It is always a delight to have others in the kitchen, especially when they are cooking and I’m watching, and even more fun when it is my daughter, Bess. Bess is a wife, wildlife specialist, artist, potter and a spectacular cook. Busy in the kitchen since she was about four years old, her dishes are always flavorful, colorful and she gravitates toward healthy recipes.

One of my most favorite of her dishes happens to be a kicked up and colorful version of the old fashioned, traditional meatloaf. That is what she cooked for us in her last visit to my kitchen. This meatloaf was so good it had me scraping the skillet for bits and drippings to mix into the second (smallish) helping of mashed potatoes.

Sitting on the opposite side of the island from where I normally cook, I gladly watched and listened as she prepared the beautiful meatloaf, making use of items we had when we didn’t have exactly what she normally would use. Bess is a southern girl through and through, and improvisational cooking comes natural to the southern cook.

For Bessie’s Meatloaf (which could serve eight or generously serve six,) you will need the following:

12” Iron Skillet (I have a round, but a square one would work beautifully)

2 lb Grass Fed Ground Beef

1 lb Ground Pork Sausage

One Large Egg

2-3 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon of Smoked Paprika

1 Tablespoon of Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper or more to taste

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 medium onion, roughly diced

Heaping handful of small yellow or red peppers, roughly diced

1 large bell pepper, roughly diced

One sleeve of buttery crackers, soda crackers or a can of fried onion rings. We mixed up the crackers because that is what we had in the pantry.

Ketchup for topping

To make this amazing meatloaf, you begin by adding the oil to the skillet and heating on medium high heat. Add peppers and onions and saute until the vegetables are soft. Stir one teaspoon salt into the vegetables and removed from heat.

In a large bowl, add the sausage, beef, egg, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder and pepper, and mix these ingredients into the meat. This is a “hands-in” recipe in our house. Get your hand down in there and mix it up good.

Pour pepper and onion mixture over the beef mixture and using your non-dominant hand fold the vegetables into the meat. This causes you to fold the items in more gently. Finally, add the crushed crackers or fried onion rings. Fold the ingredients together until the meatloaf is just mixed together but not overworked and compacted.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Place the meatloaf mixture back into the skillet and lightly shape it to fit the pan with the edge of the meat being at least 1-2 inches away from the sides of the pan.

Pour ketchup on the top and smooth it with your fingers to lightly coat the top. If you would prefer to use the back of a spoon to smooth the ketchup, that’s fine also.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until 165 degrees in the center.

We loved this meatloaf. It was amazing with mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and okra, picked fresh from the garden and fried. We’ll share that recipe in a later post.

Thank you, Bess, for sharing your old fashioned meatloaf with us. It was beautiful and delicious! The perfect dish for an early fall evening.

Buon Appetito!

Kim Orsini (with guest, Bess Taylor)

Iron Maiden – Black Skillet Cooking