Beef Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a dish of  ground meat mixed with other ingredients, formed into a loaf shape, then baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking it in a loaf pan, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan. This dish  is usually made from ground beef, although pork, chicken and seafood are also used.

In some places of the Philippines, you can taste Embutido and Hardinera are traditional meatloaf version. A special dish and is often served only on special occasions, made with a delightful mix of ground chicken or pork, sausage, liver spread, sweet pickles, cheese, green peas, raisins ,pineapple tidbits, herbs and spices.

Here’s my meatloaf recipe – the ingredients and process are simple. Get slice bread and cut the edges, pour the milk over the bread and allow it to soak in for several minutes.

For a more moist meatloaf, soak the bread or bread crumbs in milk, until it becomes thick and mushy, before blending the mixture together.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, eggs, chopped onion, green bell pepper, green raisins and parsley in a large mixing bowl.

Before mixing the meat, season it with salt and pepper. Also consider adding some of your favorite dried herbs or spices. With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined.

Place the meatloaf mixture into a loaf pan and press to make compact in the pan. Or you can form a freestanding loaf onto a rimmed baking pan.

Bake for 1 hour at 350°F, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meatloaf reads 155°F. After removing the meatloaf from the oven, let it rest for five minutes before cutting into it. Then use a metal spatula to gently lift the meatloaf out of the loaf pan to a serving plate. Brush the meatloaf with sauce mixture of butter, pineapple juice and tomato paste. Slice and serve.

Meatloaf just might be one of the very best comfort food.

Ingredients:

Meatloaf: 1 cup milk, 6 bread slices, 2 pounds ground beef 1/2 green raisins, 1 teaspoon salt, Freshly ground black pepper, chopped green bell pepper, 1/4 to 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley,  3 eggs  – Tomato Sauce: 1/2 cup tomato paste , 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon dry mustard , 1 cup pineapple juice and butter.Dash or 2 hot sauce (more if you like)

Tips: Any combination of beef, veal, pork, or lamb works really well. If you’re using very lean meat, consider blending it with about 30% ground pork. The fattier pork with keep the meatloaf moist and tender.

Tinolang Manok

The authentic and most famous Filipino dish.  Tinola in Tagalog and Cebuano, or la uya in Ilokano – is a soup-based dish served as an main entree in the Philippines .Traditionally, this dish is cooked with chicken, wedges of green papaya and leaves of the siling labuyo  in broth flavored with ginger, onions and fish sauce. A common variant substitutes sayote instead of papaya, malunggay or kamunggay (in Cebuano), instead of pepper leaves.

In my recipe, I prefer using whole native chicken, which is said to be a healthier alternative, though the meat is tougher and requires a longer time to cook. But it’s so delicious and nutritious! As a traditional dish, the chicken is usually cooked in low heat for quite some time to let all the flavors of the chicken come out and it also makes the chicken tender.

I always add the seasoning early so that the meat will absorb the flavor.

After cleaning. Put the chopped celery and onion leeks inside the chicken’s cavity.  In medium size pot , heat olive oil over medium heat sauté ginger, garlic, tomato and onion until translucent and fragrant. Add the whole chicken and sauté until chicken colors slightly change into pale. Season with patis and pepper. Add water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1 hour  or until chicken is tender. Add malunggay pods. Cook for 3 minutes or until malunggay is done. Remove from heat . Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve hot with white steamed rice. Enjoy.

The chicken is flavorful, juicy and tender.

The malunggay pods are the most valued and widely used part of the plant. Malunggay pods contains essential amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients. Malunggay pods may be eaten raw or may be prepared or cooked.

Ingredients:

1 whole native chicken , 1 tbsp. olive oil , 2 cups malunggay pods ,1/2 cup ginger,  1 pc onion garlic, tomato, onion leeks, celery, lemon grass and green chilli,  star anise, pepper and salt .  I used malunggay pods instead of leaves.  Or you can use cabbage and spinach if malunggay and siling labuyo leaves are not available.