Stuffed Meatloaf: Italian Style

One of Dad's favorites: Stuffed Italian Style Meatloaf!!!! 

I served it with  Bibb lettuce and vinaigrette dressing salad.

 Dad loved stuffed meatloaf and honestly when Mom didn't have the time she'd use Stove top stuffing instead of her homemade stuffing . (Don' hesitate to use box stuffing. .It does speed up your meal).  Today I did her recipe but put it in a baking dish (stuffing first and then topped it with meat mixture. (She used to put her meat mixture on the bottom of the dish and then put her stuffing and then top it with the remainder of the meat.. I decided to try it a little different. It baked quickly, about an hour or a little more.  My meat was under 1 lb.  Delicious and presents beautifully!  Nice for entertaining a small group.  Serves 4 medium portions.

 

  Enjoy!  

 

Happy Cooking!!!!

 

M.J.

Ingredients for meatloaf:

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¾ to 1 lb. ground pork (beef or turkey can be substituted)

1 egg

½ cup bread crumbs (regular or seasoned) I used Garlic Herb breadcrumbs

1 small onion grated

1 to 2  cloves garlic minced

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried parsley

pinch pepper

½ cup milk

Topping:

1 to ½ cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade) I used my homemade easy recipe sauce using Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes)

¼ cup mozzarella for garnish

Meat Mix

In a medium bowl place pork, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, garlic, parsley, milk, salt and pepper.  Mix together…Set aside

Stuffing

1/3 cup Italian style bread (broke in pieces)

1 egg beaten

½ to ¾ milk

dash pepper

½ cup Italian cheese grated

¼ cup shredded mozzarella

1 small onion chopped

1 stalk chopped celery

4 tablespoons butter (salted)

In a pan melt butter, add onion, celery…Saute until translucent

In a large bowl put broken bread pieces, 1 egg beaten, ½ cup milk, cheeses..Set aside.. Add slightly cooled butter mixture.  Mix together with hands until bread in well moistened.. Set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease an 8 x8 inch baking dish with butter..  Place stuffing mixture in dish.. Top with meat mixture.. Bake 1 hour or until browned.. Take out of oven top with Marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella.  Bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until Marinara is warmed and cheese is melted and bubbly.. 

9/4/12