If you are like me, you might have stayed away from meat loaf due to the belief that they were overloaded with vegetables, had a funky topping on them and in general, just tasted bad.

But NOW you have me to thank for bringing these back to the table in a form that's really pretty good.

OK, really you need to thank Cook's Country for saving the meat loaf.  I just happened to cook it up for you here. 

The ingredients are long... but usually available in the pantry...

2 slices bread (or 1 thick slice)

1/4 c milk

3 tbs worcestershire

1/3 c parsley (or a couple of good shakes of the dried stuff) 

1 1/2 tbs dijon mustard

1 egg

1 tsp onion powder (I used some minced onion)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

2 tsp veg oil 

Start by combining everything from the bread through the salt and pepper.

And mix into a nice looking mush.

Drop in your meat.

Now start mixing. 

You'll want a consistancy looking like this.

Now for a second, we'll move to the glaze.

1/2 c ketchup

1/4 c brown sugar

4 tsp cider vinegar 

Combine the glaze ingredients.

And mix well.

Revisiting the meat... form the meat into 3 equal sized loafs.

Raw meat looks so great up close.

Now for the oil... place it in a pan large enough for the three loafs and heat on med-high just until smokin'.

Use some tongs if you have them to transfer the loafs...

... to the skillet and brown on each side for 3 min or so.

See, they look great.

Now, transfer from the skillet to a broiler pan that has been pre-heating in a 500F oven.

I've got this one on a middle rack. 

(Remember, your teacher's taught you to read ahead before starting something)

Spoon 1 tbs of the glaze... or however much / little you desire...

And let cook for ~10 minutes.

This works best if you have a thermometer and can check for an internal temp of 160F 

Once there, pull them out and let rest.  Temps will normalize and your meat loaf will rise a bit in temperature... don't worry, it'll all be good.

There she is.  A great looking and great tasting meat loaf... done up quick.

To top it all off... no distracting chunks of vegetables.

Not bad for a first time meat loaf.  And to think... I avoided this culinary treat for so long.  All you have to realize is that YOU can control what goes in and how it tastes.  Just remember some basics...

1.  The adders give it moistness and flavor

2.  The topping gives it some oomph

3.  Mini-size them to make it quick

You've got the basics, now customize it to your taste and make some yourself!