Swedish Meat Loaf and Gravy

I'll be the first to say that meat loaf is not photogenic. I tried to get a good picture, but the with the combination of my underdeveloped photography skills and the ugly meat loaf, this is all I got.

But you can take my word for it, this meat loaf is tasty! I prepped it the night before, so all I had to do for lunch was put it in the loaf pan and bake it. I served it with mashed potatoes, but egg noodles would be great with this too. It's hearty and filling, perfect for a chilly winter evening.

Swedish Meat Loaf (Print)
from Pampered Chef
Prep: 20 minutes / Bake: 75-80 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained and chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, snipped or 4 teaspoons dried parsley
2 bread slices, crumbled
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients, except for meat, and mix well. Add meat and mix well.

2. Shape into loaf pan. Bake for 75-80 minutes, until center temperature reaches 160 degrees. Remove from pan and let stand 10 minutes. Serve with gravy.

Swedish Gravy
12 oz mushroom or beef gravy
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1. Heat gravy and milk in saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in sour cream.



My Review

• Preparation: 5
• This meat loaf came together in minutes. The baking is long, but it gives you time to make the noodles or mashed potatoes.
• Taste: 3.5
• This score seems low, but I really did like it. The trouble is that it didn't make the best leftovers; they tasted okay, but smelled terrible. It was also a little low on flavor, but the gravy helped with that.
• Cost: 4
• The meat is the expensive part, but the other ingredients are cheap, so it evens out well.
• Clean-up: 5
• Only the loaf pan to clean!
• Changes
• I have to admit, mushrooms gross me out. I only used half the can and almost didn't even do that!
• The meatloaf wasn't exactly bursting with flavor, but it was still good. Have you ever had the Swedish meatballs at Ikea? It tasted like those. And I think that this would be great served with some kind of fruit preserves. At Ikea, they give you boysenberry preserves, which is strangely delicious when combined with the meatballs.