sure it gets done” but not my husband. He’s totally willing to let me go it on my own.
“Well I don’t know how to do it your way but I do know one…” We went on to discuss topics that don’t belong on a food blog, but let’s just say I am no further in my quest for fresh beef than I was when I started. We have black Angus cattle in the pasture right outside, but I’m still buying my meat at the grocery. Why?
Mostly because by the time Jeremy decides we might “make a beef” (aka slice-o the cow’s pair-o) the calf is 400 pounds and almost looking us in the eye. It’s too late then folks. I have had too many bruises to name from my husband’s big cattle working ideas and I don’t need any more.
No matter where you get your beef, you can make a great meatloaf and you can do it faster than you think. This tried and true favorite hasn’t met a pair of lips that didn’t like it and it can be made the night before (I think it has its best flavor then) and baked when you come in from work. Toss together a salad and make a batch of my no-yeast rolls to go along side and that’s the heartiest of hearty dinners in under an hour.
I use ground chuck for the best flavor and drain it twice as it cooks. Just tip the pan carefully at an angle until you can dip out most of the drippings with a spoon or hold the meatloaf steady with a spatula and slowly tip it to drain it.
Chop your veggies small, or leave them big if that’s your style and don’t leave off the brown sugar glaze–it’s a sweet flavor punch you can’t miss.
Homestyle Meatloaf with Brown Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef chuck
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 egg beaten
- 8 ounce can diced tomatoes with the juice
- 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
- Brown Sugar Glaze:
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix the ground beef, salt, pepper, onion, green peppers, egg, oats and diced tomatoes well. You may have to use your hands, but don't overwork the meat. Just until the ingredients are mixed in.
- Form a loaf and place in a baking dish.
- Mix ketchup, brown sugar and mustard together and spread over meatloaf.
- Bake uncovered 1 hour, draining grease away twice by tipping the dish and using a spoon or holding the meatloaf with a spatula and draining straight from the dish.
- Weight Watchers Points + estimated value (recipe is not endorsed by Weight Watchers): 3 points in 4 ounces. This recipe serves about 6.
This is a great family recipe!
I apologize for being blind apparently because I see nowhere to add the oats in the directions!!!!!!
Jeana, you are not blind! It looks like you are absolutely right! They go in with the egg, veggies, tomatoes, etc. You can pretty much just dump everything in and mix it altogether. I’ll go fix that right now!! Thanks for the catch. 🙂
Right after the eggs I missed it tooin first reading.
can I make this Gluten Free. Thinking about the Gluten Free Bread Crumbs?
Seems like all the other ingredients are Gluten Free.
Karen, everything in the meatloaf is gluten free and I don’t use bread crumbs so if you will just get some certified gluten free oats, you’ll be good to go. Should be a very easy swap! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Rachel
Looks great! I think I missed when you put the oats in… I’m assuming with everything in step 2?
Yes Kim, that’s right. Just put it all in together. And I bake mine in a rectangular glass baking dish and not a loaf pan, but you can do it in whatever you like. I drain my grease off as it bakes too, so that it says on the lighter side. It’s a very forgiving recipe. I don’t “think” you can mess it up! Good luck!–Rachel
I have everything but the tomatoes. Do think it would be just as good?
Hey Tiffany,
Good question. I might be, but you will need some liquid or else I’m afraid it might be too dense and dry. The oats will absorb liquid as it cooks and while the flavor may be 90% right, I’m just afraid the texture might be odd. You could still give it a shot–but I’d add a 1/2 cup of water or so just to make sure it didn’t turn into a clump-o-nasty. 🙂
Rachel do I double everything for 12 servings ….triple for 18? What cha think. This looks yummy…..oh and my Easter cake …..your sunshine cake.Thanks
I would say that’s a very close estimate Jeannie. It depends on how big your eaters are. My eaters take a three to four inch chunk each, so my family needs 10 pounds to feed 25 people. Can you believe it?! Your family or friends may not eat like that, in which case your estimates will work fine. Try to mix it the day ahead before baking it for the best flavor. And the cake is awesome. Please let me know if you make it!! Thanks for coming by!–Rachel
I just made a meatloaf the other day, but your picture looks much better! Yum. My husband and I often have odd conversations, but castration has yet to be one of them!
Well castration is always a fun topic Andrea…maybe you should bring it up sometime and see how he reacts! Ha ha!! Thanks for the photo compliment–brown food has to be the hardest thing in the world to get a shot of. If you get a chance to give the recipe a try let me know how you like it. Thanks for coming by!
I’m so glag you have this blog…. So I don’t have to text or call & ask for a recipe! Or maybe that’s why you have it…. Hehehe I made this meatloaf yesterday, my bunch gobbled it up. I ask hannah if it was as good as yours she said she didn’t know about that….
I’m held to the high standard of Hannah–that’s a lot to live up to right there. And I guess it is a good thing that I have this blog because I don’t text recipes! You’d be out of luck on that one 😉
I think I would have to leave the castration up to someone else but I will make the meatloaf any day. 🙂
Ha ha! Thanks Dahn. Yeah, sometimes we get a little messy on this farm…oh the price we pay for country living!
Wow Rachel, this sounds great. Pinned it and I will be making this soon. I have Old fashioned oatmeal, what would that do to it? I can always buy quick cooking.
I just wanted to tell you that my Mother passed away yesterday. I loved her meatloaf so much…hope this recipe will be the comfort food I need. She was one of those who did not measure anything so I can’t try to duplicate it. Maybe one day I can send you ingredients she wrote down and you can figure it out for me.
Oh Kim I am so sorry to hear about your mom. I hope you find comfort in this very hard time. I’ll pray for you, and I’d be happy to tackle your mother’s recipe–it would be a tall order to get something so special and familiar right, but I’d sure give it a go. 🙂