Brown Sugar Meatloaf

With Spring comes rain, especially in the south. After all, April showers bring May flowers, right? Well I personally am not such a big fan of these rainy days. The gloom and wetness makes me feel tired and I don't really get anything done because I just want to curl up with a blanket and a book and some hot coffee. But one really good thing about rainy days is that they are perfect for eating comfort foods. Whether it's a nice bowl of soup or french toast, it always seems so much better on a rainy day. My favorite is this really yummy brown sugar meatloaf, so I decided that sounded like a pretty perfect thing to have for dinner today.


Brown Sugar Meatloaf (Serves 8)

You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 cups lean ground beef 
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs
• 1 small chopped onion (OPTIONAL)

       (Note: Earlier today I made sweet potato and turnip chips and crumbled some of these into the                meatloaf mixture also, just to add a little veg to the mix without big chunks.)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan.
2. Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the loaf pan. Spread the ketchup over the brown sugar.

3. Using your hands, mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl and shape into a loaf. Place on top of ketchup.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices run clear.

Finished!

And there you have it!

I like to pour some of the juices at the bottom of the pan over top like a sweet gravy... yum! What are your favorite rainy-day dishes? 

~♥

Gabby