New Mexican Meat Loaf

I've made this recipe before and loved it. Through a series of events (your normal change-dinner-plans-at-the-last-minute stuff) I didn't have time to put it in the crockpot. Since I had all the ingredients ready, I checked a few oven-meat loaf recipes and made some changes. I served this with refried beans and cornbread. Here are all three recipes:

Fresh Chile and Corn Chip Meat Loaf (from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook)

Cooker: Medium or large round or oval
Settings and Cook Times: HIGH for 1 hour, and then LOW for 5-6 hours

1 1/2 lbs ground chuck or sirloin
1 cup baked corn chips, crushed or whirled in the food processor to make coarse crumbs
1 small white boiling onion, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
3 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp ground chile powder
1/2 ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg, slightly beaten
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1. Combine the ground beef, corn chip crumbs, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, chile powder, cumin, salt, egg, and half of the tomato sauce in a large bowl. Using your hands or a large fork, mix gently but thorougly, being careful not to compact the meat.
2. Make an aluminum foil "cradle" that will help you easily remove the meat loaf from the slow cooker when it is done: Tear a sheet of foil that is about 24 inches long. Place it along the edge of the counter and tear in half the long way. Fold eat piece in half lengthwise, and then in half again lengthwise. Place the strips in the cooker in a cross shape, centering them. The edges of the strips will hang over the edge of the cooker. Place the meat mixture on top of the strips and shape into an oval or round loaf, depending on the shape of your cooker, by pressing it gently, evening out the top and shaping it to fit your cooker. Bend the strips toward the meat loaf so they will not prevent the cover from closing properly. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the loaf. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
3. Turn the cooker to LOW and cook until an instant read meat thermometer inserted in the center of the meat loaf registers at least 160F to 5-6 hours.
4. To serve, lift the meat loaf onto a cutting board or serving platter, using the foil "handles". Slide out and discard the foil strips. Slice the meat loaf and serve hot or refrigerate and serve cold the next day.



New Mexican Meat Loaf

1 lb ground chuck or sirloin
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 cup baked corn chips, crushed or whirled in the food processor to make coarse crumbs
about 1 tsp minced green chile
1 T dried cilantro
1 tsp ground chipotle chile
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 salt
1 large egg, slightly beaten
about 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
about 1/2 cup refried beans
1 cup chicken broth

1. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and preheat your oven to 375F.
2. Mix the ingredients together using either your hands or a large fork. Make sure not to compact the meat.
3. Place the meat loaf mixture into the loaf pan, shaping the loaf to make sure there are not air pockets in the corners. Place the loaf pan in a larger pan before placing in the oven (in case the meat loaf juices overflowed).
4. Cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the internal temp is between 160F and 165F. Serve hot or refrigerate and serve cold the next day.



Cornbread

2 cups cornmeal
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk (you can probably use regular milk without any problem)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 T vegetable oil
*add 2-3 T sugar to make it sweeter (I added only 1T of sugar, I think)

1. Preheat oven to 425. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl, and add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix until just blended.
2. Pour cornbread mix into a greased 9X9 inch pan or 12 muffin cups. I used a 10.5 inch tart pan without any problem.
3. Cook at 425 for 30-35 minutes.



I was amazed with the success of my make-shift meat loaf. There was a slight flavor of refried beans, and the cheese made it a bit more gooey. I served the rest of the refried beans (the original can was 20 oz, I think) and cornbread. Everyone cleaned their plates, including little R!