How to Make Meatloaf From Scratch

Move aside, Paula! This is a mouth watering recipe for meatloaf that my mama made and as a child I watched her make it. I don't use a recipe, per se, just what is in my head, and and in my memory. And trust me, once you eat it, it will be in your memory too!!

This is an easy recipe, and made with ingredients you probably already have in your refrigerator and cupboard.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the thawed hamburger meat in a large mixing bowl, and using a knife or your hands, break it up into smaller pieces.
Next chop the onion or grate it and add it to your hamburger meat. You can use all of the onion if you like or less, it depends on how much onion you like. I prefer to grate mine into the mix, because its almost invisible when done but still has that wonderful flavor!
Then break the two eggs onto the top of onion.
Add your salt and pepper to taste. I usually wait until it's done to put salt on mine, the choice is yours.
Open the ketchup bottle and squirt about a cup to a cup and a half on top of the mixture. (I like to just squirt it until it looks like a good quantity. If I am using a small bottle of ketchup, then, I use about 2/3 of the bottle, and save the last 1/3 for the sauce.
Then open the box of oatmeal and shake out about 2 cups onto the ketchup.
Using your clean hands, begin to work the ingredients together, mashing the meat and other ingredients until they are well mixed. If the meat feels a little loose, add some more oatmeal.
Once the mixture feels firm, form a rounded ball or oval with the meat and turn it out into a baking pan that has been sprayed with Pam or greased.
Carefully press the meatloaf down forming a cake of meat in an oval shape or round.
Using the side of your hand press down the middle of the meatloaf, making an indention or a line down the middle of the meatloaf. Then make "limbs" coming our from the center line using the side of your hand as well.

Take the remainder of your ketchup and using a funnel to pour through, add your sugar to the ketchup bottle. Then add warm water to fill the bottle the rest of the way up. Shake this mixture well. BE SURE to put the cap back on the ketchup bottle, or you will wind up with a mess!! Trust me, how well I know!

Then gently squirt or pour the ketchup-sugar-water mixture over the top of your raw meatloaf, and around the sides until the mixture is all gone.

Place your meatloaf in the oven and bake uncovered for about 1 hour. The sauce mixture will bake down to a sort of paste or thickened mixture. The meatloaf should be checked by cutting into the middle and making sure there is no pink meat in the middle. A tip: If the sauce is almost cooked dry, and the meat is not done yet, cover the entire pan with tin foil and let it cook like that for about 10 minutes more.

Take it out of the oven, serve hot with mashed taters and green beans, or whatever side dishes you like!!!! YUM YUM!!

Things You'll Need

• 2 lbs of thawed 70/30 ground beef (you can substitute ground turkey if you want, but it changes the taste a little bit)
• a medium size bottle of ketchup
• One large onion, grated or chopped into small pieces
• a box of quick oats, any brand
• 2 large eggs
• A caserole size baking dish
• 1/2 cup of white or brown sugar, whichever you have
• A funnel
• salt and pepper to taste
• Crisco or Spray Pam
• A knife to chop the onion or a grater to grate it

Instructions

1. Gather your ingredients and cooking instruments.

2. Add the ingredients to the mixing bowl in this manner. Hamburger first, then onion, then the eggs, then the ketchup and lastly pour the oatmeal on top. The reasoning behind this is that you start by dipping your hands into something dry and working slowly mix it into the wet ingredients.

3. Making sure the meatloaf is firm enough to mold into a oval or a large ball, turn it into your greased baking dish. Continue to shape the meatloaf as you like and then using the side of your hand, make a crease down the middle of your mealoaf and then "branches" off from the center line. The purpose of this is to help hold the sauce on the top of the meatloaf.

4. Bake for and hour to an hour and 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Monitor the top of the meatloaf to make sure it does not bet burned. When the top of the meatloaf is a reddish brown color, take it out and check it by cutting open the middle and seeing if the meat inside is all brown.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to use the appropriate hand protection when taking this dish out of the oven. It will be Very Hot.