One of my favorite meals growing up was meatloaf. But only dad’s meatloaf because I knew what all went into it. Dad used his mom’s recipe (my Nay-Nay) but changed it up a bit. After going gluten free, I decided to take dad’s recipe and modify it so that I could still enjoy a childhood favorite. And it honestly doesn’t taste much different than dad’s! My little brother recently came to town to help with a project and I served him some leftover gluten free meatloaf and he couldn’t tell the difference!

Growing up, it was a big deal when dad decided he wanted to cook meatloaf and it was always considered a treat in our house. Usually he would prepare baked beans, macaroni salad, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls to round out this meal. It was a hallmark of long weekend days spent entirely at home with the family. Cold and rainy days or snowy. Days we wouldn’t have much reason to be out and about it seemed were the most popular for dad to get his hankering to make this meal.

One of the weird but delicious ingredients included is actually Log Cabin Syrup! Yeah, yeah, I know it’s not super healthy but go for the lite kind or something?? As for other preferred ingredients, I personally find Schar Gluten Free Bread to be the best bread but I’ve used Kroger brand gluten free bread, Walmart brand gluten free bread and they all work fine. I just try to get Schar if it’s available because it has a better consistency which makes it seem more like “real” bread.

Okay one more suggestion for Kentucky folks when it comes to ingredients… stop by your local Kroger and pick up Kentucky Proud ground beef to support our farmers - plus it’s just a great product!

While this recipe tends to take a bit longer than most, it is so worth it. I like to bake this dish as a great “leftovers for lunch” option because it reheats so well. A lot of times I pair this with something simple like mashed potatoes and a veggie. Recently Darrell and I had this two nights in a row and the first night we paired it with parmesan roasted cauliflower and cinnamon sugar apples. The second night we roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts and reheated the left over apples to accompany our left over meatloaf.

Another awesome thing about this recipe - just use regular bread and the recipe works great for those of you who don’t need the gluten free version!!

Ingredients:

For Loaf
1 lb ground beef
2 slices of bread (Schar GF Bread is awesome)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Minced onion to taste
Log Cabin Syrup - just a quick drizzle

For Topping
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Log Cabin Syrup

*I have heard Log Cabin Syrups are gluten free EXCEPT for the Sugar Free option but I do not know that this is 100% fact so I only mention this to say: ALWAYS check for yourself!!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Tear your bread into tiny pieces. I prefer my pieces to be extra small - like smaller than a dime.

3. I like to set out my ground beef at this point so I don’t completely freeze my hands off when mixing the meat.

4. Crack your egg into a medium size mixing bowl and whisk.

5. Mix in the first portion of ketchup (just 1/4 cup at this point) and your milk, salt and pepper.

6. Drizzle syrup into mixture. Stir until blended.

7. Mix in desired amount of minced onion and bread pieces.

8. At this point, it is important to get out a glass baking dish to have next to your mixing bowl to easily transfer your loaf when ready. Spray with cooking spray.

9. Add raw ground beef to your bowl and mix by hand (yes this is cold and not the most pleasant feeling but it ensure a well mixed loaf!!)

10. Once mixed to your liking, transfer to the baking dish and shape into a loaf. You want the height of the loaf to be as consistent as possible to ensure even baking. I shape my loaf into an oval.

11. Once the oven is preheated, place the the loaf into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

12. While baking, mix 1/4 cup of ketchup and a 1/4 cup of syrup and place in the fridge.

13. At 45 minutes, I cut the loaf in the middle to make sure it is fully baked. If not, return to the oven for a few minutes and watch closely.

14. When the loaf is fully baked, retrieve it from the oven and depending on the type of ground beef you purchase, you’ll want to remove any grease in the dish.

15. Drizzle your ketchup/syrup mixture over the top of the loaf, doing your best to keep it on the loaf and the least amount filling the dish (this isn’t the easiest haha).

16. Return the loaf to the oven for 15-20 minutes.

17. Slice and enjoy!

There are certain meals that just feel cozy and take you “home.” This is definitely one for me! What’s one of those meals for you?