BINDER FOR MEATLOAF RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Finely chop the onion, bell pepper, and parsley, and mince the garlic. I try to chop everything as finely as possible, so no one gets a big chunk, and the veggies are evenly distributed among the meat.
• Using a medium-sized bowl, mix the veggies with the beaten eggs, milk, and shredded cheese. Give it all a good mix, so you don’t get many veggies in some bites and none on others.
• Add the ground beef and breadcrumbs to the egg mixture and mix it until everything is well combined but not overmixed. I like to use my hands. That way, I can control better the mixing process. Overmixing can make for a tough meatloaf, so be gentle.
• Put the meat mixture inside a loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.
• While the meatloaf is baking, mix the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Mix it until you feel most of the sugar has dissolved. Set it aside.
• After 30 minutes, carefully take the meatloaf out of the oven and cover the top with the ketchup mixture. Distribute it evenly all over the top.
• Continue baking the meatloaf, uncovered, for another 30 to 40 minutes. Let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting it after you take it out of the oven. This way, it won’t fall apart when you cut it.

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine ground beef, cracker crumbs, tomato sauce, eggs, onion, bell pepper, salt, thyme, and marjoram in a large bowl and mix well. Shape beef mixture into two equally sized loaves. Place both loaves in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix ketchup and corn syrup in a small bowl to make a glaze.
• Remove baking dish from the oven and remove foil. Brush glaze onto the loaves. Return baking dish to the oven uncovered, and continue baking until loaves are no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).