Spiced GROUND BEEF LOAF

* LOW CARB - LEAVE OFF THE SAUCE

Spiced GROUND BEEF LOAF

Table of Contents: BEEF

This recipe is NOT what I consider a “meatloaf”.  Although it is baked, sliced, and served like a meatloaf; the only ingredients added to the ground beef are spices.  It is spicy, but not too hot for most children.  It is excellent served over rice or creamed potatoes with the sauce.

Beef Loaf:

Exactly 2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 tsp. whole mustard seeds

1 T. onion or garlic salt

1 T. freshly ground black pepper

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

Dash of chili powder

Sauce:

2 T. butter or margarine, softened

1 T. plain flour

1 (10 ½- oz.) can consommé

1 T. fresh or dried parsley, finely chopped

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 9” X 13” baking dish with spray-oil.  Allow ground beef to soften from refrigerator temperature; then add all beef loaf ingredients.  Mix very thoroughly blending all spices into the beef.  Form a long loaf- shape that will fit into the baking dish; then place it in the dish and finish the shaping.

Using a butter knife, make diagonal indentions about 1” apart and ¼” deep along the top of the loaf to hold a little sauce while cooking.  Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

While beef is cooking, use a large skillet on medium-high heat, to melt the butter and slowly stir in the flour to make a smooth paste.  Gradually stir in the undiluted consommé keeping the sauce smooth.  Stir in the parsley and Worcestershire sauce, and cook slowly until thickened.  Put the sauce aside to be used halfway through cooking time for the beef.

After the initial 20 minutes of baking, remove dish from the oven and carefully spoon-off excess fat.   Then, slowly pour the sauce over the top of the loaf; return dish to the oven, and continue to cook, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes.

Remove the cooked beef from the oven; and again spoon-off any excess fat, separating it from the sauce.  Allow beef loaf to cool a few minutes; then slice, and serve with extra sauce on top.

Actually, I cannot put my finger on why I do not care for meatloaf!  I have been told many times by some of my favorite cooks, “You will love MY meatloaf.”  I always politely eat it to keep from “ruffling feathers”, but there is something about the combination of ingredients that do not appeal!   Probably it is the bread extender and onions usually added to a meatloaf.   Strange - I love bread and onions, just not that particular combination baked with beef.   So I developed this recipe to serve as a “meatloaf”.  After serving it for dinner or for lunch, it can be quickly microwaved as a leftover and/or sliced for sandwiches.  Hope it will suit your taste buds…..?