Hello again culinary fans,
It’s been a few more days than normal since my last entry. Susi and I are going through a complete office make-over and things have been VERY hectic. I thought for this entry I would compare WildTree’s “Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf Mix” to my own home made meatloaf, of which I take great pride.
I use a combination of 2/3 ground beef and 1/3 ground pork in my meatloaf. To that I add diced onions and sometimes diced green pepper, although I didn’t add the green pepper to this batch because Susi doesn’t like cooked green pepper. Other than that, I used the WildTree recipe verbatim, which is:
2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 pkg. Wildtree Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf Mix
¼ cup Soy Sauce
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ cup Skim milk
½ cup Ketchup or Chili Sauce
The recipe gives you the option of using Chili Sauce in place of the Ketchup. Now, if you’ve read my previous posts, you know I like to kick things up a notch… SO… I used Szechwan Chili Sauce instead of Ketchup (BAM).
OK, here’s where I made a SLIGHT boo boo.… (dramatic pause)… in my home made meatloaf, I add Ketchup to the meatloaf mix before I form the loaf. I did that with this recipe using the Szechwan Chili Sauce instead. Only AFTER mixing the ingredients and forming the loaf did I realize that in WildTree’s recipe, you spread the Ketchup or the Chili Sauce OVER the loaf once it is formed in the meatloaf pan… OOPS. Oh well, what’s done is done.
Given that slight screw-up, this may not be a totally fair comparison. That being said, I went ahead and baked the loaf according to the recipe.
It came out Great. It was a bit spicy because the Chili Sauce was blended in with the meat instead of being spread over just the top. At any rate, I really loved the heat of this meatloaf (go figure). I’m sure that had I followed the recipe to the letter, it would have been great for even the average pallet. The way mine turned out, you really did need to like the HEAT (which you know I do).
So for a quick and easy meatloaf that is delicious and hearty, WildTree’s “Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf Mix” really does the trick nicely. If you want a standard meatloaf that tastes great, use the Ketchup. If you want to kick it up a notch, use the Chili Sauce (but remember to spread it over the top of the loaf… Dohhh).
Do I prefer that to my own home made version? It’s a very, VERY close call, and given the slight snafoo in my preparation, I’ll call it a draw (but I do plan to try the chili sauce in my version). WildTree’s version is much easier to prepare too… no measuring of spices.
That’s about it for now, thanks for listening
lvtocook
Chuck Schuele
