What Can I Eat That's Gluten Free? Meatloaf.

Linda at The Gluten Free Homemaker has been putting on the What Can I Eat That's Gluten Free? carnival every week for quite some time. Its a great place to go for gluten free meal ideas. Head over to Linda's blog and check it out. Feel free to participate as everybody is welcome.

My contribution this week is meatloaf, its been around forever. A comforting feels like home meal that just hits the spot sometimes. Everybody raves about "Mom's meatloaf" and hopes that their version is close to it, if only to bring up fond memories. I love my mother's meatloaf, however if you, like me are gluten intolerant than you probably can't use your mother's recipe.

Over the years I've made many a meatloaf, using a plethora of ingredient combinations. I can honestly say that I now have "my" meatloaf recipe, the one I use every time I go to make one. Everybody who eats it loves it (so far) which of course makes me feel good. I'm hoping that some day my son will ask for my recipe so he can conjure up fond memories in his own home.

Here's the skinny on my take on meatloaf, not so much a recipe as a guideline since I don't use any measurements and adjust the ingredient amounts based on how much meat I use. I don't use any kind of breadcrumbs or fillers, it really doesn't need it (your loaf will not fall apart) and I like the texture much better without it. I also occasionally will shred a carrot into the mixture as its the only way my three year old will eat any veggies.

Not my mother's meatloaf, gluten free:

Ingredients:

1 to 1.5 pounds ground meat (I generally use ground beef, or a combination of beef and venison or beef and turkey, always as lean as possible.)
1 small onion finally diced
2 or 3 mushrooms, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon or so oregano
1 tablespoon or so Worcestershire sauce (I use Lea and Perrins as it's gluten free)
3-4 dashes gluten free soy sauce
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Topping ingredients:

Mix the following ingredients in a small bowl. Apply to meatloaf halfway through cooking time.
3/4 cups ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
A dash of soy sauce

Directions:

Saute onions, mushrooms and oregano on medium-high heat until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook briefly. Add these to a large mixing bowl.

Add the egg, salt and pepper, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce to the bowl and mix thoroughly with the other ingredients.

Add meat and use your hands to mix it with the other ingredients, making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the meat, without overworking it.

Use a square baking dish and form your meat mixture into a loaf. Bake at 375 for 45 to 60 minutes or until up to temperature. About halfway through cooking time I usually put the topping on the loaf so it has a change to do its thing, I put any extra sauce on the table as my husband likes to slather it on his portion.