Brown Sugar Meatloaf

I don't ever remember being a big fan of meatloaf as a child, though to be honest, I don't remember ever having it. I'm sure my Dad made it a few times here and there, but obviously it must not have been too spectacular since I can't recall it. As an adult, the thought of meatloaf made me want to gag. Meat in loaf form...doesn't even SOUND very good. My Aunt stumbled upon this recipe YEARS ago on Allrecipes.com, and since then, it's been the only meatloaf anyone in my family makes. I don't make it too often, a handful of times throughout the year, but when I do it's always a big hit. My Mom calls it 'Candy Loaf' due to it's sweetness from the brown sugar (which may be why my 2 year old son LOVES this stuff!). If you have a tried-and-true family meatloaf recipe, then I probably won't be able to convince you to make this, but if you're open to trying new things...TRY THIS! It is SOOOO good. And it's one of those things that tastes even BETTER the next day. I guarantee you, none of this will go to waste.

'Brown Sugar Meatloaf'

Source: All Recipes

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

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. Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan.

Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.

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.