1950s meatloaf; plus, meatloaf muffins for kids

Quick and easy meatloaf comes from an era of simpler times. In the 1950s and 1960s, meatloaf and homemade macaroni and cheese were just as common as the female/male divisions of labor. Boys took out the trash and burned the papers. Girls set the table and washed the dishes.

Meantime, Dad was out on the job, and Mom produced casserole after casserole for weeknight dinners, while saving beef roasts and whole roasted chickens for Sunday dinner. In between, Saturdays were good for any remaining leftovers.

At home all day when the kids were small, Mom was able to devise quick and easy recipes that allowed her to open the oven, pull out a perfect casserole every time, and set it on the table at the exact moment Dad walked in the door. Meatloaf was always served with a bowl of mashed potatoes and one of beans, peas or carrots. The vegetables came from a can, opened with a hand-operated can opener.

Simpler times. No computers. No cell phones. Mom at home. Lots of moms at home, and everyone kept an eye on everyone else's children. Meatloaf didn't need soy sauce or Worcestershire. Salt and pepper were the only seasonings, and most of the flavor came from Hunts or Heinz ketchup (A.K.A. catsup) heaped on every helping of meatloaf. If the glass bottle of catsup was new, the kids fought over who would get to turn it upside down and beat the bottom to loosen that first red plop.

MEATLOAF

Ingredients:
1/3 cup milk
1 slightly beaten egg
3 slices bread (torn into small pieces)
1-1/2 pounds ground beef (If not eaten often, go for the more fatty beef. What a taste!)
1/2-cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Optional: 1/2-cup finely chopped green bell pepper (for variety in color, substitute red or yellow)
Optional: 1 handful fresh herbs such as parsley, sage and oregano, finely chopped. The handful is loosely measured before you strip the leaves from their stems.
1/4-cup ketchup
Optional: 1 teaspoon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine milk and egg. Stir in bread.
3. Add beef, onion, sea salt and pepper. If adding optional bell pepper and/or optional herbs, do it now. Mix lightly by hand.
4. Lightly pack in ungreased loaf pan. (Grandma said to never pack it down tightly.)
5. Spread top with ketchup, or mixture of 1/4-cup ketchup and 1 teaspoon mustard.
6. Bake uncovered 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. A meat thermometer will indicate 160-degrees when the meatloaf is done.
7. Remove from oven and carefully drain off as much fat as possible.
8. Let meatloaf sit for five minutes, then remove and place on serving plate.
9. Serve with more ketchup!

Want to impress the children or grandkids with their own little meatloaves?

1. Grease or spray 12 medium muffin cups. Divide meatloaf mixture evenly among the cups; they will be very full.
2. Brush tops of loaves with ketchup (or ketchup/mustard mixture).
3. Place muffin pan on a cookie sheet or other large pan with a lip around the edge. (This is a must, to catch any grease that might run over.)
4. Bake about 30 minutes.
5. Proceed from (7) above.
6. Optional: Decorate each little meatloaf like a face, using a strip of green pepper or a small oregano leaf for the mouth and small pieces of green pepper for the eyes and nose. Parsley makes excellent hair.


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