Macaroni and Cheese Meatloaf Casserole

 

Ok, so macaroni and cheese is delicious, and meatloaf is delicious, but what if you join these two in one pan? When I first heard of this casserole, I must admit that I was quite intrigued and not sure if it would work. 

 

So I saved the recipe, and last night, I made it for dinner. I was so worried that the meatloaf would not cook properly and that we would end up with raw meat, which is never a good thing. But, it cooked perfectly, and then topped with the creamy macaroni and cheese, it turned out to be one of the yummiest casseroles my family has ever had. 

 

So good, so easy to make, it was enough for us to enjoy at dinner, for the hubby and daughter to take to work, and there is just a little left over, because my 19 year old son scarfed it down sometime during the night.

 

 

 

 

I am thinking you could do your favorite meatloaf recipe for the base, and then your favorite macaroni and chese recipe as well for the topping, although, the original recipe is DELICIOUS as is. 

 

The recipe is from the blog, This is NOT Diet Food. I chuckled at the name because that is right up my alley, I know I need to watch what I eat, but friends, this is one of those meals that you have to throw caution to the wind, scarf it up and enjoy every single bite....no regrets. 

 

 

Macaroni and Cheese Meatfloaf Casserole 

Source:This is NOT diet food  

 

 

 

Ingredients 

1 cup ketchup 

1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar barbecue sauce 

2 lbs lean ground beef 

30 Ritz Crackers 

2 oz Lipton onion soup mix 

2 eggs 

3 cups macaroni noodles 

2 cups milk 

10.5 oz condensed cheddar cheese soup 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp pepper 

1 tbsp garlic powder 

1 tbsp onion powder 

4 cups shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese blend 

 

 

Instructions 

 

Preheat oven to 350F. Dump ketchup and barbecue sauce into a medium mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Set aside. Dump ground beef into a large mixing bowl. Place Ritz crackers in a large Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Pour the cracker crumbs into the bowl with the ground beef. 

 

Add the onion soup mix and eggs to the bowl with the ground beef. Add 1/2 cup of the ketchup and barbecue sauce mixture to the bowl with the ground beef. Use your hands to mix all of the ingredients together until fully combined. 

 

Dump the meatloaf mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish and press it out evenly. Spread the rest of the ketchup and barbecue sauce mixture on top of the meatloaf. Place the dish in the oven and bake the meatloaf for 30 minutes. 

 

While the meatloaf is in the oven, cook the macaroni noodles according to the directions on the package and then drain. Pour the milk and cheddar soup into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until no lumps remain. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to the bowl and whisk well again. 

 

Add the cooked macaroni noodles to the bowl and stir until all of the noodles are coated in the liquid. Add 2 cups of the shredded cheese to the bowl and stir well again. Once the meatloaf has baked for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven. 

 

Pour the macaroni mixture on top of the meatloaf and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese on top of the meatloaf. Return the dish to the oven and bake until the cheese on top is completely melted and just starting to brown. 17-20 minutes. 

 

 Remove the casserole from the oven and leave it to sit for a few minutes before slicing and serving. 

 

 Enjoy! 

 

 

Maple and Sweet Pepper Meatloaf

Meatloaf.....is there another comfort food that brings such a smile to your face?

I don't know what it is about it, maybe the fact that it's so yummy and filling, or maybe the fact that it can be so versatile using pretty much anything you may have on hand.

It is how this meatloaf came to exist, using what I had on hand and it got the thumbs up from the family, matter of fact I think it's one of my favorite meatloaves I've had.

Give it a try, let me know what you think.

Maple and Sweet Pepper Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef
1 lb maple sausage
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 small sweet peppers (I used the ones you get in the packages, two orange, 1 red, 1 yellow, but feel free to use whichever you prefer)
fresh parsley

For the topping:
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

In a big bowl mix the milk, egg and breadcrumbs.  I used my little food processor to chop up the onion and the sweet peppers together....then added those to the bowl.

Add the beef and maple sausage, mix just until well combined.

Shape into a loaf and place in a loaf pan lined with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients, then spread evenly over the meatloaf.  Bake at 375 degrees for an hour or until cooked through.  Depending on the oven temperatures it may vary.

Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Turkey Parmesan Meatloaf

So one of my favorite food blogs is What's Cookin, Chicago?  Yeah, Joelen is like a wiz in the kitchen and she keeps inventing and reinventing the best recipes EVER.

This is another one of hers, she actually came up with as a way to get her husband to eat meatloaf because he's not a fan, so she decided to combine the meatloaf thing with Chicken Parmesan and ended up with this amazing meatloaf.  I just hope she keeps creating new dishes, cause, I have NO problem trying them out LOL  Just saying.

So here's the recipe, I adapted it slightly only because I didn't have ground chicken, so I used ground turkey and ground beef, one pound of each, but everything else is as Joelen suggests.



Turkey Parmesan Meatloaf
Original Joelen Recipe

1 lb ground chicken (ground turkey can be substituted)
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta sauce (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
minced parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. To not over handle the mixture otherwise it will get tough. Place the mixture in the greased loaf pan and form into a loaf. Top the meatloaf with pasta sauce.



Place filled loaf pan on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese. Place the meatloaf back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.

Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving/slicing. Garnish with parsley if desired.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare the meatloaf mixture as directed and place in a disposable loaf pan. Cover and freeze. When ready to prepare and serve, defrost the meatloaf completely and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Top with pasta sauce and place filled loaf pan on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese. Place the meatloaf back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving/slicing. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Slow Cooker Oniony Meatloaf

When I drew up the menu plan for these two weeks, I decided that since the weather is finally cool and Christmas is around the corner, and I have so much stuff to get done, it would be best to go full on Slow cooking.

We've been able to enjoy really delicious meals and all I have to do is get it going in the morning and serve it at night.  What's better than that?

Here's one of the first ones, and by the way a lot of these are coming from my Gooseberry Patch Slow cooker Recipes Cookbook. In most cases I am giving you the exact recipe, in others I've slightly adapted it.

Oniony Meatloaf

2 eggs
1/2 cup catsup
3/4 c. quick-cooking oats, uncooked (I used panko breadcrumbs)
1 and 1/2 oz. pkg. onion soup mix
2 lbs. ground beef

Combine eggs, catsup, oats and soup mix in a large bowl. Add ground beef; mix well. Shape ground beef mixture into a loaf, place into crockpot.

Cover and cook on low setting for 5 hours or until a meat thermometer reaches 160 degrees. (about 30 minutes before it was done, I poured some ketchup on top and spread it a little)

Cheesy Meatloaf

I just had a leftover Meatloaf sandwich for lunch, have you noticed how the meatloaf seems to taste even better the next day???

I love meatloaf, it's pure comfort yumminess for me, and I also like trying different combinations, a little of this, a bunch of that and see what turns out.

I've made a few meatloaves in my time and I've posted them on the blog, but this next recipe comes from an old cookbook.  It's pages are turning yellow and becoming really thin to the touch, the cover is slowly pulling away from the binder, but inside text is still ripe with amazing comfort foods, good home cooking using what you have in your pantry.

I adapted the recipe slightly from the book which is a compilation of Elementary School Parents, dated back to 1968.



Cheesy Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef
1/3 cup milk
1/2 onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
Shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
1 tsp. salt

Soak bread in milk;



mix with onion, eggs, beef, about 1 cup of shredded cheese and salt.



In a baking pan, spray with non stick spray. Add half of the meat mixture,



shape into a rectangle. Sprinkle another cup of shredded cheese on top (you could also do slices).



Top with the remaining meat mixture, press down on the sides to seal and shape into a nice loaf.



Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Meatloaf

Roasted Garlic.   Enough said.



That was what first pulled me to this recipe, I mean meatloaf is meatloaf to me, there are many ways of making it, and I have quite a few versions on my blog but then there's this one that is made with roasted garlic and the scent while that garlic is roasting is out of this world.

This recipe is courtesy of Life's Ambrosia, another wonderful cooking blog :)



Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Meatloaf

1 head garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef (80/20)
½ pound ground mild Italian sausage
2 eggs beaten
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
2/3 cup dry breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut one inch off the top of the garlic. Place garlic in aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil.



Wrap in foil and cook for 45min – 1 hour or until the garlic cloves are soft and golden brown. Once cool, remove cloves with a fork and set aside.



Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl combine ground beef, sausage, eggs, salt, pepper, rosemary, Worcestershire, breadcrumbs and roasted garlic. Mix well.



Form into a loaf. Place in a loaf pan.



Bake for 45 – 60 minutes or until meatloaf is browned and cooked through.



Slice and serve.

Sicilian Meatloaf

I love a good meatloaf and while there are a ton of variations on this dish, once in a while I run across one that I just have to try.

Like this one.....Sicilian Meatloaf.  Filled with ham and cheese and rolled jelly roll like, the minute you cut into it all this gooeye melted cheese pours out.  So delicious.

I'm thinking of making it next time and trying different fillings, maybe crispy bacon, provolone cheese or spinach leaves.  Oh yeah.

Sicilian Meatloaf

Adapted from Onceamonthmom

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup tomato juice
3 tbsp. fresh parsley
italian seasonings
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
slices of ham
slices of mozzarella cheese

Mix first 9 ingredients in a bowl.

On a sheet of aluminum foil form meat mixture into a 10×12″ rectangle.

Line with ham and cheese. Roll and seal seam otherwise the cheese will just ooze out all over the place.

Place on baking sheet and bake 1 hour 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cheesy Beef & Bacon Burger Meatloaf

Another winner from the Gooseberry Patch cookbook. There are just so many wonderful recipes and I can't wait to try them.

We all love meatloaf and I've actually posted quite a few variations here on the blog, but I think meatloaf is one of those dishes that you can't ever go wrong with and the amount of variations are unlimited.

This one is like taking a bite of a Cheeseburger with Bacon...SO good!

Cheesy Beef & Bacon Burger Meatloaf
Credit: Gooseberry Patch Cookbook

1 lb. bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled and divided
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef sirloin
1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 c. dry bread crumbs
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 c. catsup
1/4 t. hot pepper sauce
3 T. Dijon mustard

Set aside 1/2 cup bacon for topping. Combine remaining bacon, ground beef, cheese, eggs, crumbs, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

Mix together catsup, hot sauce and mustard; set aside 3 tablespoons of mixture. Add remaining catsup misture to beef mixture; blend well.

Press into an ungreased 9"x5" loaf pan; spread reserved catsup mixture over top and sprinkle with reserved bacon.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until done. Remove from oven; let stand 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 6 to 8.

Stuffed Meatloaf!

I was looking around online and found a recipe called "Messy Meatloaf", it looked really good, but as always, I can't seem to leave a recipe alone without messing with it, so I tweaked it here and there and came up with not so much a loaf, but more of a flat loaf. 

 

 

STUFFED TURKEY MEATLOAF

 

1 can mushrooms 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

fresh baby spinach 

Spaghetti sauce, divided 

shredded cheddar cheese, divided 

1 lb ground turkey 

1 lb ground beef 

1 egg, lightly beaten 

½ cup Italian style bread crumbs 

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning 

1/4 tsp salt 

 

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together turkey, beef, egg, bread crumbs, mushrooms, seasoning and salt. Spoon half of meat mixture onto a greased baking pan. Flatten and smooth out.  Top with a layer of spaghetti sauce, spinach leaves and shredded cheese. 

 

 

 

 Top with remaining meat, flatten again and then go around the edges an seal, pulling in the loaf away from the sides of the pan. Spread some more spaghetti sauce on top and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

 

 

 

Bake for about an hour or until meat registers at 170 degrees.

Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. ENJOY!

Saucy Meatloaf!

I got this recipe from one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks....the meatloaf is wonderful, so tasty and moist. Just perfect.

SAUCY MEATLOAF

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef (I used turkey)
1/2 c. quick cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1-1/2 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 c. tomato juice
1 egg


Combine all ingredients; mix well.  Pat into an ungreased loaf pan; pour sauce on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 hours; let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Makes 8 servings.


Sauce:
Stir all ingredients together; mix well.

6-oz. can tomato sauce
3 T. vinegar
2 T. mustard
3 t. brown sugar, packed
2 t. Worcestershire sauce

Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf

I love meatloaf, it's definitely a comfort food in our home, though I do make it the normal way, sometimes I turn to this recipe when I'm in the mood for a more gourmetish (not even a word I'm sure LOL) meatloaf.

I don't really have a recipe for it, it's just the way I've made it since forever.

CHEESE STUFFED MEATLOAF

1/2 cup crushed saltines or bread crumbs if you don't have the saltines around
2 pounds ground meat (beef, sausage, turkey or a mix)
1 egg
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
cheese ( can kind, I use swiss cheese slices and some shredded colby & monterey jack)
some ketchup for the top


Preheat oven to 350°. Spray loaf pan with non stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together meats, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, onion, salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Don't over mix, just mix with your hands until everything is combined well.

Split meat mixture in half.Place half in the pan. Layer with the cheese slices and the shredded cheese.

Top with second half of the meat mixture, then go around the edges and make sure you seal the meatloaf to keep the cheese inside.

Pour tomato sauce over the top and then bake for about 60 minutes or until meat is done.