Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Sorry for the very long hiatus! The good news is that I've been tasting & touring for the last month and have lots of posts to catch up on. But my adventures have kept me away from my blog far too long and so now, I begin the catch up - starting with a recipe that uses ketchup! Ha ha!

Meatloaf is a classic recipe that many people consider a staple. I grew up with a pretty standard meatloaf recipe that included dry onion soup mix, bread crumbs and eggs, with a basic ketchup glaze. It was always just okay, so I was never really inspired to try it out on my own. But lately, with my food blog, I've decided to try making some of the classics on my own, utilizing the techniques I've been learning through the blogging world, plus adjusting for our personal tastes. Meatloaf was back on the list of potential "to-try" recipes. This recipe received some pretty rave reviews on allrecipes, and we do like savory items sweetened with brown sugar, so I thought I'd start there. I added some worcestershire sauce and Tabasco to the glaze and we really enjoyed that added kick to the glaze. Spicy and sweet just go so well together! This meatloaf was very moist and was tasty on sandwiches the next day. Everything a meatloaf should be in my book! I'm thinking of making this with a mix of beef and turkey next time, so that it is a little lighter. But as it was, it wasn't too greasy, since I used a pretty lean mix of ground beef. Good recipe.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf (adapted from allrecipes)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup

(added: 1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce)

(added: 1 tsp Tabasco Sauce)
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I used 93/7% Lean/Fat ratio)
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Mix ketchup, worcestershire sauce and Tabasco in a small bowl. Spread on top of the brown sugar in loaf pan.
In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear. Allow to cool for 10 minutes prior to slicing.