Easy Meatloaf

   If you're looking to improve your current meatloaf recipe, or if you are just in the market for an inexpensive, easy dinner tonight, this is a recipe you'll want to keep handy.

Bbq Meatloaf with Seasoned Rice
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Bake Time: 60 Minutes
Serves: 6-ish

INGREDIENTS
1lb Ground Hamburger
1 Package of Stuffing
1 egg
1 Cup Water
Barbeque Sauce

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375.  In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients with 1/2 Cup Bbq sauce.  I use my hands, but you could use a wooden spoon.  If your kids like to help in the kitchen, this is the perfect dish to get their hands dirty!  Dump mixture into a greased baking pan/casserole dish and shape into a loaf.  Top the loaf with 1/2 cup Bbq sauce.  Bake for 50 minutes at 375 degrees.  After 50 minutes, top the loaf with more bbq sauce (about 1/4 Cup) and return to oven for another 10 minutes.

   I like to serve this with a side of rice and vegetables.  When the meatloaf has about 30 minutes left, bust out your rice cooker.  I like to add an extra 1/3 Cup water and include 1/4 bag of frozen veggies into the uncooked rice.  This is an easy alternative to preparing a 2nd side dish.  The other great thing about rice, is that you can make it as fancy as you'd like.  Our family likes seasoned rice.  Here's how I make it:

1 C Rice
2  and 1/3 Cup of Water
1/4 Bag of mixed frozen veggies
2tsp granulated chicken bullion
Melt 1T of butter over medium heat in a small skillet.  Take a handful of uncooked angel hair pasta and break it up into bits (about 1/2" long) and toast in melted butter until browned.  Dump entire contents of skillet into the rice cooker and cook.

   If you time it correctly, the rice and meatloaf will finish simultaneously and you can enjoy a hot dinner; perfect for these cold winter evenings!  My kids love this dish and it makes great leftovers.  John likes to crumble his meatloaf and eat it over his rice (like a rice bowl) and the consistency of the cooked loaf is perfect for toddlers to feed themselves.

   Let me know if it's a hit in your house too!