Meatloaf has never been a favorite of mine or the farmer’s. I think he had a few too many back in the day. However, I figured out a way to take meat loaf over the top with some new ingredients and my sauce plays a big hand in it.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds ground hamburger meat

2 cups crushed saltine crackers

1 white onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning

Black pepper

Sauce:

1 cup Ketchup

1 capful Balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Brown sugar

½ teaspoon dry mustard

Mix ground uncooked beef with crushed saltine crackers, a cup of milk, and one egg. Sauté’ diced white onion in butter and add to beef. (No more raw onions going into my meatloaf. Caramelize those babies and they’ll add a lot more flavor.)

Season meat mixture with crushed red pepper flakes, minced garlic, Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning and black pepper. Instead of making one large loaf, I like to form mine into nice sized servings—like you would with hamburger steaks.

Prepare the sauce by taking a small bowl and combining the listed ingredients. Place loaves on a raised grill inside a roasting pan (to catch the drippings) and pour sauce across them. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes