MEATLOAF

Luscious, thick, robust, I can never seem to get enough. Some people call me sick, but I can't help it. I am one of the few people in this life who will openly admit an unashamed love for MEATLOAF. Ummmm, but not this Meatloaf. Don't get me wrong, I still lip sync to a few of this man's songs, and he does look a little bit like a meatloaf... but no, he doesn't hold the same power over me. I'm talking about my mom's meatloaf. I'm talking about the big ol' slab of spicy beef covered in a candied tomato glaze with a side of buttery peas sticking to the soft mashed potatoes on my fork. Ooooooh yeah! I grew up with this heavenly meal and I always wondered at the jokes I would hear about bad meatloaf. There is the famous line from A Christmas Story, "Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double beatloaf, I HATE meatloaf." I never understood the disdain or the mockery. That is, until I actually tasted a meatloaf that was not my mom's meatloaf. What was this person thinking? There were actually whole oats sticking out of this fatty, rubbery, tasteless mass of 'meat' that had ketchup slipping off the top of it. I wanted to shed tears for the children of the world who were lied to when told they were eating meatloaf. I have, since that first bad experience, come to taste many other meatloaves. Some were not as bad, some were worse, but none were better or even as good as my mom's rockinly awesome meatloaf. Now, I may be wrong, I'd be the first one to admit that I may be a bit biased in this judgement, but you will have to be the judge of that. All I know is that I do not believe in eating the food that my children have left on their plates, but I will eat the tasty morsels of meatloaf that they have foolishly left behind because it is that good to me. So, without any more of my silly dramatic attempts at persuasion, here is that lovely meatloaf recipe:

Momma’s Meatloaf
*Don’t laugh, meatloaf really can be yummy. The only way you can make this turn yucky is by putting a hard boiled egg in the middle of it (its o.k. mom, we all know you were just trying to be creative). But the real treasure is the topping. It can be used on any meatloaf recipe. I even use it when I make meatloaf from a quick powder mix.

Ingredients
1 egg
1 C. bread crumbs (I use whole wheat)

1 c. milk
1 lb ground beef
¼ C. minced onion (I like to use ½ C. of fresh very finely diced onion)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp dry mustard
½ tsp celery salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp sage
1/8 tsp garlic powder (optional and you can also use 1 tsp. garlic salt instead of this and the other salt)
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions
Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat egg slightly; mix in remaining ingredients thoroughly (you can use your hands, or use a handheld mixer to keep your hands clean). Spread or press into an 8x8 pan. Bake one hour until done

Meatloaf Topping
3 Tblsp. brown sugar
¼ c. ketchup
1 tsp. dry mustard
¼ tsp. nutmeg

Mix and spread over meatloaf after it has been baking for 15 minutes.

Please let me know if you find this as heavenly as I do.

*Recipe can easily be doubled for a big crowd but as is it can feed a young family of 6. For a bit of variety you can add small cubes of extra sharp cheddar to the loaf mix before baking. It is yummy that way too.