Mexican Meat Loaf

April. The gap between spring practice and training camp is the long middle of a coach's year — important, invisible, productive. I use it for film, for staff development, for the kind of reading and learning that the season doesn't leave time for. I've been reading about program development in other sports — the way a track program builds toward a conference championship versus how a football program does it. Different sports, same principles. The principles are simpler than the complexity of their application.

Sofia has been recruited by three Division I track programs. She's fifteen. She laughs about it. She says she's not thinking about college yet. She's thinking about next year's state championship. This is the right order of operations. I told her so. She said she knew. She always knows. It's becoming a refrain in this family: all four of these kids know things that I tell them and also know things they didn't get from me and the intersection is something I find consistently moving.

Hector is in a holding pattern that Marisol describes as "good weeks, bad weeks." More bad weeks in March than February. He gets tired faster, naps more, but he's still in the chair and he's still watching NMSU athletics and he's still calling me to analyze Eldorado Prep's spring game film, which he watches on his tablet from Las Cruces. He has notes. My father with a failing heart has notes on my spring game. I love this man with everything I have.

Made sopapillas this weekend with the twins — light, airy, the pillows of dough that were a staple of every New Mexico restaurant of my childhood. They require a specific handling: the dough needs to be right, the oil needs to be right, and then you leave it alone and let the heat do the puffing. The twins ate them with honey and powdered sugar and announced them the best things they'd ever eaten. They say this about a lot of things. They're usually right.

The sopapillas were the twins’ moment, but the weekend asked for something more grounding at the dinner table — something that held the weight of the week the way good food does when the film work is done and you’re just a father again. Mexican Meat Loaf is what Marisol’s side of the family calls “an honest dish” — nothing hidden, nothing fussy, the kind of thing that keeps you at the table long enough to actually talk. With Hector calling from Las Cruces with his notes and Sofia’s quiet confidence ringing in my ears, I needed a dinner that tasted like where we’re from.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 1 hr | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef (85/15)
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
For the glaze: 1/3 cup ketchup, 1 tbsp adobo sauce from canned chipotles, 1 tsp brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan or line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and shape the loaf free-form for a crispier crust.
Mix the loaf. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, crushed tortilla chips, drained diced tomatoes with green chiles, onion, bell pepper, beaten eggs, garlic, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined — do not overwork the meat.
Add the cheese. Fold in the shredded Monterey Jack so pockets of cheese are distributed throughout the loaf.
Form and pan. Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan or shape into a tight oval loaf on the baking sheet. Smooth the top.
Make the glaze. Stir together ketchup, adobo sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Spread half the glaze evenly over the top of the loaf before it goes in the oven.
Bake. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, spread remaining glaze over the top, and return to oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 160°F at the center.
Rest before slicing. Let the loaf rest 10 minutes before slicing. This keeps the juices in and the slices clean.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mexican Meat Loaf — The Dough Doesn’t Lie, and Neither Does Comfort Food