Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce

I pulled together this meal on the fly. I baked the meatloaf on the weekend and made a fresh mushroom sauce to top on the night I served it. It was delicious!

Ingredients

[one_half]

Meatloaf

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup crushed Club crackers
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp mustard (prepared)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork [/one_half]

[one_half_last]

Mushroom Sauce

1 can beef broth (about 2 cups)
1/2 cub crushed Club crackers
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup green onions (about one bunch), chopped
1/2 cup butter [/one_half_last]

Directions

Meatloaf

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a roasting pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
3. In a medium skillet, sauté onions in oil until softened. About 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
4. Add milk and Club crackers to onion mixture and combine until it forms a chunky paste. Add parsley, eggs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined.
5. Add ground meats and knead with hands until thoroughly combined. I like to use disposable rubber gloves to help keep my hands clean.
6. Form a loaf shape with the mixture and place on the roasting pan. There are two ways you can do this. 1. Form the loaf freestyle with your hands. Or 2. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, press the meat mixture into the pan, turn the loaf out onto the roasting pan.
7. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the loaf registers 160 degrees. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mushroom Sauce

1. In a large saucepan combine broth, crackers, mushrooms, green onions, and butter.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the mushrooms cook down and the sauce is thick and golden brown.

Plating

Place slices of meatloaf on a plate. Then ladle mushroom sauce on top. Serve with mashed potatoes, root vegetables or rice.

Notes
The meatloaf recipe is inspired by the recipe found in The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen. The mushroom sauce recipe is inspired by “Easiest Mushroom Sauce” from Allrecipes.com.