Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Meatloaf (adapted from KraftRecipes, Servings: 8, Total Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes)

Ingredients

·         2 pkg. Morningstar Farms MealStarters Burger Crumbles
·         1 pkg.  (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Pork
·         ½ cup water
·         2 eggs, beaten
·         ½ cup ketchup
·         ¼ cup yellow mustard
·         4 slices cheese or shredded cheddar

Directions

1.      Mix all ingredients except cheese just until blended.
2.      Fold 2 (30-inch-long) pieces of foil lengthwise in half twice. Crisscross pieces on work surface. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Top with “meat” mixture; shape into desired shape.
3.      Use foil handles to gently lower meatloaf into slow cooker, letting ends of foil hang over top edge of cooker; cover with lid.
4.      Cook on HIGH 4 hours. Top with cheese. Let stand, covered, 5 min. or until cheese is melted. Use foil handles to remove meatloaf from slow cooker before slicing to serve.

I made the mistake of not spraying the foil with Pam, so my “meat”loaf stuck to the foil.  It also burned around the edges during the four hour cook time, so I recommend three hours at High then switch it to Low for one hour.  It made the whole house smell like a ham/cheeseburger, which was quite fantastic.  The taste is what you would expect, a ham- or cheeseburger (I didn’t put cheese on the whole thing, my husband and I each decided how much we wanted on our pieces).  The stuffing, eggs, ketchup, and mustard help the mixture hold together quite well, so no need for additional binders.  I served it with some Creamy Polenta from Trader Joe’s – a very satisfying meal. 

Quick-Fix Cheeseburger

Quick-Fix Cheeseburger “Meat”loaf (adapted from Kraft Recipes, Total Time: 1 hour, Servings: 4-6)

Ingredients

1 package Morningstar Farms burger crumbles

10 crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup) – or ½ cup breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

¼ cup ketchup

¾ cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

1.)    Preheat oven to 375°F.

2.)    Thaw crumbles in microwave, heating in 30 second intervals and mixing.

3.)    Mix crumbles, crumbs and mustard until well blended; press into 8x4-inch loaf pan.

4.)    Bake 40 min.

5.)    Spread ketchup over loaf. Top with cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted.

My husband enjoyed this recipe much more than my usual “meat”loaf, so it’s a keeper.  It definitely tastes like a cheese”burger”, without the bun, I don’t really know how else to describe it.  Delieicous!  The loaf holds together well when removing it from the pan, which is a definite improvement over other loaf recipes.  I served this with Trader Joe’s Asparagus Risotto (super creamy and very tasty) and cauliflower florets topped with cheese.  A complete meal.  I definitely suggest trying out this dish!

Cheeseburger Pizza

Cheeseburger Pizza
(adapted from KraftRecipes)

Ingredients

1 recipe pizza dough

1 package  frozen Morningstar Farms Burger Crumbles

1 cup pizza sauce

½ cup ketchup

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1  tomato, sliced

¾ cup shredded pizza cheese

Directions

1.)    Preheat oven to 425°F.

2.)    Spread pizza dough onto pizza stone sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (or brushed with oil).

3.)    Combine crumbles, sauce and ketchup; spread onto crust. Top with remaining ingredients.

4.)    Bake 20 min. or until crust is golden brown and crumbles are heated through.

This pizza is very filling.  The original recipe had half as much crumbles, sauce and ketchup, but I found that it only covered about half of my dough.  I think that I cooked it for about 23 minutes to ensure that the middle of the crust was cooked through.  It came out with a slightly browned crust, but not crispy!  I added a touch of garlic powder and chili flakes to enhance flavor profile.  The pizza was chewy and soft – the crispness of the crumbles and onions was baked out, but that’s not a bad thing!  The taste was very good, but my husband added more cheese.  I like this simple recipe because you add what you want to it.  Next time (or with leftovers), I may try adding some mustard or chopped pickles.  Yummy!