Ranch Meatloaf

So the first day of school is always a big deal around here. New clothes and shoes and underwear; back to normal bed times; swimming no longer counts as a bath….stuff like that. But we’ve also had a tradition since Oliver started Kindergarten that he gets to pick the dinner the night before the first day. We’ve had Angry Bird pizzas and Mummy dogs in years past, but this year he wanted meatloaf and apple squares. Yep, that’s it…he went and matured himself right out of the fun food phase and into growing boy phase. Give that kid some beef.

Even though meatloaf usually gets a bad wrap, it’s always a favorite around here. I’ve made good ones, bad ones, and bland ones, but I think we’ve settled on a really yummy one. So here is our favorite and fail proof Ranch Meatloaf.

(Oh! And I’ll be posting my granny’s Apple squares that he requested for dessert later this week)

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef (because long gone are the days of a measly 1 lb meatloaf around here)
1 cup Mama Merica Buttermilk Ranch
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 chopped onion
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T mustard
2 T brown sugar

1. Mix you first 6 ingredients. Lots of people swear real meatloaf must be mixed by hand, but I bite my nails. So the thought of raw meat under my fingernails is not one I’d like to bring to fruition. Soooo, I use my kitchen aid with a paddle attachment and it works beautifully 🙂

2. Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Empty your mixture into the pan and shape into a loaf. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but do try to make it the same width and height all the way to the ends to help it cook evenly.

3. In a separate bowl, mix your remaining ingredients (ketchup, mustard and brown sugar).