Meatloaf in the Crock pot

Meatloaf in a Crock pot looked like a solution to my Sunday quandary. I’m in church on Sunday for at least 3 hours and by the end of the day my husband and I are starving. So I was looking for a meal that would be hot and ready to eat when we got home from church.

The menu would be simple and come from the crock pot and bread machine. We would have nice warm home made multi grain bread, meat loaf, and cooked root veggies, a delicious Fall meal, which would fill the home with warmth and heavenly scents.

The meatloaf recipe called for; 1 whole jar of salsa, 1 cup of ketchup, 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 eggs, and some oatmeal (I don’t remember the exact amount). As usual I want to make a recipe uniquely mine, so I varied from the written one. First I used ground elk, because that’s what we had in the freezer.  I wasn’t sure how many pounds it was because there was no label telling me, Dan’s nephew hunts and gave it to us, it’s wrapped and sealed carefully in brown butchers paper. We didn’t have salsa, so I thought a good substitute would be some kind of home made BBQ sauce. When I looked at how much 1 cup of ketchup was compared to the meat I thought that maybe too much liquid so I reduced the “salsa” amount. I used oat meal (dried of course) but the recipe didn’t specify which type, so I used what we had, quick oats. After assembling the meat loaf it seemed to be a bit soggy---well more than usual any way.  I carefully placed the meatloaf into my crock, then started to prepare the root veggies to go on top and around the meat loaf. I wanted them in the meatloaf so that they would have a nice flavor as well as further seasoning the meat. I had a kind of roast in my mind ----oh yes a roast without a roast, hmmm things that make you say “what on earth was she thinking???”

So I cut the onions (kitchen notion: if onions are making you cry when you cut them, place them in the refrigerator for several hours before cutting them---get them nice and cold), carrots, parsnips, celery, and potatoes. I then placed them on top of and around the faux roast. All of a sudden, I remember something my mom told me “when you cook in the crock pot, you have to make sure you have enough liquid, so you don’t burn whatever you’re cooking.” An aha moment---“I didn’t have enough liquid”. While still being inspired by my creation, I decided the best liquid in this situation would most likely be water, so I added a ½ cup, but that didn’t look good enough, so I put in another for good measure.

When we came home from our church activities for the day the house smelled good and the kitchen was warm. The bread was almost done and the meatloaf was certainly done, it looked a bit pale, hmmm, what was wrong?

When I took the bread out it had fallen during the cooking process. Ever since moving here (Southern Alberta) all of my yeast breads have fallen, due to the altitude, I believe. In Buffalo we were at Sea level. In Raymond we were up in the clouds. Even though the bread wasn’t very pretty, it sure did taste good---even Dan thought so.

The meatloaf on the other hand had its troubles. When we tried to lift it up only pieces came out and it looked soggy---weird. When looking at it closer and tasting it, it felt like and looked like the oatmeal that I used had swollen up and cooked like porridge---giving the meatloaf, somewhat the consistency of a breakfast hash.

So what have I learned from this meal? I now know how to make bread in the higher altitude after talking with, well, actually Face booking Dan’s sister. As for the meat loaf, my husband is a good sport, but I couldn’t eat more than what was on my plate, even then it took quite a bit of ketchup (doctoring). Would I try making meatloaf in the crock pot again? Hmmm I’m going to have to think about that, Dan says a failed attempt is just reconnaissance and puts you one step closer to success.

Recipe for Sweet Whole Wheat Bread in the bread machine for at sea level and higher altitudes to follow.