Onion Meat Loaf -- Something Solid to Come Home To

April and the spring is real. The ramps are up — found them Saturday on the drive to Evarts, on a north-facing slope under tulip poplars. Wild leeks, green and white, smelling like the inside of the earth. Picked a grocery bag full.

Fried a mess of ramps Monday night. Ramps and scrambled eggs — the simplest and best use, the way Betty taught me. Whites in the skillet first with bacon grease, then greens, then eggs scrambled in and cooked slow. Served with nothing else because ramps don't need company. Ramps are the company.

Connie said the kitchen smells like a swamp. I said it smells like spring. She said same thing. She ate the eggs and opened two windows. That's compromise in a thirty-two-year marriage.

Jolene is due any day. Travis calls every morning with the same update — nothing yet, she's comfortable, bag is packed. I told him to stop calling me and start timing contractions. I remember being nervous, pacing the hospital in my mine boots because I'd come straight from the shift, the nurses looking at me like I'd tracked in the mountain itself. Which I had.

The ramps and eggs were perfect for a Monday night, but with Jolene due any day and Travis calling every morning, I’ve been thinking about the kind of food you make when someone finally comes home — the kind that says the table is set and the house is warm and everything is going to be fine. This onion meat loaf is that food. It’s what Betty would’ve put on the table the night a baby arrived, and it’s what I’ll put on mine.

Onion Meat Loaf

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 1 hr | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
• 1 envelope (1 oz) dry onion soup mix
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup ketchup, plus more for topping
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan or line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. Mix the loaf. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, onion soup mix, eggs, breadcrumbs, milk, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix with your hands just until everything comes together — don’t overwork it or the loaf will be tough.
3. Shape and top. Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan and shape into an even loaf. Spread a thin layer of ketchup across the top.
4. Bake. Bake uncovered for 55 to 60 minutes, until the internal temperature reads 160°F on an instant-read thermometer and the top is browned and set.
5. Rest before slicing. Let the loaf rest in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing. This keeps it from falling apart when you cut it.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 780mg