Simply Samantha: Homemade Meatloaf

Hey guys! Welcome to Simply Samantha, where the cooking is simple, and the results are oh so satisfying!

I want you to think back to those meals at Grandmas house that you used to have every Sunday when you were young. Just picture walking into her house, smelling the food cooking, maybe your grandpa is watching some sort of sports game on tv, or the race if its my grandpa. Imagine the love and the time that she put into that dinner that she made you. The time and the effort that she put forth to make you that home cooked meal.

I’m going to tell you today how to make the one thing that everyone loved as a kid; meatloaf!

Grandmas meatloaf was one of the things that everyone loved as a kid, right? And even if you didn’t like you everyone else did so you just loaded it with ketchup and bared it, LOL.

Todays recipe will tell you how to make that famous meatloaf and take everyone back in time a little bit, back to grandma’s kitchen.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of bread crumbs (can be Italian or plain)
• ¾ cup of crushed Ritz crackers (the butter in them brings a nice taste)
• 2 teaspoons of garlic salt
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 2 teaspoons of oregano (or just Italian seasoning)
• 1 teaspoon S+P (salt and pepper)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of ketchup
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put your hamburger in a large mixing bowl and add your seasonings. Combine well.

3. After the seasonings are combined well, add in your eggs and your bread crumbs and combine well, again.

4. Since this is a three-pound meatloaf, you will not want to use an ordinary loaf pan. I suggest using what I call a one-sized up loaf pan. It's just wider than a normal loaf pan but fits all the meat better. Line whatever you’re going to use with aluminum foil (no need to spray it).

5. Once the pan is lined, make sure that your burger is mixed well and (in the bowl) form it into the shape that you want and transfer it to the pan. The meat will stay together because the crackers, breadcrumbs and eggs.

6. Spread the cup of ketchup over the top of the meatloaf and sprinkle the brown sugar on top. Using you hand mix the brown sugar and the ketchup together. Just to make sure the brown sugar doesn’t burn at all.

7. Place in the oven at 350 for about an hour and 50 minutes.

8. Check after the hour and fifty minutes to make sure it's done all the way through, (if not, do 15 minute increments until it's done) then add just a little more ketchup on top and place under the broiler for about five minutes to make it more of a glaze than a sauce.

The first time I served this to my husband, he fell in love with it! His favorite sides are homemade mac and cheese and homemade cream potatoes and some sort of beans, like green beans or pintos. He is beyond spoiled.

I love cooking for my family, and I get a sense of accomplishment when I can get my husband and my picky two-year-old to eat the same thing, LOL. My son loved this as well and usually he only wants chicken nuggets and french fries!

I hope you enjoy this as much as my family has, and remember: Don’t knock it until you try it!

—Simply Samantha