Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

Dear Lauren, 

I have so much to say! Where to start?! Do you remember I told you I am going to be doing some cooking for Good Cook? Well this is the first post! OMG! I am so excited!!!! They sent me a Sweet Creations Mini Loaf Pan (it's nonstick!) and some White Snow Flake Parchment Paper and right off the bat I had about 16 ideas what to use it all for! Luckily for me, one idea stuck out and so Dad and I made Sweet and Sour Meatloaf.

Before I tell you how to make this recipe, I want to tell you a few other things. 1) This pan is perfect for portion control. 2) It's also a great pan to use to split up your full-size recipe in half, freeze overnight (like I am doing with this recipe) and then pop out the loaves and freeze them. 3) You can make banana bread and other sweet concoctions in with this pan! But I rebelled and went the savory route!

Do you remember Susan Whempner from when we lived in California? Well, she and I have been working together on 37 Cooks and guess what? She started a blog for empty nesters. She is going to LOVE this pan. I sent her one today! Merry Christmas, Susan! Lauren, what Susan does is pare down her favorite recipes for two people, which of course is great for empty nesters. But it's also good for single people like you! Anyway, you might want to follow her blog. I am (on Bloglovin).

When I got this pan, I also thought about our friend Al. Now, because he is a widower and travels for work often and is just learning to cook, I've been trying to think of things he can make and easily freeze the leftovers. He's always on a diet too and the more I think of it, this pan is a must have for him. So I bought one for him too. Merry Christmas, Al!

I hope they aren't reading this post. The element of surprise is now gone.

Oops.

As for the meatloaf, everyone has their own favorite recipe and so do I. It's a recipe my mother used to make when we were growing up and I still love it. It's so easy to make and I am thrilled that it also works well with this Good Cook pan.

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup crackers, crushed (use the food processor or just smash 'em)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 can tomato soup

1 beaten egg

Mix all ingredients together with your hands. You can either use a dish and make a mound of the meat mixture in the center with all of the meat OR you can divide it - half of the mixture in a baking dish and half in the four openings in the mini loaf pan. The mini loaf openings should not be filled more than 3/4 of the way.

1/2 can tomato soup
2 tablespoons mustard
1 cup water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar

Mix all ingredients and divide and pour over your meat mixture in your one baking dish OR half in your main baking dish and half split between the four openings in the mini loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for  about 45 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 160 degrees. 

The higher the fat content in your ground beef the more this meatloaf will fall apart. We ate this growing up and we never knew that meatloaf was sliced until we were adults and tried other recipes! Serve with your favorite veggies. We had some roasted asparagus with ours.

Love,

P.S. I bought a pan for you too. Merry Christmas, Lauren! 
P.S.S. If you or anyone reading this post wants to buy this pan, use the code: SWEETLOAF to get 25% off! Merry Christmas, everyone!
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