Meatloaf

There’s tons of salt and pepper and garlic in the soup mix, so you don’t need to really add more. Remember there are cloves and other spices in the ketchup. The milk, you ask? Well, it tenderizes the meat! (Who knew?) The brown sugar just takes the edge off the dish. Try one with and one without and you’ll always add just a smidge of the glorious brown stuff!

Throw it all in a big bowl (except the bacon) and mix with your fingers—or, okay, a fork—until everything’s all mixed up together.

I like to cover the bottom of my 8″ by 8″ pan with a piece of parchment paper. Not only does the food taste better, it also makes cleanup easier.

Roll the meat mixture from your bowl into the pan and shape it into a loaf with lots of room around the thing for the grease and juices to flow. Cover the top with bacon.

I like to bake mine uncovered for an hour and a half at 300 degrees. Then increase the temperature to 350 degrees to brown it up a bit for about half an hour.