Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1 grated onion
- ½ c chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ c bread crumbs
- ½ c grated Parmesan
- ¼ c tomato paste
- salt
- pepper
Combine beef, egg, onion, parsley, bread crumbs, Parmesan, and tomato paste; season with salt and pepper. On a foil-lined baking sheet, form the mixture into an 8″ loaf. Bake at 400°F until cooked through, 40-50 minutes.
This recipe comes to us from Real Simple’s 10 Ideas for: Ground Beef. I think this is one of two recipes I selected from that list. The other is meatballs which I haven’t had a chance to try yet since I always default to these when I have a need for meatballs. More or less just letting you know it won’t be like Real Simple’s 10 Ideas for: Chicken Cutlets. Even though I didn’t even make all 10 of those it sure felt like I made at least twenty with as often as I was referencing idea list.
I thought it was odd that this recipe didn’t call for a loaf pan but rather just shaping the meat into a loaf. As you can see, my free-form loaf didn’t turn out the greatest. The mixture was a little to dry and crumbly to work with. But I did hope that at least the free-form style would allow for the grease and fat to drain off. That didn’t seem to be the case though. So I don’t see why not just use a loaf pan.
Overall it was easy enough and had a nice flavor. I can’t recall what I served with the meatloaf and I apparently didn’t take any pictures to jog my memory. I’m sure I served it with a salad. Regardless, I would recommend a salad, maybe some mashed potatoes (homemade or instant) and/or green veggies (broccoli or green beans).