Reuben Meatloaf Recipe

Growing up we almost never ate meatloaf. I’m not really sure why-I guess that neither of my folks particularly liked it. So I have no fond memories of eating mom’s meatloaf, topped with ketchup, on a regular basis.

However when I was in Jr. High my mom found a recipe for Reuben Meatloaf. This became a favorite recipe that was served a couple of times a year. Since we are doing frugal Ground Meat this week for the Frugal Food Series Part 4: Ground Meat I wanted to make sure I posted this recipe.

1 1/2 Lb Ground Meat (personally I do about 1/2 ground meat, 1/2 reconstituted TVP)
1 egg
1 C Bread Crumbs (Rye would be lovely, but I rarely have them on hand)
1/2 C Thousand Island Dressing *
1 C Sauerkraut (I prefer kosher, but whatever you like)
2 or 3 slices Swiss Cheese

• Mix Ground meat, egg & bread crumbs. (feel free to add salt, pepper, whatever you normally do)
• Press 1/2 mixture into a greased loaf pan.
• Layer Dressing, Sauerkraut, then Cheese on top of meat.
• Press the rest of the meat on top.
• Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until done.

Optional: You may brush some extra dressing on top. Another method is to make it more like a jelly roll or pinwheel-pat the entire meat mixture out into a rectangle, layer the kraut, dressing and cheese, then roll up and pinch the ends and edge carefully (otherwise the filling will leak out)

*Note: OK folks, in case you didn’t know, Thousand Island Dressing is simply mayo, ketchup and relish mixed together. Try 2 TBS Ketchup, 3 TBS Relish and 4 TBS (or 1/4 C) of Mayo.