In my clear out the pantry, cupboards and freezer efforts, I ran across a half used bag of herb seasoned stuffing. Must have been leftover from the holidays.
(Side note – I highly recommend spending 4-6 weeks each year, doing a “pretend like you are moving” clean out of your pantry and freezer. Highly. Recommend.)
Every so often this bag of half used stuffing would give me a gentle reminder that it needed to be used. Once it almost fell off the shelf, whcih would have been a terrible mess! I’ve brushed past it a number of times and it kept saying…”I want you to eat me. Soon.”
Well, soon is now.
I decided to use it in place of bread crumbs in meatloaf. I had the perfect package of ground chuck, bought on Manager’s Special.
(Note: I ended up cooking this in 9×13 glass baking dish, because I ran out of time. It cooks faster in a flat baking dish (45 min)…you could certainly make this into 2 9×5 loaf pans…just up the time by 25-30 minutes to be sure it cooks all the way through.)
Stuffing Meatloaf
Yield – 6 to 8 servings
Preparation Time – 15 minutes
Cooking Time – 45 to 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups stuffing ($.75)
- about 2 lbs. ground chuck ($3.55)
- 2 eggs ($.20)
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($.05)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning ($.05)
- 1 tsp salt
- Couple dashes of pepper
- Ketchup ($.10)
- Bread/veggies ($1.50)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a large mixing bowl, crush the stuffing using potato masher. (You could grind in a food processor or blender. I didn’t because I didn’t want to dirty another dish.)
- Add the ground beef, eggs, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Combine well.
- Press the meat mixture into a 9×13 glass baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 -50 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Serve Stuffing Meatloaf with bread and butter, and favorite veggie.
Cost $6.20 (with lots of meatloaf leftover!)
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It must be Meatloaf Monday…I just posted a meatloaf recipe today. This looks like a great recipe!
I have been using my extra stuffing (and mayo! And tuna!) in making tuna cakes. My 1 year old loves them!!!
Thanks for hosting Erin! I bet my house full of men would LOVE that meatloaf!
~Liz
NICE! I just made Salisbury Steaks and used an open bag of stuffing in place of bread crumbs. It’s a great way to add lots of flavor!
I just submitted a recipe. Forbidden Rice Salad
Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Ooooh, I had some Rosemary and seasalt specialty bread (that I got on discount) that just wasn’t that good. I stuck it in the freezer and forgot about it. Well just 2 days ago, I made it into crumbs! It might be perfect in a meatloaf. I’m sure going to try anyway. BTW, I have a great recipe that uses a couple of cups of this kind of bread crumbs. It’s like a chicken pot pie, but the crumbs instead of the crust. Mmm.
I love the idea of doing it in an oblong pan to save cooking time!
Uh, oh. You never mention the ketchup in the instructions. I thought it was unlike my other meatloaves not to have a tomato product in the meat mixture, assuming the ketchup was to be put on top. Well, it’s set to cook, we’ll see how it turns out.
this sounds great – but i can never find ground anything that cheap – the cheapest i’ve been able to get is $1.99/lb and that is the really high fat one…how do you do it?
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