Sometimes you don’t want a mince based pasta sauce and you certainly don’t have the patience to make meatballs. That’s when this winning meal comes in.

Meatloaf are a popular staple of many families Stateside. To explain what a Meatloaf is it’s literally what is says on the tin. It’s that simple.

I love meatloaf; its a simple humble meal you can tweak to your own desires. I serve mine with spaghetti and a simple sauce.

Why not get the children to mix the Meatloaf mixture?

Enjoy.

To serve 4/6) people….

Ingredients:
500 grams mince (I use lamb/mutton etc)
2 onions fried until soft
2 TBSP italian seasoning (herb mix) OR
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp crushed black pepper
Salt-to your taste
Optional: 1 tsp chili flakes (if you like it hot)
I egg
4 TBSP breadcrumbs
1 ball of mozerella cheese

For the sauce:
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 carton passata
2 TBSP rapeseed oil
1 large onion diced (or two smaller onions; diced)
6 cloves of garlic; crushed
2 TBSP Italian seasoning (herb mix) or
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp crushed black pepper
Salt-to your taste
Juice of one lemon (I feel it brings out the flavours of all the ingredients so if you don’t fancy it leave it out).

1) To make the Meatloaf:
Mix together all of the Meatloaf ingredients (apart from the cheese). Shape into a loaf and place in an ovenproof dish.

2) To make the sauce:
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions. Fry until the onions are soft. Add the garlic, black pepper and herbs. Try for 2 minutes on a low heat (FYI: burnt garlic tastes horrendous).
3) Turn the heat back up to a medium flame. Add the tomatoes, passata and salt. Stir. Bring up to the boil and simmer on a low heat for 25 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add the lemon juice.
4) To complete the Meatloaf: Cover the Meatloaf with 1/4 of the pasta sauce and add the cheese. Cover loosely with foil and bake in the oven at 150 for 50 minutes.
5) To serve: Stir the sauce (the 75% you have left) through the pasta and serve with the Meatloaf. Squirt over the lemon. Enjoy!

Notes:

Meatloaf freezes well. Cut into slices, wrap up well and freeze.

To change things up: add chopped up olives, chopped up sun dried tomatoes and zest of a lemon.

You could also add a layer of cheese in the ‘middle’ of the meatloaf. Oh the possibilities!