While trying to come up with something for dinner recently, Eric suggest meat loaf. We both like meat loaf and Andrew was going to be home for dinner, so I thought it was a good idea, but not a blog worthy idea. And being blog worthy is a factor in what I make nowadays!

I have a standard meat loaf recipe I use that comes from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook I received about 30 years ago. It’s a good basic recipe but not blog worthy. I had a few minutes of spare time & I was already in the kitchen, so I plopped down in front of the kitchen book shelves to look through our cookbook collection. (I usually run to the computer for new recipes.) After paging through a few different cookbooks, I pulled out Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen. We’ve owned that cookbook for nearly as long as we’ve owned the BHG Cookbook. And sure enough, there was a tricked out meat loaf recipe, using both ground beef & ground pork, both of which we happened to have in the freezer. No more boring, basic meat loaf in this house!

Cajun Meat Loaf

Cajun Meat Loaf (adapted from Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen by Paul Prudhomme)  Serves 6-10

Ingredients:

• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup fine, dry bread crumbs

Directions:

Combine the bay leaves, salt, cayenne, black & white peppers, cumin & nutmeg in a small bowl and mix them together.

The seasoning mix packs a punch!

Melt the butter in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, scallions, garlic, hot sauce, Worchester and the seasoning mix. Sauté the vegetables & seasoning mixture for 6- 8 minutes, until it starts sticking excessively to the pan. Stir occasionally and scrape the bottom of the pan well. Stir in the milk and ketchup. Continue cooking the mixture for about 2 minutes. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Remove the bay leaves.

The veggies & seasonings get cooked down to a spicy mixture.

Combine the pork, beef, eggs, vegetable & seasoning mixture and the bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Mix it all together until it is thoroughly combined.

Throw it all in a big bowl and mix it well.

Place the mixture in a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

It will fill a large loaf pan.

Bake the meat loaf at 350° for 25 minutes then raise the heat to 400° and continue baking for another 35 minutes, until the top of the meat loaf is browned. Remove it from the oven, pour off the fat, then slice and serve the meatloaf.

Dinner’s ready!

Comfort food needn’t be boring!  ~Linda

Cajun Meat Loaf (adapted from Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen by Paul Prudhomme)  Serves 6-10

Ingredients:

• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup fine, dry bread crumbs

Directions:

Combine the bay leaves, salt, cayenne, black & white peppers, cumin & nutmeg in a small bowl and mix them together. Melt the butter in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, scallions, garlic, hot sauce, Worchester and the seasoning mix. Sauté the vegetables & seasoning mixture for 6- 8 minutes, until it starts sticking excessively to the pan. Stir occasionally and scrape the bottom of the pan well. Stir in the milk and ketchup. Continue cooking the mixture for about 2 minutes. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Remove the bay leaves.

Combine the pork, beef, eggs, vegetable & seasoning mixture and the bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Mix it all together until it is thoroughly combined. Place the mixture in a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Bake the meat loaf at 350° for 25 minutes then raise the heat to 400° and continue baking for another 35 minutes, until the top of the meat loaf is browned. Remove it from the oven, pour off the fat, then slice and serve the meatloaf.