Basic Meatloaf

This is my ex-brother-in-law's recipe for meatloaf, and this and my two nephews are the three best things he gave our family. We love this meatloaf.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef
• 24  saltine crackers
• 1 (10 1/2ounce) can  vegetable beef soup, in beef stock
• 1  egg
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2  tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Crush the crackers. I use the food processor for this to get finer crumbs.
3. Mix the meat, soup, and egg together with the seasonings.
4. Add cracker crumbs until the texture is firm but not dry.
5. Press the meatloaf mixture into a loaf pan.
6. Bake until done (160°F on the meat thermometer), which takes about an hour.
7. Muffin variation: Divide meatloaf mixture into 6 even portions.
8. Press into large size muffin tin that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
9. If adding a sauce, form a well in the top of each muffin to hold the sauce.
10. Check baking time carefully, as the smaller size allows the dish to bake more quickly. I have found that baking time is reduced to about 35 minutes in this form.