Meatloaf has gotten a bad rap in the past, and I confess that I haven’t made it up until this point in my life. For much of the 20th century it was a dinnertime staple in many American homes, so much that I felt obligated to add it to my repertoire.

Leave it to a Midwestern church cookbook from the 1980s to come through! And sure enough, as soon as I made it, my spouse was already making plans to turn the leftovers into meatloaf sandwiches — something I had no idea they had been missing in their life. Their advice is to let the meatloaf cool completely in the fridge before slicing for sandwiches, as this will help prevent it from crumbling.

This recipe from Debra Rabideau Wasserman makes a juicy version that hit the spot. I’ve also added a second meatloaf recipe by Faye Davidson further below, also from The Woodland Chapel Cookbook, printed sometime after 1988. 

This recipe is pretty easy, but it takes time — maybe 20-30 minutes to prepare, then an hour and a half to bake. As an alternative to using prepared mustard (as Debra advises), I used powdered mustard instead of prepared mustard and it gave the sauce a bit more punch.

2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 c. bread crumbs or oatmeal
1 egg, well beaten
15 ounces tomato sauce (1 can)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. prepared yellow mustard (or use powdered if you want an extra kick)
2 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tbsp. heaping brown sugar

Mix half of the tomato sauce and all of the beef, onion, pepper, crumbs, egg, and salt and pepper. Shape into a greased baking dish. (This will overflow an average-sized loaf pan, so go bigger if possible.)

Mix up the rest of the tomato sauce with the mustard, vinegar, and brown sugar. Make an indentation in the meatloaf and pour on the sauce.

Bake at 350F for 1 1/2 hours or until brown on top.

Bonus Recipe: No-Fuss Meatloaf by Faye Davidson
2 lbs. ground beef, chuck, or round
2 c. herb stuffing mix
1 can (16 oz.) stewed tomatoes*
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
ketchup

Place meat, stuffing mix, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Combine stewed tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce in a blender or food processor and whirl until tomatoes are crushed. Add to meat mixture and mix lightly.

Press into a loaf pan and brush with ketchup before baking. Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.

*I haven’t made this version yet, but it seems that if you’re going to put the stewed tomatoes in a food processor anyway, you could make this even less fussy by starting with tomato puree and then you don’t have to wash your processor afterward.