Let me start off by saying that my meatloaf isn't exactly "famous". Well ok, it's famous in my family, but that's about as far as it goes. The only reason I'm calling it that, is because that's what my brother called it the other day. Why? Cause it's friggin yummy.
Most of the time, you don't beg for meatloaf. It's really more of a "I'm running low on food, so let's make a meatloaf." But in my home, it's not thought of that way. Every time I tell my husband I'm making meatloaf, he practically jumps for joy. Funny too, because the first time I made him meatloaf, he refused to eat any, because he didn't think he would like it. Brat. Now though, he asks for it quite frequently. Especially if I hadn't made it in awhile. Besides him, the rest of my family loves it too. (Including brothers, mothers, nieces and nephews.) I've served it to a few friends, also, and I can honestly say I have never had anyone not think it was awesome. (Unless they lied.) ;)
It's ridiculously easy, with only a few ingredients, but it's mouthwatering none the less. The only problem with telling you how I make the meatloaf, is that I don't really measure. So, if you make it, you're gonna have to wing it right along with me.
What you'll need:
2lbs ground beef/turkey/venison (I like to do 1/2 one meat, 1/2 the other)
1/2 cup ketchup
2 large eggs
Italian bread crumbs
garlic powder
onion powder
4 slices of American cheese
Topping:
Ketchup
Mustard
Brown sugar
Pre-heat the oven to 375. (I want to point out here, that it really varies from oven to oven. In my old oven I used 350, in this new oven I need 375. I also went from baking it for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. So you'll just have to see what works best for you.)
Put your meat, ketchup, seasonings and eggs in a bowl together. (Just an FYI, these pictures are showing this recipe doubled. I need to make extras for lunches so I double the recipe.)
Start mixing. You gotta do this with your hands. Stop being a baby. Dig in! ;) Add the bread crumbs in small batches. You don't want to add too much bread crumbs, so it's best to do a little at a time. BUT, you don't want to do too little at a time, because you don't want to over mix. When you over mix, you break the meat down too much, and it gets too loose. I do not measure, but I can tell you, for this 4 pounds of meat, I used about 16oz of bread crumbs. So for 1/2 this size, you would probably use 6-8oz. You want the meat to still be a bit "wet" but not sticky. Too much bread crumbs, and your meatloaf will be dry. This might sound difficult to figure out, but it's really not. You will see in the following pictures, that it is balled up nicely.
After you have the meat mixed up, wash your hands and make the sauce. For that, all you'll do is put some ketchup, mustard and brown sugar in a bowl. Ketchup and mustard in about a 8:1 ratio, and then just add some brown sugar and mix. You want it to taste kind of like barbecue sauce, but more on the "ketchupy" side. You really can't screw this up though. Just make it however you think you'll like it.
After the sauce is made up, press 1/2 of the meat mixture into your pan. My picture is showing my meatloaf in an 8x8 pan. That is because it is so large. When I made my 2lb meatloaf, I used a loaf pan.
After adding the meat, lay your cheese out over top the meat.
Spread some of the sauce over the cheese.
Press the rest of the meat in the pan, and spread the rest of the sauce over top. (I forgot to take a picture, so here's one of it in the oven.)
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
I like to let it cool for a few minutes before cutting. This meatloaf is heavy, and a small slice goes a long way. Also, I use two spatulas to get a piece out. One on each side and pull it out.
There you have it. It's really easy, but ridiculously good. I COMMAND you to try it. Ok, well if that didn't work... what if I say, please?
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