I never liked meatloaf.  It’s one of those foods that reminds me of a snowflake-no two are alike.  Some have cheese, some load with veggies.  Everyone has their own way of making it and I had never found one that peaks my interest-until now.

I’m a modifier.  I like to read all the recipes and watch all the shows and I piece together bits and pieces until I find what suits me best.  I tend to like the sweet stuff.  Ha.  Tend to.  Okay, everything I eat is sweet.  I add honey to my mashed potatoes, sugar to my spaghetti.  I don’t know where it came from, but that’s who I am and I’ve accepted it.

So when I was watching Paula Deen on TV and saw her brown sugar meatloaf topping, I was intrigued.  I thought if I could find a meatloaf recipe that sounded good, I’d toss her topping on that.  Her meatloaf was out of the question.  It had about 15 sticks of butter and a vat of fried onions.  I love that woman, but my arteries can’t handle half of what she makes.

Well, my mother subscribed me to Kraft Food and Family magazine and I found the absolute easiest recipe around.  I have a distinct feeling as I post more of my “semi homemade” recipes, we’ll be referencing the Kraft magazine.  It has the easiest time saving recipes out there.  So the link to their article is here, but I’ll type it out below and add the topping I modified from Paula.  The Kraft article also suggests add ins and other toppings to use.

What You’ll Need

• 1 Pound Extra Lean Ground beef or turkey
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix
• 1 cup water

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and the seasoning until well blended. Press evenly into 12 medium muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray; make an indentation in center of each with back of spoon.

For the Topping

• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Brown Sugar

I wish I could tell you exact measurments, but I’m an eyeballer.  What I do is dump a good ol amount of brown sugar in a bowl,  if I had to guess I’d say probably 1/2 – 3/4 of a cup because I like my loaf saucy.  I then Squirt as much ketchup as I see fit, about three solid squeezes and squirt slightly less mustard.  When you mix it together it should be a dark caramel color.

I spoon the sauce over each loaf and throw it in the oven as directed about 30 min. or until meatloaves are cooked through (160°F).  My friend Sarah likes to put hers in sauce-less and add it about half way through. I like mine caramelized so I add it before putting it in the oven.

Try it out and let me know what you think!