Mom's Meatloaf 2/28

Meatloaf is a touchy subject sometimes. At a restaurant, you'll try it but swear your Mom's is better. At a friend's house, you'll smile and eat it, be polite and not mention that your Mom's is better. For us, our Mom's recipe really is better. Honest! We've been sworn to secrecy a couple times by friends that admit that they like our Mom's meatloaf better than theirs.
The secret must be simplicity. We can't say that it is a healthy dish but, it is delish! There are no vegetables in there. There are only a few ingredients, but they serve to make up one of our family's favorite dishes. We asked our Mom to give us some details about this dish but there doesn't seem to be much to tell. Ladies and gentlemen, it's easy and it's yum. That's all you need to know.

The items pictured plus ground beef, milk and an egg/lb of it is all you need. This is something our Mom has been making for us throughout our lives. It's our Dad's favorite dish and making it is almost like breathing to her. She barely paused for us to get pics and understand each step to relay it to you.
These are the measurements needed for a 2lb meatloaf:

• 2lb Ground Beef
• 1 whole can of Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of Steak Sauce
• approx 1/2 cup Milk

These all get mixed together by hand. Nothing was actually measured here when Mom did it. The actual amount we were told for the milk is "Until it's smushy" so as you add it a bit at a time as you mix it all up. The milk gets absorbed by the bread crumbs so I believe she is referring to the overall texture. We never had any crumbly texture in the meatlaof she made so make sure it's moist but definitely not anywhere close to soupy.

The mixture then gets shaped into a loaf (go figure), placed in a baking dish and then covered with tomato sauce. We made a 2lb meatloaf for dinner and a 1 pounder for lunch the next day (can you tell we like this stuff?). Both had a whole can of tomato sauce poured over it. Everything else was halved for the smaller one.

The bigger one was placed in the oven as we were preparing the smaller one as it would need more time to cook. It takes an hour at 350 degrees for the 1 pounder to get cooked, 1/2 hour more for the double. That's it!

 So, Mom may not have much to say about her meatloaf but we do. Your Mom may use onions or half ground beef, half ground pork, or even wrap it in bacon. Those are probably lots more flavorful but trust us, this recipe holds its own.

In addition to being one of our family's favorites, as crazy as it sounds, this meatloaf has helped shape our family. This recipe is one of only a handful that we were brought up with. Our Mom doesn't consider herself much of a cook but we sat down and had dinner as a family (we still do it almost every week at least once). This was important to us because it was an major part of our support system. Our Mom may not have taught us how to cook but she taught us that we could do anything we put our minds to. Sara never really baked before this year and I always made the same few things over and over but we knew that we could try new things have fun. Our Mom and Dad (and this meatloaf kinda) are a major part of why you get to read this blog. So, go make some yummy meatloaf and go call your Mom.
Lessons learned: How to make Mom's meatloaf. We didn't know it before but we're glad we know now.