Who knew meatloaf gravy could taste soooo good?  I have been craving meatloaf for days now.  We have had the craziest weather - at one point we were sitting at 29 degrees Celsius, out came all of our fans.  Then it dropped back down to 11 - 13 degrees!  So time for meatloaf.  There are a number of meatloaf recipes on this blog, but I decided to use a basic, stand by recipe.  Having never made gravy with meatloaf before, we were happily surprised at how delicious it was.
I had not intended this to be a recipe, so have created this one from memory in terms of ingredients... I may fine tune it down the road.  Either way, I am sure it will still be delicious.
Meatloaf:
1  1/2 lbs. extra lean ground beef
1/2 an onion diced fine
a good large handful of Parmesan Cheese
1 Tblsp. gluten free Worcestershire sauce
salt and generous amount of fresh cracked pepper
1 egg
Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup ketchup
3 Tblsp. mustard
Mix sauce well...to make more reddish in color add more ketchcup
In a bowl add the ground beef, onion, Parmesan Cheese, salt pepper and egg.  Add a good 1/4 cup of the sauce.  Mix well with hands if dry add more sauce and shape into a loaf - you want it on the moist side, place inside a 9x10 glass baking dish.  Pour remainder of sauce over top of the meatloaf to cover.  Bake in a preheated oven 350 degrees for 1 hour - then check with a thermometer.  Mine was at 155 degrees when I removed it from the oven and plated the meatloaf on a tented platter with tin foil.  It will reach 165 by the time it is ready to be served.
MEATLOAF GRAVY:
1 1/2 cups chicken stock - beef would work too
splash of balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
4 largish cremini mushrooms - chopped
1 large shallot, cut in half and sliced
2 Tblsp. butter
splash of fresh cream - we use lactose free
renderings from meatloaf
1 tblsp. cornstarch, bit of water to make a slurry
Heat up a medium sized frying pan on medium heat with the butter.  Add the shallots, sauteing 2 min.  Then add in the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are lightly golden.  Pour in the chicken stock, meatloaf renderings and add the seasonings and bay leaf bringing to a light simmer.  Simmer a good 10 min. low heat.
Mix up a cornstarch slurry with a little water and add to the simmering stock/mushrooms whisking well to thicken.  Turn to low, check for seasonings, remove the bay leaf, and add the splash of cream, stirring well, then serve over meatloaf and potatoes adding a side dish of vegetables and serve.  Enjoy!