Favorite Old Fashioned Meatloaf

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 2 lbs 85% lean ground beef (do not use leanest ground beef or meatloaf will be crumbly, about 12-16% fat is ideal)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely diced celery
• 2 -3 slices firm bread (slightly stale, the drier the better)
• 1 -2 teaspoon salt (to taste, i leave out)
• 1 teaspoon coleman's dry mustard
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• additional ketchup, if desired (to accompany)

Recipe

• 1 an hour or so before preparation, remove beef from fridge and allow to come to room temperature.
• 2 preheat oven to 400* f. grease a standard sized loaf pan and set aside.
• 3 in blender, process bread into fairly fine crumbs--you need about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs.
• 4 in a large mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly with a fork. add hamburger, breaking into large pieces as you do so. mix slightly with a wooden spoon or paddle.
• 5 add remaining ingredients and mix well with spoon or paddle. when fairly well incorporated, finish mixing by hand until you have a relatively homogeneous mixture. don't handle too much or meatloaf will be tough.
• 6 place meat mixture into loaf pan, pressing down as you do so to eliminate air pockets. press down and flatten top. meatloaf may have overflow of grease while cooking, so place on a baking sheet if desired to simplify cleanup.
• 7 bake at 400* f for 50 minutes or until juices are clear and meat thermometer registers about 160-170* f.
• 8 remove from oven, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, and drain juices. carefully invert onto serving platter. serve sliced, with ketchup if desired.