How to Cook a Meatloaf in a Crock Pot

Crock pot has definitely made cooking for dinner easier especially for busy housewives who only want to prepare a healthy and sumptuous dinner for the family in spite of a hectic schedule. Having found a place in modern kitchens, this can be left unattended for hours at a time while away attending to other tasks and can be back with a warm meal waiting. One dish that is best cooked in a crock pot is meatloaf.

There are different versions of how to cook them and I have one version of my own from the basic and just added some twist by using some other additional ingredients. I usually cook this on special occasions but with a slow cooker around you can have it as long as you want. Before sharing with you a recipe, I'd like to share some helpful tips in cooking meat loaf in a crock pot too.

Useful Tips:

Select cheaper cuts of meat as this works best with crock pot cooking because it has less fat contents and the long and slow cooking makes the meat very tender. And since its is cheaper, definitely it can help stretch the budget.
Just fill the crock pot with ½ or full to cook the food properly.
To remove the meat loaf easily when done, make a foil handle that is about 24 inches long that is folded lengthwise. Place at the bottom of the crock pot with ends hanging on the top edge.
Line the bottom of a crock pot with a cooking bag sprayed with a cooking spray inside to make cleaning easy if it has no removable liner. If possible, buy it with a removable liner.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork
¾ cup bread crumbs
½ cup finely chopped carrots
6 tbsp. minced green and red bell pepper
¼ cup onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup sweet pickle relish
¼ cup raisins
3 whole eggs
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons catsup
1 tbsp. cornstarch
dash of liquid seasoning
salt & pepper, to taste
3 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
aluminum foil

How to make the meat loaf:

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl thoroughly except the hard-cooked eggs.

Divide into portions of your desire. Place a portion on a piece of aluminum foil, flatten and place the hard-cooked eggs at the center and cover with half of the mixture and roll to tightly shape into logs. Pat edges to seal. Do the same with the rest of the portions. ( It is advisable that size of the loaf fits the crock pot with enough space for air to ensure proper cooking).

Place the loaf in a crock pot. ( Place crumpled foil at the bottom of the pot to keep the loaf out of the fat drippings).

Cover with the lid and cook the meat loaf to low for 8 hours.

Let it cool, slice into rings and serve with catsup or mayonnaise for a dip or any of your favorite food sauce.

Makes 4 - 6 servings

This can be served as cold cuts or slightly fry before slicing into rings. Eat together with freshly cooked rice for a perfect meal.

Refrigerate extra meat loaf and get back to it when you feel some cravings for it again.

Marichu Coning

Browse a wide selection of quality cookware, kitchenware and cutlery at our on line location Your Smart Kitchen, at reasonable prices with customer satisfaction guaranteed, specializing in Fissler, Woll, Chasseur, Claybaker, Bosch and other quality brands.

Tags : kitchenaid 12 inch cast iron grill pan cuisinart multiclad pro stainless steel 12 piece

Easy Dinner Ideas - Meatloaf With Steak Sauce and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

When you get a hankering for a classic, traditional meal that doesn't take a lot of time to put together, a smart choice is to make a meatloaf with mashed potatoes dinner. This is an all-time favorite of many people because it's simple, yet tasty, comfort food.

Meatloaf has a long tradition of being an easy meal to prepare. Favorite meatloaf recipes have been passed along for generations. Still, many people think that making meatloaf is throwing together some ground beef and bread crumbs. Well, it is, but it's also much more than that.

Today's meatloaf is still simple to make, but the ingredients used to prepare it can vary from mild to spicy. Boring meatloaf is a thing of the past, and you can add different mixtures of ingredients to achieve bold and hearty flavors. These flavors are easy to achieve using ingredients you already have in your kitchen. And, if you need to run to the store to buy ingredients, they're easy to find.

Take, for instance, our Meatloaf with Steak Sauce recipe. This is a great recipe for meatloaf, because it uses hearty steak sauce (your choice) instead of the traditional ketchup. This automatically creates a deeper, richer flavor. The addition of onion and green pepper compliments the taste and texture. Of course, you can always add your own touches, but all in all, this recipe is probably one you'll use a lot.

=> Meatloaf with Steak Sauce

1-1/2 pounds of ground beef, 1-1/4 teaspoons salt, 1 egg, 1 dash black pepper, 1 cup soft bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/3 cup of steak sauce, 1 onion, chopped, 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8-1/2x4-1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, salt, egg, black pepper and the bread crumbs. Add in the milk, 3 tablespoons of the steak sauce, onion and green pepper. Blend all of the ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Place the meatloaf mixture into the loaf pan and gently press down. Brush the remaining steak sauce on top of the loaf.

Bake for 1 hour, or until the loaf is firm to the touch and is lightly browned. Take it out of the oven and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Our Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes is the perfect dish to accompany this flavorful meatloaf. This is one of the most popular mashed potato flavors invented. Whoever thought of adding the strong tang of roasted garlic to the mellow ease of mashed potatoes is a genius!

I know that there are pre-mixed mashed potatoes that you can buy at your local grocery store, but there's something special about having freshly made mashed potatoes that can't be matched. If you have the time (and you do, while the meatloaf is baking), you can whip up this classic mashed potatoes recipe and win rave reviews at the dinner table.

=> Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2 pounds of baking potatoes, peeled and quartered, 1 head of roasted garlic, 1 cup of half-and-half cream, 2 tablespoons of butter, cut up, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

In a large saucepan, add the potatoes then enough cold water to cover the potatoes completely, or by one inch. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover the pan and cook the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain the potatoes using a colander.

Separate the roasted garlic cloves by squeezing them until they pop our of their skins. Add the garlic to a medium sized saucepan. Pour in the half-and-half cream and cook over medium heat until hot. Remove the pan from the heat. Mash up the garlic until it has kind of a smooth consistency.

Return the hot potatoes to the pan and mash with a potato masher until they are smooth. Add in half of the hot garlic mixture and butter. Keep mashing until all is well blended.

Add in the remaining garlic mixture, salt and the pepper. Mash potatoes until nice and fluffy.

=> Roasted Garlic

1 large head of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Remove the loose paper outer skins of the garlic cloves. Do not peel. Cut off the very top of the head to expose the individual cloves.

Place cloves on a square of heavy duty aluminum foil. Drizzle the olive oil over the garlic. Wrap the garlic up inside of the foil.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the garlic is soft and a pale golden color. Let it cool before using.

Get more fantastic free recipes like these here: [http://www.best-meatloaf-recipes.com]

See Also : anolon advanced bronze 10 piece cookware set cuisinart multiclad unlimited 12 piece cookware kitchenaid gourmet essentials 12 piece