When my kids have friends visiting for dinner I try to keep dinner as”normal” as I can.  This was tough as my daughter’s friend is a bit picky as far as textures go. She doesn’t eat pasta, will only eat cheese if it is cooked and drinks more milk than anyone else I have ever seen. So, I was trying to figure out how to play our dinner game and still give her something she would eat.

We reached sort of an agreement with the smashed potatoes (cheese, garlic, sour cream and butter) I served with the meatloaf so all was good.

Verdict:

The meatloaf was super juicy and quite spicy. You can change the amount of heat in it by adding or lessening the amount of chili powder and Cayenne pepper you add to the dish. Also, I use a medium taco sauce over the top as a glaze and this can easily be changed to a mild sauce. Remember to make this dish as YOUR family would like it.

I served this with smashed potatoes and green beans.

[Recipe title=”Taco Meatloaf” servings=”6-8″ time=”15 minutes prep and 1 to 1 1/2 hours baking” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed to fine crumbs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup taco sauce, your choice mild-hot for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have a large 2 quart casserole dish ready to cook meatloaf.
2. Mix ground beef, saltine crumbs, milk, eggs, and spices in a large bowl until just mixed.
3. Pat meat into casserole dish. Cover with taco sauce and bake until no longer pink in the center. Depending on the size and shape of your casserole dish it may take 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

[/recipe]