Back To The 50's (#71)

"Well Marty, I hope you like meatloaf"

For August, our film was Back To The Future. For dinner, I decided to base it on the Baines family dinner scene. We had meatloaf and veggies. It was a big hit. I have cooked that meatloaf on other movie nights, but it occurs to me that I never shared the recipe, so let's do that now. I grew up never really liking meatloaf, but this recipe makes a meatloaf that is juicy rather than dry. Also, it is exceptionally easy to make. This meatloaf can be made with or without the red sauce. If made without the sauce, I like to eat it with mashed potatoes and a brown gravy. With the sauce, I find that unnecessary.

Easy Tasty Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 eggs
3 pounds lean ground beef
2 sleeve of Ritz crackers (crushed)
1 large can (28oz) of rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies (undrained)
2 tsp onion flakes
3 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper

This recipe makes 2 pan size (9x5) meatloafs. I usually make two when hosting, because it goes quickly. To make this meatloaf, beat the eggs, then put it in a large mixing bowl with all of the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Don't drain the rotel. I like to mix the ingredients with clean, washed hands to ensure that everything mixes evenly. Once mixed, place the meat in the pan and cook for one hour at 375 degrees F. It is not necessary to grease the pan. The internal temperature of the meatloaf should hit about 160 degrees F. Like all meats, you should let the meatloaf sit for several minutes before serving.

Red Sauce Topping

Ingredients:

3 cups ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp mustard powder

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

To make this sauce, you simply stir all the ingredients thoroughly until it is evenly mixed. This is easily enough sauce to coat the two meatloafs above. Don't pour the sauce on the meatloafs until it has been cooking for about 50 minutes. It's possible that the sauce could slow down your meatloafs cooking time, so I suggest using a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature does reach about 160 F and is fully cooked.

For a fully immersive experience, I put on the Man From Space episode of Honeymooners while we ate. That is the same episode that was airing during the dinner scene in the movie.

For our dessert intermission, we used a blender, milk, and ice cream to make simple milkshakes like the kind that Lorraine and her friends are drinking when George approaches them in the diner.

Overall, this was an excellent event and was well received by my guests.