Sweet Country Meat Loaf

The meatloaf has European origins; meatloaf of meat was mentioned in the famous Roman cookery collection as early as the 5th century. Meatloaf is a traditional German, Belgian and Dutch dish, and it is a cousin to the Italian meatball. American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times. However, meatloaf in the contemporary American sense did not appear in cookbooks until the late 19th century.

This variation of the meatloaf provides a firm but juicy loaf with a rich flavor and a sweetened ketchup based glaze on top.  Sweetened with brown sugar and made savory by a dash of Worcestershire sauce, this loaf is a top-notch combination of lean beef and vegetables that everyone is sure to love.

What you need:

1/2 cup Ketchup
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Egg
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Cup Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs
1.5 Pounds Lean Ground Beef (anything leaner than 80/20)
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 of an Onion, chopped
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9"x5" loaf pan and place 1 slice of bread on the bottom.  This absorbs grease from the loaf as it cooks and keeps the meatloaf from getting soggy and grease-logged.

Mix ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar together in a small bowl.  Mix all other ingredients together until well mixed, shape into a loaf and place the meat mixture into the loaf pan.  Spread the ketchup mixture on top and bake for one hour.  The center of the loaf should be near 170F when measured with a meat thermometer.