The Perfect Meatloaf Pan

We've all seen infomercials. Recently, I saw the one for the Perfect Meatloaf and was intrigued because...well...my family likes meatloaf. I really liked the "lift out" tray which would keep the grease off of the meatloaf. However, even though I was interested in the pan, I'm not one to order something sight unseen off TV.

Last week, I was in Walmart Neighborhood Market and since it is so close to Christmas, they had a lot of things that they normally wouldn't carry. I came across a display of the Perfect Meatloaf pan for $14.95. It just so happened that my mom's birthday was in a few days and the meal I was going to make for her included meatloaf. I thought...why not? Merry Christmas to me.

The pan set included a loaf pan, an aerated tray with handles, and a recipe guide. I hand washed the pan and tray and while it was drying, looked over the recipe guide. It included 8 different meatloaf recipes along with a stuffed pepper and a pork loin recipe.

I have my own meatloaf recipe that I've used for years that is a family favorite, so I didn't use one of the recipes in the guide. I did set the oven to 350 degrees and set  the cooking time for 1 hour for 2 pounds of ground beef since all of the recipes used those guidelines.

I mixed my meatloaf ingredients and following the instructions, coated the pan with a non stick cooking spray before putting the meatloaf in. The 2 pounds of ground beef fit nicely into the pan, and into the oven it went.

One hour later, I took the meatloaf out of the oven. I used a butter knife and ran it around the edges of the meatloaf before using the handles of the tray to lift the meatloaf out of the pan. It lifted out and transferred easily to a cutting board.

I let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing to put on a serving platter. Up until now, everything went very well. When I tried slicing, it did not slice as easy as the commercial shows. The box clearly says that the meatloaf will not fall apart and that was a problem, but it could have been caused by needing another 10-15 minutes of cooking time. The very middle was pink.

(FYI: The reason that ketchup is only on half of it is because the Dear Hubby prefers brown gravy)

So Let's Review:

The price was $14.95. The pan is basically a loaf pan. You can purchase a similar loaf pan at Walmart for $6.99. That means you are paying an additional $7.96 for the lift out tray and the recipe guide. A little pricey but since I've never found a lift out tray that will fit a loaf pan, I feel the price can be justified.

The recipe guide has some interesting recipes but I imagine I could find all of them online.

The meatloaf did lift out very easy from the pan which was a definite plus.

It did not slice as easy as I expected and the inside was very pink. However, I think the next time I use the pan, I will pack the meatloaf a little tighter to see if that helps with the slicing and will bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

To sum it up: I anticipate that with some adjustments and some trial and error, I will eventually get "The Perfect Meatloaf."

Join me next time and we will Review something New...

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

After hearing a lot of buzz about Five Guys Burgers and Fries, the Dear Hubby and I decided to check them out.




We got there around noon on a Wednesday afternoon, expecting it to be crowded, and it was. It was also a lot smaller than I expected. We went in and saw the sign up front that said "ORDER HERE" and in the back we could see the sign that said "PICK UP HERE".  When we told the cashier that it was the first time we'd been there, she was very helpful. She pointed to the menu above her and explained that the "Little" Burgers had one patty and the regular Burgers had two patties. The menu is pretty limited to burgers and hot dogs although there were also a couple of sandwiches. She pointed out the toppings for the burgers and said that all the toppings were free. They consisted of all the normal burger toppings along with a few extra like grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, green and jalapeno peppers.

The Dear Hubby ordered a regular Bacon Cheeseburger with mayo, mustard, pickles, grilled onions and grilled mushrooms. I'm more of a single patty girl, so I ordered a little Cheeseburger with mayo and pickles. We decided to share a large order of regular fries (they also had spicy Cajun) and ordered two large drinks. The cashier gave us our receipt and told us that our number would be called when our order was ready and we could pick it up in the back.

The Dear Hubby went to get our drinks while I found us a table. It was very crowded but thankfully there were a couple of tables near the door beside some pallets holding large bags of potatoes.  As busy as it was, the dining area was very clean. I saw someone sweeping at least twice in the time we were there. It didn't take long before our number was called and the Dear Hubby weaved his way to the back to get our food.



He brought back a brown paper bag with our food. I had noticed that a lot of the other customers had torn off the top half of their bag or had folded the top half down. After looking inside, I understood why. I pulled our burgers out of the top and the fries were in a 20 ounce cup overflowing into the bag. I followed the lead of the other customers and tore the top half off and poured all the fries into the bag. There were a LOT of fries. And they were fresh cut. No frozen fries here. A bit of salt and some ketchup for dipping and I was in fry heaven. There was a sign posted that said that todays potatoes were from Sugar City Idaho. All I can say is they sure can grow a good potato in Sugar City Idaho.




We were less impressed with the burgers. I wasn't expecting the Little Cheeseburger to live up to its name. I thought it would be a regular burger with just one patty. But it was little and even worse, the patty was very thin. It was cooked well and tasted good but it wasn't anything special. The Dear Hubby's burger with two patties was not much bigger. Honestly, if I want a good burger, I can think of several places that make them better.




Now the prices:


Little cheeseburger          $ 4.39 (not worth the price)
Bacon cheeseburger        $ 6.69 (definately not worth the price)
Large Fries                      $ 4.99 (worth it)
Large drinks                    $ 2.19 each


Total                                $ 20.45 plus tax


Let's Review....

Burgers: Small, tasted good but overpriced
Fries: Fresh, not frozen, very large portion, pricey but worth it
Restaurant: Small but clean
Staff: Very helpful


In my opinion if you are planning to visit Five Guys...forget the burgers and go for the fries.


I hope to see you again and we'll review something new...