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Cowboy TV Dinner Remake | Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Cream Corn Showdown!
Oct 29, 2025
Printable recipe below! We are cooking up classic comfort food with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cream corn and stewed apples for this tv dinner remake showdown! Used in this video: 🔥Chefstemp FinalTouchX10: https://bit.ly/47U5XEt 💰use code: cowboykent25 for 25% off sitewide Hasty Bake Legacy 131: https://www.hastybake.com/?rfsn=5346419.73615f Use code: KENTROLLINS for 10% off Mesquite wood spatula Kent's Low Sodium Original Seasoning DJI Mic 2 https://amzn.to/4ewAHAw Cowboy Hat: Chazhatz.com For more suggested products seen in our videos click here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/cowboykentrollins ====================== Printable Recipe: https://kentrollins.com/blogs/beef/tv-dinner-meatloaf
View Video Transcript
0:01
Sweet desire chicken turkey spaghetti.
0:04
Whoa. Meatloaf.
0:10
We going to put the cowboy remake on
0:12
this.
0:20
[Music]
0:31
Look at there. Meatloaf. I do love me
0:34
some meatloaf. And Banquet, they've been
0:36
making them things a long time. So, let
0:38
me get it for you. I microwaved it.
0:42
I will tell you, like Shan said, these
0:45
people do a great job of marketing their
0:48
picture on the front compared
0:52
little a little different. Now, don't
0:55
get me wrong. I have survived on this
0:57
kind of stuff some many years ago. When
1:00
they would put frozen dinners on sale at
1:03
the little old grocery store back there
1:04
in Hollis, I would get usually like six
1:07
boxes for $5. And I'm sure not running
1:09
these folks down because they have
1:11
probably fed a lot of people they have.
1:13
So, I am proud of them. Hey, we're f to
1:15
cowboy this meal up because it needs
1:17
some help. It does. Now, before we get
1:19
started, go ahead and give us a like. It
1:21
sure helps our channel out. So, let's
1:23
get started,
1:25
[Music]
1:38
one yellow bell pepper, one orange bell
1:41
pepper, and a purple onion. And I
1:43
chopped them all up, put them aside over
1:45
there, and I have 2 lbs of 8020 ground
1:48
chuck. Well, for those of y'all that
1:50
were going to come see me at Harker
1:51
Heights, I am so sorry that I had to
1:54
cancel. Uh, still got a little this
1:56
horseness going on. It sort of kicked my
1:58
butt. It did traveling this last couple
2:00
of weeks. But I am going to get better
2:02
due to all y'all's well wishes and your
2:04
prayers. I'm fixing to put me three
2:06
cackleberries in this two lbs of ground
2:08
beef right here. Run right out there to
2:10
the hen house, hold your hand out,
2:13
follow it around. Sometimes you might
2:15
have to even give her one of these.
2:18
And she'll give them to you. She will.
2:20
So, three eggs. Lou, is that all right?
2:24
I'm so glad you're helping today. And
2:26
look, he woke up and he wants to help
2:28
now. But not Dooker. Dooker still passed
2:31
out. So, uh-oh, it went one shell. Let
2:35
me glove up here before we get any
2:37
further along. Let me get this egg all
2:39
incorporated in this meat.
2:42
If you're doing this in the house, go
2:44
ahead and preheat your oven to 400° F.
2:47
me. I'm going to do it on the indirect
2:49
side of the Hasty Bake. Well, I'll meet
2:51
y'all over here at the Hasty Bake.
2:54
[Music]
2:58
Well, we ain't just going to throw them
2:59
peppers and them onions in that meat and
3:01
then mix it all together and cook it.
3:03
No, we're going to use that fancy term.
3:05
We're going to sauté in butter.
3:11
I'd been working cattle all day, cooking
3:13
for Shan every meal that I could. we
3:16
first got together and was living down
3:17
north of Witchaw Falls and I come home
3:20
one day and I smelt food and I'm
3:22
thinking somebody has brought food to
3:24
the house. Walked in there, she had the
3:27
table set. There was this meatloaf
3:29
laying on the table. Sometimes your butt
3:31
kicking gear for your mouth operate
3:33
well. And she said, "I hope you like
3:35
meatloaf." I said, "My mama made the
3:37
best meatloaf I've ever seen in my
3:39
life." Wrong answer, folks.
3:41
Wrong answer. But she had fooled me for
3:43
so long. This woman can cook. This is
3:47
probably one of my most favorite
3:48
meatloafs I've ever eat in my life.
3:50
And we have not had it in a while.
3:52
Well, we haven't. And folks, I know you
3:55
love a meatloaf, but I need to know of
3:57
you. How many of you cook it and then
4:00
you let it cool and the next day
4:02
meatloaf sandwich. That is probably my
4:04
favorite. Woo. We'll get these softened
4:07
up. We're going to add some garlic to it
4:10
here in just a minute. But don't do it
4:11
right at the first. We don't want to
4:13
burn that garlic.
4:15
[Music]
4:23
got tender. They did. And right there at
4:24
the last, I didn't throw in that garlic.
4:26
I did mixed it up really well. Let me
4:29
move this out of the way. We're after
4:30
more flavor. We are. So, in goes some
4:33
ketchup. And I lowered the heat down. If
4:35
you're doing this in the house, get it
4:36
on about medium low for right now.
4:39
Then
4:41
the W sauce.
4:45
And I'd say that was the correct amount
4:49
to give it a little kick and a little
4:51
zing. That's why Shannon called it
4:53
zesty. Some prepared horseradish.
4:56
Uh-huh.
4:58
About so
5:02
you use your favorite hot sauce,
5:04
whatever you want to use.
5:06
I'd say about that much right there. So
5:09
we're going to let this just blend
5:10
together a minute. It won't take but
5:11
about minute, maybe two at the most.
5:13
I'll meet y'all back over there at the
5:15
table.
5:17
[Music]
5:26
Yeah, I'll let it cool about 15 minutes
5:28
cuz it'll burn your fingers if you start
5:30
this too early. We're going to add some
5:32
cow juice.
5:33
[Music]
5:35
We're going to have a little pinch of
5:36
red pepper flakes in there as well. Now,
5:39
you could use cayenne pepper if you
5:41
like, but hey, this is what's on hand
5:43
today. And we're going to give it a
5:45
little seasoning, which is our original
5:47
low sodium blend
5:50
cuz it didn't have no seasoning to begin
5:52
with. So, let's get that stirred up.
5:57
And then it's time to add the bread
5:59
crumbs. Go with about half for right
6:01
now. Go to mixing this. We want this to
6:03
be really sort of like a thick paste.
6:06
This is Shan's recipe. So, I'm going to
6:08
ask her, "Is that enough breadcrumbs,"
6:10
Shen?
6:11
We do the test again. So, you want it
6:14
like Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's pretty good.
6:16
You just don't want it too soupy. Yep,
6:18
that looks good.
6:18
So, we got that like we want it. Let's
6:21
bring the ground beef over here, which
6:23
has got the egg in it. And let's just
6:25
dump this in there.
6:30
[Music]
6:42
formed them into two pretty little
6:44
loaves. I did got them sitting on a wire
6:46
rack over a cast iron skillet cuz I'm
6:49
doing them outside on the Hasty Bake. If
6:51
you're doing them in the house, get you
6:53
a long flat baking sheet pan. Turn you a
6:57
casserole dish upside down. Grease it
6:59
really well. put your two loaves on top
7:01
of it. That way, as the cooks, the
7:03
grease will run off of it. And it is tip
7:06
from Shen, not from me. She created that
7:08
deal and it works really well. It did.
7:10
But we're not going to be just putting
7:11
ketchup over them or anything like that.
7:13
We got this little honey hot sauce that
7:15
goes on there. And ooh, it is oh so
7:17
good. So, we're going to start off with
7:19
some more ketchup.
7:24
And I'd say
7:25
shake and shake the ketchup bottle. Some
7:27
comes out and then a lottle.
7:30
Whoa. There we go. So, to that
7:34
some honey.
7:38
About that much.
7:40
Now, just a little more horseradish.
7:48
And we're just going to spoon this right
7:50
over the top. We are. Give it a little
7:52
spreading out. Make sure that everybody
7:54
gets an equal amount. Then we're going
7:56
to take it right over there to the fire.
7:59
[Music]
8:06
You know how to get the best meatloaf
8:08
cooking you're ever going to have or any
8:10
piece of meat that you throw on that
8:11
grill that you need to check the temp
8:12
with? That is what the best meat probe
8:15
that you can have. A thermometer that's
8:17
going to give you an instant quick
8:18
reading just like that. And today, that
8:21
is the reason that I'm using the Chef's
8:23
Temp Final Touch X10 to get all that
8:25
done for me accurately and fast. This
8:28
Chef's Temp is the world's fastest at
8:31
giving you a reading 1 second. But it is
8:34
also waterproof. But when you stick it
8:36
in there, too, you can rotate that dial
8:38
anywhere you want. It's going to give
8:39
you a reading. But I love the really
8:41
large display that it has. And they just
8:44
come out with this, the American flag
8:45
design, and I think it goes really well
8:47
with our set and our design. What do
8:50
y'all think? You know, I don't only use
8:51
this chef temp probe just to check a
8:53
piece of meat that's on the grill or
8:55
coming out of the oven. Also, when
8:57
you're proofing yeast, you don't want
8:58
that water too hot. We check it that
9:00
way. Baked potatoes, we use it to check
9:02
that. The dness of bread, when it is at
9:04
its best, we use this. But not just on
9:07
this, their entire line of products. So,
9:10
head on over there to their website
9:11
because I really like this product, the
9:13
ProTemp 2 Plus for longer cooks. Hey,
9:17
holidays are coming on. they are. And
9:19
you can put this probe in there,
9:20
programmat it on your phone, you can
9:22
cook that turkey as long as you need to
9:24
on that smoker or that Christmas ham.
9:27
So, be sure you take advantage of that
9:29
discount code that they're offering. We
9:30
want to thank the folks at Chef Stemp
9:32
for sponsoring this video. Great
9:34
product, great people. Now, remember, if
9:36
you're doing this in the house, you have
9:37
already preheated your oven. Me, I'm
9:41
doing it out here on the Hasty Bake.
9:43
This thing is very versatile to cook on.
9:44
big enough that you can cook direct or
9:47
indirect, but you can lower and raise
9:50
your heat so easy with this thing. So,
9:53
we got this on the indirect end of
9:56
cooking. That means there's no fire
9:57
directly under here. Now, we're going to
9:59
try to maintain that temperature pretty
10:01
hot, pretty close to about 375 to 400°.
10:05
So, we're going to go ahead and shut
10:06
this lid.
10:08
We're going to have to maneuver just a
10:09
little.
10:13
That is just a fit. it is. I got the
10:15
vents open on this end. I do. Now, I'm
10:18
not putting anything in there for smoke
10:20
flavoring. Now, folks, I will tell you
10:22
there is a rival meatloaf that rivals
10:24
this one that Shan made, and it is a
10:26
smoked meatloaf. If you want to do that
10:28
version, you go back and watch that
10:30
video. We'll let this warm back up. Try
10:32
to hit that target temperature, 375 to
10:34
400. In the house, going to take you
10:36
about 50 minutes. Out here, we're going
10:38
to say 45 minutes to an hour. We're
10:41
going to be checking it here after a
10:42
while. We're going to use our chef's
10:44
temp to do that. We're going to want
10:46
that target temperature to be at 160°
10:49
when it's done.
10:53
But just where did the TV dinner come
10:55
from? Let's take a look back. Now, back
10:58
in 1953, the Swanson Company found
11:01
themselves sitting on 260 tons of
11:04
leftover Thanksgiving turkey. That's
11:06
right, tons. They had so much turkey
11:09
they had to store in 10 refrigerated
11:11
train cars that circled the country just
11:13
to keep it from spoiling. Then along
11:15
comes a salesman named Jerry Thomas who
11:17
had the spark of cowboy ingenuity. He
11:20
remembered how the airlines packed up
11:22
them meals in compartment trays for
11:23
passengers and thought, "Why not do that
11:26
for folks at home?" So he designed an
11:28
aluminum tray with three neat little
11:30
sections. One for turkey, one for mashed
11:32
potatoes and gravy, and one for peas.
11:34
Sealed it up, froze it, and called it
11:36
dinner. When Swanson rolled them out in
11:38
54, they cost 98. And the box even
11:42
looked like a little television set,
11:44
complete with little dials printed on
11:45
the front. They figured if America was
11:47
gathering around the TV every night, why
11:50
not make supper that fit the picture?
11:52
Swanson sold 10 million of those dinners
11:54
in the first year. Housewives loved the
11:57
convenience. Kids love the novelty. And
11:59
before long, every freezer in America
12:01
had a stack of them. By the mid60s,
12:04
there was over a thousand kinds. from
12:06
Salisbury steak to fried chicken and
12:08
spaghetti with meat sauce. But what
12:10
really made it take off was timing. The
12:13
television boom was in full swing.
12:15
Families were buying TVs faster than
12:17
they were buying refrigerators. And the
12:19
living room became the new dinner table.
12:21
And for a lot of the busy mothers back
12:23
then, it was a small bit of freedom.
12:26
Supper could be done without hours of
12:28
work. This was not only convenient, it
12:30
was economical at the time. But hey, I
12:34
have eaten my fair share of them frozen
12:36
dinners. I have come in, I was in a
12:37
hurry, throw one in the microwave, and
12:39
just get after it. But folks, I still
12:41
think we need to spend more time sitting
12:44
at that kitchen table, sitting down to a
12:46
homemade meal, bringing everybody
12:48
together, take your hats off, let's
12:50
bless it, and then let's thank God for
12:52
all the things that we've done and eat
12:54
it up before it's gone. So, let's talk
12:56
about them mashed potatoes, you don't?
12:58
Now, when I'm talking about mashed
13:00
potatoes, I think the thing that makes
13:01
the best mashed potatoes is Yukon Gold,
13:04
but you can even mix a russet or two in
13:07
there if you need to. But them Yukon
13:09
Golds, they just really to me get more
13:10
creamy. They're a little softer texture.
13:13
So, that is my choice for today. Now,
13:16
make sure when you're prepping them
13:17
potatoes, and I've done them with
13:19
peeling on and peeling off. That's up to
13:21
y'all. But, cut them into even pieces
13:24
when you put them in there to boil. That
13:25
way, everything's getting done at the
13:27
same time. something ain't tough or
13:29
something's already mushed. Make sure
13:31
they're the same size. We got them ters
13:33
done. They are fork tender. Just take
13:35
them over, drain them, and what? Put it
13:38
back over there on low heat on the
13:39
burner because we got to get all that
13:41
steam off them potatoes. We got to get
13:44
rid of that because that's going to give
13:45
us a really good fluffy mashed potato
13:48
that's going to whip up so good. Make
13:50
sure you steam that water off of it. And
13:52
also, I really like to add some whipped
13:55
cream cheese in there. When you get all
13:57
this mixed up in there, it's just got
13:59
that little bit of cheesy flavor, but it
14:01
gives it, I think, just a whipped effect
14:03
like thinks, "Oh, this is dessert right
14:05
here." Next up is the corn. Now, when I
14:08
was examining the little banquet, the
14:10
little dab of corn they had hemmed up
14:11
over in a corner. Looked like they just
14:13
opened up a can of corn and just poured
14:15
a little bit in there and said, "That'll
14:17
do." No, won't do. Here, it won't. We're
14:19
going to make mama's creamy corn. We
14:22
are. And folks, it's really easy, but I
14:24
like to start out with frozen corn. Just
14:27
dump that right over in your little
14:28
saucepan that you're going to use. Add
14:30
you some cream. Add you some butter. Let
14:32
all that melt and get incorporated well.
14:34
Then we're going to sweeten it with some
14:36
sugar and a little flour at the end to
14:38
thicken it. It has graced our
14:39
Thanksgiving table and Christmas table
14:41
every year that I can remember.
14:51
Last but not least,
14:53
dessert. What we're fixing here is the
14:56
simplest thing ever for dessert, but
14:58
also it has been a ranch favorite for me
15:01
for cowboys for as long as I've been
15:02
cooking on ranches. My mother used to
15:04
make them when we was little bitty and I
15:06
thought it's the grandest thing ever.
15:08
Get you a honey crisp, one of them
15:11
gayla, maybe even a Fuji, but just make
15:14
sure you get them peeled.
15:22
[Music]
15:25
Little sauce pot full of water. In go
15:28
the apples.
15:30
A little brown sugar.
15:35
We're going to call that pretty close. A
15:37
little white sugar.
15:39
We're going to call that pretty close. A
15:42
shake or two of cinnamon. So, we're
15:43
going to give it a shaking.
15:46
If you want to, you can even add a
15:48
little dash of nutmeg in there with
15:49
them. But it's a perfect fall dish to go
15:51
for a dessert. So, I'm going to stick
15:53
them over there on the fire, let them
15:55
come to a good rolling boil. Then, I'm
15:57
going to turn it down just a little to
15:58
where they're just simmering. Add me
16:00
some butter in there, and just let them
16:02
apples cook till they get tender.
16:03
Probably going to take 10 minutes, maybe
16:05
12, something like that. But it's almost
16:08
banquet time.
16:09
[Music]
16:25
Now, I still ain't down on these folks
16:27
cuz I've eat a lot of them. But I know
16:28
if I'm coming to the table right now,
16:31
I'm going to pick this one right here.
16:33
And I think I'm going to start with
16:34
Shan's meatloaf right off the bat. This
16:36
bite right there.
16:41
I mean, that's a good looking plate.
16:44
I'm going to go ahead right now.
16:51
This is the complete meal. The Sunday
16:53
dinner, the evernight dinner. Sure,
16:56
these folks brought us to a new age and
16:58
a new era. And I tip my hat to them,
17:01
too, because I still eat a lot of frozen
17:02
dinners. But if I got the choice, every
17:05
time I'm saddling up to the table, I am
17:07
going to get this one right here. Shanzi
17:10
meatloaf, homemade mashed potatoes, my
17:12
mother's cream corn, and stewed apples.
17:15
Hey, we're so glad y'all had time to
17:17
join us today cuz we had a good time. We
17:19
did. We even reminisced over some TV
17:21
dinner. Yes. But I'd like to say a big
17:23
thank you to Chef's Temp for sponsoring
17:25
this video. Be sure and take advantage
17:27
of that discount code. Check out all
17:29
their stuff they got on their website
17:30
cuz Christmas is coming up and they make
17:32
great stocking stuffers. But it is with
17:34
pride and great honor that I tip my hand
17:37
to all our servicemen and women and all
17:39
the veterans that have kept that old
17:40
flag of flying. We commend you all we
17:42
do. Rest of you, I need to tell you
17:44
something. Hey, may be some hard times
17:46
down the road, but they're always going
17:47
to be good times. So remember, just keep
17:50
stepping out there. You're going to step
17:51
in the right place. But if you see a
17:53
green pile laying there and you think
17:54
it's fresh, dodge that one. So get on in
17:57
here close. I'm going to give you a
17:58
great big old hug. God bless you each
18:00
and every one. And I'll see you down. I
18:02
done fancied up and cowboyed up the TV
18:04
dinner trail.
18:11
[Music]
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