9. Meatloaf (with crackers)

So, last time I made meatloaf, I could barely choke it down. It was made tolerable with copious amounts of ketchup (Magnificent Blessing from Heaven #4's favorite part and why he calls it "ketchup meat" - whatever works to make them eat). So this time I thought I might actually follow a recipe - again, if you recall I'm a "shake it 'til it feels right and don't bother measuring" kind of cook. I never follow a recipe for meatloaf.

So, what better place to go to than pinterest to find meatloaf recipes. I pinned 4 recipes and will try the others soon and compare. This time the recipe called for crackers. And this also called for copious amounts of ketchup. 8 ounces per batch, in fact. (Pinned 16 hours ago)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1-8 ounce can tomato sauce or ketchup
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 to 3/4 sleeve of saltines
• 1/4 cup of diced onions
• 1/4 cup of diced green pepper
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. Seasoning salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Make sure to crush saltines in small pieces. Place mixture in small loaf pan or shape into a loaf form and put into a baking dish. If you put in a baking dish, place a small amount of water to keep from sticking. If you use a loaf pan, spray with non stick cooking spray before putting meatloaf into pan.
2. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven covered for approx. 45 minutes. Remove from oven and add a small amount of tomato sauce or ketchup to top of meatloaf. Return to the oven uncovered for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let set a few minutes before serving. (if you cut and serve it to soon, it will break apart). Enjoy!
   

So the consensus from the fam: It is too mushy. Well, I figured, with that much ketchup.

 Major Changes: I did double the recipe. I just didn't have two cups of ketchup. I did discover while making this that I have no ketchup in my pantry. I coupon and ketchup happens to be one of those items that I often have loads of because deals and coupons abound for ketchup. However, not recently apparently and I had to improvise. So I used one cup of ketchup, 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce and (don't you dare tell my family) a 4 ounce (1/2 cup) jar of sweet potato baby food. Magnificent Blessing from Heaven #5 is TWO and I STILL have a few jars of baby food floating around. I try to sneak them into recipes whenever I remember.
The recipe was a bit vague on how many crackers to add. I did use an entire sleeve. But then found it was too mushy to even put in the pan. So I added (again mum's the word!) 1/4 cup of baby rice cereal (I use this often to replace bread crumbs).

My husband asked what was in it - because of the mushiness and I went over exactly (with measurements) what I added. But I intentionally made no mention of sweet potatoes or rice cereal (with Captain Picard booming in my head "A lie of omission is still a lie" ---- but I don't care - I am NOT TELLING!)

Despite being mushy, I adored it and thought it tasted wonderful. Magnificent Blessing from Heaven #4 did not like it as well as he normally does. I am convinced it was the added onions and peppers I typically don't add. I am also convinced that is what made it so delicious for me.

Next time (and I do believe there will be a next time) I will reduce (maybe even halve) the ketchup (or whatever it may be that I add - shhhhhhh)