What's For Dinner Tonight? A spin on Meatloaf

"What's for dinner?" or "I'm hungry." Two phrases I hear often from my 4 year-olds! Making a dinner that makes everyone happy seems to be impossible most nights. However, when I make my meatloaf everyone is eager to eat! And that is a miracle.

The following recipe is a twist on the traditional meatloaf that my mom made me. Growing up, my mom's meatloaf was one of my favorite meals. It is a recipe she learned from my gram, which makes it even more special to me. This is a comfort food that brings back found memories.

Crunchy Onion Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup ketchup
3 lbs ground beef
1^1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 cups crunchy onion straws, finely ground
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper
pinch of salt

* I used 80/20 fat to meat ratio. I have also used a meatloaf mix.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a casserole dish or loaf pan (2).
Use a food processor to finely grind the onion straws.
Combine milk, eggs, ketchup and spices in a small bowl and whisk together.
Take ground beef and place in a large bowl.
Pour milk mixture onto beef and mix together.
Once milk mixture is fully combined with the meat, add in the onion straws and bread crumbs. Mix well.
Shape the ground beef mixture into a ball. Using your hand, score the meat into two halves.
Shape each half into loaf shapes and place in baking dish.
Drizzle some ketchup over the tops and then sprinkle some onion straws on top. This can be done the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.