Meatloaf has long been the brunt of jokes about terrible cooking, a fact I’ve always found puzzling because meatloaf was one of my son’s two favourite mealtime dishes. When it came to meatloaf he’d always be back for seconds, would have it cold for lunches. If ever I thought of having leftovers of meatloaf when Adam was living at home, I was always under some grand delusion.

1 pound lean ground beef (ground turkey or chicken can easily be substituted)
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1 chilli pepper finely minced (omit if you wish less heat)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a medium size loaf tin and set aside.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients until smooth and homogenous, adding more teriyaki if the mix is too dry. Lob the mixture into the loaf pan, press down firmly, and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, just until the loaf begins to brown. Don’t overcook this, or you will have a comedian’s source for a joke.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool about 5 minutes. Slice and serve with your favourite condiments. (In Adam’s case it was zucchini relish.)

Chilled and sliced thinly, this make an excellent luncheon meat. This recipe also makes great burgers!

Variations on this theme can involve ketchup, barbeque, steak sauce or mustard substituted for the teriyaki. You can also substitute the breadcrumbs for corn meal, crushed crackers or crushed unsweetened cereal. I often add about ¼ cup red flax seed as well as sesame, poppy or sunflower seeds.

Serves 6, or 3 and 1 hungry Adam

Contest Rules

1. One image and recipe per household. No age-limit applies.
2. Image must be emailed in JPEG format, measure 3″ x 5″, at 600 dpi.
3. Subject line of your email must read: RECIPE NAME (i.e. Zucchini Quiche): IMAGE, YOUR NAME (i.e. Euan A. Cooke).
4. Send email to: recipe@5rivers.org
5. Each recipe image must be emailed no later than 10 days after the original posting on our blog. (i.e. recipe appears March 28; image must be received by April 7.)

Photo due: April 8, 2011