Mom's Meatloaf

A high school classmate of mine just posted that she made her first meatloaf. I was amazed; we eat it probably twice a month. The comments that followed were mostly listing how gross meatloaf is...I was stunned. Apparently, the rest of the world was not as fortunate as my family is, growing up with my mom's amazing meatloaf. Not only does it taste awesome, it's so very fool-proof to make. I've tried to list quantities for the ketchup, mustard, cheese, and sauce, but it is truly an estimation. A couple squirts of this, a dash or two of that, and a handful of this...ta da!

Mom's Meatloaf
1 pound ground beef
1 pound pork sausage
1/3 cup crushed saltine crackers
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
3-4 tablespoons of mustard (or 3 big squirts)
2/3 cup ketchup, divided
2 tablespoons A1 sauce (or two big dollups)
salt
pepper

• With cooking spray, spray either 2 loaf pans or 1 9X9 pan.
• In a large bowl, mix together the meat, egg, saltines, cheese, mustard, A1 sauce, salt, pepper, and about 4-5 big squirts of ketchup.
• Roll up your sleeves, and mix it all together with your hands.
• Form two equal-sized loaves with the meat mixture, either one in each loaf pan or two side-by-side in the 9x9 dish. *Hint from Alton Brown: don't pound down the meat to make evenly shaped loaves. By just plopping the meat into the pan, the meatloaf will be juicier and less dense.
• Cover both loaves with ketchup, about 3 squirts per loaf. Again, use your hands to smear it so that the loaves are completely covered.
• Cover with foil.
• Bake at 375 for 1 hour 25 minutes, removing the foil for the last 20 minutes.
• Let the meatloaf set for 5 minutes before cutting into it.

And, to make it an extra-easy meal, throw a few baked potatoes in with the meat loaf. They'll be ready about the same time.