Meatloaf in a Frying Pan

My granddaughter Rebekah
(not eating meatloaf, but enjoying her food!)

Tonight I felt like making meatloaf, but it is such a long-baking affair that I usually don't do it. Then I got the idea of pressing the meatloaf right down into my big frying pan and cooking it on the stove-top. It cooked in 20 minutes and turned out fabulously and everyone liked it just as much as the oven-spilling-and-smoking-up-the-kitchen, hard-to-clean-the-pans variety.

Here's how:

Quick Frying Pan Meatloaf

2 lb. lean hamburger or ground turkey
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 onion
1 small zuchinni
1 carrot
1/2 green pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1/4 tsp. worchestershire sauce

Fill 1/2 cup measuring cup with oatmeal. Add hot tap water to the oatmeal to fill the measuring cup to the top. Set aside for 5 minutes to absorb water.

Break up meat into the frying pan. Put veggies through a food processor to grate or finely dice (or do it by hand) and add to the meat. Add seasonings and soaked oatmeal. Mix up ingredients thoroughly with your hands right in the frying pan (one less bowl to wash) and pat it down smoothly into the pan. Top with one 16 oz. can of tomato sauce, and then squirt a swirly design of ketchup on top, sparingly. (I use tomato sauce to cut down on sugar. It tastes great.)

Don't worry if you don't have all the veggies. You can use what you have. This is not an exacting recipe.

Cook for 20 minutes over medium heat until "meatloaf" is bubbling and is cooked through. Cut into wedges, pizza style, and serve with mashed potatoes and peas. Use the red sauce/juices in the bottom of the pan as gravy. Great comfort food!