Reflector Oven Meatloaf Recipes

Remember in last week's edition of Campground Cooking how I showed you how to make your very own reflector oven for cooking over your campsite's fire? Well, for this week's installment of Campground Cooking, I am excited to share a few recipes that you can prepare with your reflector oven.

There are a lot of quick and easy meals out there that you can prepare with a reflector oven, but this past week I enjoyed some homemade meatloaf (comfort food on a cold March evening is the best!), and I thought it would be fun to share a few meatloaf recipes that can be prepared with your reflector oven.  Here we go, get ready to experience wonderful home cooking in the comforts of the campground!

Meatloaf with Mushrooms


Supplies you will need:
1½ half pounds ground beef
1 10½ ounce can condensed golden mushroom soup
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ chopped onion
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
2 cups instant mashed potatoes
¼ cup water
1-2 tablespoons drippings
9x13" baking dish

• Mix the ground beef with ½ cup mushroom soup, bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt and pepper.


• Shape the mixture into a loaf, like a loaf of bread, and place into baking dish.


• Light your campfire and let it burn until you have a healthy bed of coals. Set up your reflector oven and place baking dish on your oven's cooking grate. Bake in reflector oven for about one hour.


• As the meatloaf is baking, prepare your instant mashed potatoes according to instructions of package.


• Place the mashed potatoes on top of the meatloaf and return to oven for about 15 minutes.  Mix your remaining mushroom soup with a 1/4 cup of water and drippings and heat on camp stove to serve with your meatloaf.


• Are you a mushroom fan? Add a cup or two of fresh sliced mushrooms to the mushroom soup/water/drippings mixture and enjoy!

I know there are a lot of mushroom haters out there, so if mushrooms aren't your thing, here's another recipe for meatloaf that I'm sure you love.

Italian Meatloaf

What you will need:
2 pounds ground beef
1 10½ ounce can condensed tomato soup
¼ can water
½ teaspoon oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
2 slices cheese (mozzarella)
Mixing bowl.
9x13" baking dish

• Blend your soup, water, oregano and minced garlic.


• In a bowl combine ¼ cup of the soup mixture with the onion, parsley, bread crumbs, salt, egg and pepper.


• Mix all of this with the beef and shape into a loaf like a loaf of bread.


• Light your campfire and let it burn until you have a healthy bed of coals. Set up your reflector oven and place baking dish on your oven's cooking grate.


• Bake on reflector oven shelf for 1½ hours.


• Remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the remaining tomato soup over the loaf and top with the cheese slices.


• Place baking dish back in oven until the cheese is melted over top of the loaf.

I hope you enjoy preparing these meatloaf recipes over your reflector oven as much as you enjoy eating them! Until next time, this is SJ from Lakeshore RV wishing you Good Eating and Happy Camping!