Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Italian Style Mini Meatloaves


I recently picked up the summer edition of Cooks Illustrated "30 Minute Suppers". I love all of the cooking magazines in the America's Test Kitchen family. But, they are pricey & I'll only buy one if there are several recipes in there that I think I might enjoy. This issue in particular is jam packed with great summer dinner ideas...so, you'll probably see quite a few of them coming your way in the upcoming weeks.
This recipe, for Italian style mini meatloaves, was my first endeavour. It really couldn't be any easier & is a great alternative to our usual spaghetti & meatball dinner...something I have no desire to make in this recent heat!
It uses Italian sausage with the ground beef, as a spin on the classic meatloaf mix, of ground beef, pork & veal. My guys are not the biggest fans of Italian sausage...they'll eat it, but it's not their fave. So, next time I make these...and, there will be a next time!...I might omit the sausage altogether & just use ground beef. So, any of you out there who either don't eat pork, or don't care for sausage, can easily do the same.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Then, begin by adding 3/4 pounds of lean ground beef & 3/4 pounds of sweet Italian sausage {casings removed}, to a large mixing bowl.
Next, crush 17 saltine crackers. I did this by placing them in a Ziploc bag & running a rolling pin over them a few times.

Add them to the bowl, along with 1 large egg, a 1/4 cup of milk, 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley, a 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a 1/4 teaspoon salt & a 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Mix it all up.

Divide the mixture into 4 equal sections & shape into small loaves.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet, over medium heat. Cook the meatloaves, for about 5 minutes per side, or until browned.


Spoon 2 tablespoons of your favorite jarred marinara sauce over each loaf {I love Michael's of Brooklyn} & transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven & sprinkle a 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella evenly over the tops of the loaves.

Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees.

Remove from the oven, let the loaves rest a few minutes & serve.

Italian Style Mini Meatloaves

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated, "30 Minute Suppers", Summer 2010
Serves 4

1/2 cup of your favorite jarred marinara sauce
17 saltines, finely crushed
3/4 pound lean ground beef
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the saltines, ground beef, sausage, egg, milk, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper. Divide the mixture into 4 equal sections & shape into small loaves.
Heat the olive oil in an oven-safe skillet, over medium heat. Cook the meatloaves, for about 5 minutes a side, or until browned. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the marinara sauce over each loaf & transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven & sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over the tops of the loaves. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees. Remove from the oven, let the loaves rest a few minutes & serve.
Click here for the printable recipe.

4 comments:

LunaCafe said...

What a lovely dish! So simple and yet so tasty. Your photos are great too! ...Susan

Joanne said...

I love that these are almost like cheeseburgers but with way more flavor!

Mary Louise said...

OMG. that looks great. my hubby would very much appreciate this recipe instead of my mother's...smothered in ketchup! thanks and great pics. ML

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just made this with some variations and linked to you from my LJ. Basically I really ramped up the veggies.

http://momomom.livejournal.com/297268.html

It was really good.

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