Meat Loaf Bolognese

Meat Loaf Bolognese and Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage-Lemon Butter

If you've read About Me, you know I'll post everything I make, good or bad. This is one I fouled up. It started out when I shopped. It started with these ingredients. Specifically, the pork sausage.

I did make other changes, but there is no way they were the cause of the foul. As always, click the link before if you want to see the original recipe.

Meat Loaf Bolognese
adapted from Cooking Club of America

1 tsp olive oil
1/3 c finely chopped onion
1/3 c finely chopped carrot
1/3 c finely chopped celery
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. 85% lean ground beef
1 lb. bulk pork sausage
2 c dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp dried basil, divided
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c purchased spaghetti sauce

Heat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in small nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Cook onion, carrot and celery 5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.

Stir in garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds.

Gently combine onion mixture, beef, pork sausage, bread crumbs, egg, 1 teaspoon basil, oregano, salt, and pepper in large bowl.

Lightly spray 11x7-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Mound meat loaf mixture in loaf pan, smoothing top.

Spoon 1/4-1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon basil.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until no longer pink in center and internal temperature reaches 165ºF.

Serve meat loaf with remaining sauce.


The meat loaf formed well, smelled good as it baked, baked well, cut well, and tasted funky. Not funky like bad chicken funky, but odd, like the flavors were just not right. I readily blame the pork sausage. I will have to do this again, reading what I purchase at the grocery store much more closely.

While I hate wasting food, especially meat since I can't feed it to my composting worms, there is no way I'll be able to choke any more of this down. How much money did I waste?

Cost:

• onion: $0.40
• carrot $0.06
• celery: $0.14
• garlic: $0.50
• ground beef: $4.43
• pork sausage: $3.47
• bread crumbs: $0.24
• egg: $0.32
• spaghetti sauce: $1.20

Total: $10.76 or $1.35 for each of what was supposed to be eight servings.

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