Brown Sugar Meatloaf

You don’t have to be a daily reader of this blog (although I’d love to have you!) to know that I love meatloaf. They are always easy to assemble, are generally made from simple ingredients that we all have on hand, they are routinely very tasty and satisfying, and the leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have them), make for a delicious lunch the following day. Lover of this king of comfort foods that I am, I am always on the lookout for new recipes -- new…and unique. This one grabbed my attention because its base is a layer of brown sugar. My fear was that this would be sickeningly sweet, but offset by the ketchup, the topping was the perfect combination of the sweetness of the sugar and tang of the tomato ketchup.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup ketchup

1 1/2 lbs. ground chuck

3/4 cup whole milk

1 extra large egg

1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan. Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar. In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.