SIMPLE MEATLOAF, COMPLEX PHENOMENON

Gravy or tomato sauce? Plain bread crumbs or seasoned? Spicy, sweet or rich with the flavor of the meat itself?

Meatloaf, like many of the good and simple things in life, is a wondrous and complex phenomenon. Like snowflakes, no two meatloaves are ever exactly alike.

That's why we love it.

Entries in the Southeast Missourian's Meatloaf Contest featured cheese, turkey, ham, jalapenos, tomatoes in many forms, zucchini, wine, pork sausage, Italian sausage, mashed potatoes, mushrooms and a myriad of other extra-special ingredients, in addition to the old standbys of beef, bread crumbs and eggs.

Forty-six meatloaf lovers submitted recipes, and five were chosen as finalists.

Linda Suedekum of Jackson was named the winner by a panel of celebrity judges (whose chief qualifications were a shared passion for meatloaf) for her Meatloaf Wellington recipe.

Suedekum's recipe features a pastry crust made of refrigerated crescent rolls.

Suedekum, a kindergarten teacher at the Jackson R-2 Primary Annex, said her recipe has been a staple for her family "for about 20 years. A very good friend of mine gave it to me a long time ago."

She said she likes the recipe "because it doesn't taste like regular meatloaf. My husband doesn't like meatloaf."

Suedekum usually uses the "time bake" feature to make the meatloaf so it's ready when she and her family get home from church or school.

"I like all kinds of meatloaf," she said. "In fact, for my birthday dinner, my mom always makes meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas."

"I know there are some people who don't like meatloaf, but I just think they're weird," said finalist Jane Townsend of Chaffee. Townsend entered her "Jane's Trusty Meatloaf" recipe.

Townsend said she likes her meatloaf "because I can have it for sandwiches."

Finalist Carmel Owen of Cape Girardeau only likes her own meatloaf, also known as Sicilian Meatroll.

"I don't like meatloaf, but this is one that I do like," Owen said. "It's filled with ham and cheese."

Finalist Lois Overbeck of Whitewater entered her Microwave Favorite Meatloaf, which is a winner for busy cooks who have job and family demands.

"It's microwavable. It's fast and easy for the working woman," Overbeck said. In the microwave, Overbeck's recipe takes 12 to 14 minutes to cook.

Carol Bland of Fruitland adds zucchini and other vegetables to her Mendel Meatloaf.

"It was one way to get my kids to eat their vegetables when they were little," Bland said. "They didn't notice it 'cause they smothered it with ketchup."

Finalists all shared one secret to great meatloaf: Experiment, experiment, experiment. Whether their recipes were garnered from magazines or cookbooks or handed down from generation to generation as part of a wealth of meatloaf lore, all the finalists tweaked, tickled and tugged their formulas to individually tuned perfection.

Did we mention we love meatloaf?

The celebrity judges -- Mary Spell, director of marketing and public relations for St. Francis Medical Center and a former food and family living editor for the Southeast Missourian, Jeff Breer, sports editor of the Southeast Missourian, Bill Beydler, local representative for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Judy Lueders, a nutrition specialist for the University of Missouri Extension Service -- did their thing April 27.

They sniffed. They tasted. They gobbled. They compared textures and flavors. They ate more meatloaf, and demanded mashed potatoes with which to cleanse their palates between rounds.

Judges praised the "classic meatloaf flavor" and the pastry crust of Suedekum's entry.

But what really made them happy (besides the free food) was the wide range of meatloaves from which they got to choose.

"This would show somebody who doesn't like meatloaf why they should," Beydler said.

Besides being delicious, Lueders said, meatloaf can be healthy.

"Any of these could be made with low-fat beef and you could replace the eggs with egg whites," she said. "If they have a problem with cholesterol, they can always substitute ground turkey or part ground turkey."

And meatloaf is economical, Spell said. "It has always been a staple," she said.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Mendel Meatloaf

2 lbs. extra lean ground beef

1 med. zucchini, grated

1 large carrot, grated

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 (or 2 or 3) large clove(s) of garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups frosted flakes cereal, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients very well. Press into a loaf pan and bake at 325-350 degrees for about one hour.

Carol Bland

3065 State Highway FF

Jackson

243-7948

Favorite Meatloaf

Total cooking time: 12-14 minutes

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce, divided

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. prepared mustard

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 medium onion, minced

1/4 cup cracker crumbs

2 pounds lead ground beef

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Egg substitute can be used in place of the eggs for healthier eating.

In small bowl, combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, and mustard. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, onion, cracker crumbs, ground beef, salt, and pepper. Add 1/2 cup of tomato sauce mixture and stir thoroughly. Place meat mixture in glass ring mold, or 2-quart microproof round casserole. Pour remaining tomato sauce over top of meat. Cook, uncovered, on high (maximum power) 12 to 14 minutes. Let stand, covered, 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

6 servings

Temperature probe may be used. Insert in center protion of meatloaf. Set at 160 degrees. Let stand before serving, as above. (Garnish with mushrooms for a special treat.)

Mrs. Weldon (Lois) Overbeck

3061 County Road 241

Chaffee

Jane's Trusty Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash hands.

1 lb. ground beef, fresh

1 large egg or 2 small, beaten

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

3 slices day old bread, soaked in 1/2 cup milk

A pinch or two either ground cumin or thyme

1/2 cup tomato sauce or catsup, I use either

Mix well with hands. Shape in loaf in loaf pan or Pyrex dish.

Bake 1 hour or unitl done. Let cool. Slice.

Serves 4-5 people.

A sauce follows if one prefers (and the cook has time)

Sauce for Jane's Meatloaf

Mix and cook on top of stove. Just takes 5 minutes.

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 Tsbp. dry mustard

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

Cook 5 minutes. You may cook this ahead of time.

Start basting about halfway through. This sauce is not necessary but gives a crisper finish and sweeter taste. Is good.

Jane Townsend

214 Elliott

Chaffee

887-3587

My children were raised on recipes like this and it is still one of my husband's favorite meals.

Sicilian Meat Roll

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup tomato juice

3/4 cup soft bread crumbs

2 Tbsp. snipped parsley or 2 tsp. parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 large clover garlic, minced

1 pounds lean ground beef

6 ounces thinly sliced ham

1 6-ounce pkg. sliced mozzarella cheese

In a bowl, combine the eggs and tomato juice. Stir in the bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic. Add ground beef; mix well. On waxed paper or foil pat meat to a 10x-8 inch rectangle. Arrange ham slices on top of meat, leaving a small margin around edges.

Reserve 1 slice of cheese. Tear up remaining cheese; sprinkle over ham. Starting from one short end, carefully roll up meat, using paper to lift; seal edges and ends. Place roll, seam side down in 13x9 inch baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees till done, about 1 1/4 hours. (Center of roll will be pink due to ham.) Cut reserved cheese slice into 4 triangles; overlap atop meat. Return to oven till cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Carmel Owen

643 County Road 657

Cape Girardea

334-3308

Meatloaf Wellington

1 can 10 oz. beef gravy, use only 1/4 cup

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, raw

1 cup bread cubes, small size

1 whole egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. salt, sprinkled

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls, left unseparated

Mix well the 1/4 cup beef gravy and the raw ground beef, bread cubes, egg, onion, salt and pepper (to taste).

Shape firmly into loaf 7x3 pan or small oval or oblong oven proof dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until the meat is done).

Drain the exess meat grease.

Open the can of crescent rolls and place them over the top and down the sides of the meatloaf.

Bake again at 375 degrees until the rolls are browned (about 15 minutes).

Serve in slices. Heat the remaining gravy and serve with the meatloaf.

Linda Suedekum

1100 Trail Ridge Drive

Jackson