meatloaf

i am having photography woes. since i live in a condo, my kitchen has no windows, so it's dark. there are lots of lights but for some reason, my pictures all come out looking so dark. i can't use the flash because it puts a weird glare on everything and it all looks distorted. so i guess you'll all have to live with my dark photos for now. sorry everyone.

so let's get started. you'll need a pound of ground beef, a packet of lipton beefy onion soup mix, ritz (or saltine) crackers, an egg, salt and pepper, and bbq sauce. some people probably like to use an actual onion instead of a packet of dried onion soup mix, but i despise chopping onions, and well, beefy onion is so good.
put six crackers in a ziploc and smash with a rolling pin. you could use bread crumbs, but why would you when ritz crackers are so buttery and delicious?

now start by cracking an egg into a mixing bowl.
and mix it up with a fork.
then add your ground beef,
your soup mix,

a tablespoon or two of bbq sauce, salt and pepper, and your crackers. i forgot my crackers. don't worry, they're coming up and i will add them, but i wanted to tell you here: add your crackers. don't be dumb like me and forget.
now stick your hands in, and mix mix mix! i use both hands and squish it all up.
i know some people don't like touching raw meat. i love making meatloaf, simply because i get to get my hands really dirty. squish everything together, make sure it's all combined really well.
like this.

now wash your hands. i wash them like seven times because i don't want to get any of that raw meat anywhere. plus your hands get really disgusting.i love this soap.
now form your meat into a loaf. i sort of put it into a ball and then kind of smash it down so it's even-sized. if it's too ball-ish, the middle won't get cooked well enough.
wait. what's this? shoot. i forgot to add my crackers. i knew there was something wrong with this loaf of meat. ugh. so i added my crackers, re-mixed, re-washed, and re-formed. then i stuck it in the oven at 375* for 30-45 minutes. each loaf is different so check it every so often. you may even want to cut it down the middle to make sure it's not pink at all.
look at that. a loaf of meat. with fat on the top. delish.
don'tcha just feel like white trash eating meatloaf? i know i do.

serve with a baked potato (with cheese and steamed broccoli, yum!) i love A-1 sauce on mine too.
and there you have it. classic, easy meatloaf.

meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef
6 ritz crackers
1 tbsp. bbq sauce
1 packet lipton beefy onion soup mix
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste

mix up your egg with a fork. then add the rest of the ingredients and combine well with your hands. form into a loaf, and cook at 375* for 30-45 minutes.