I never liked meatloaf until a lady from church brought us dinner after Emmy was born. I think it's the slight sweetness of sauce and hint of ginger that makes it so good.

I adjusted the recipe years ago to make it a better fit for our family of four. Here's that version:

Ingredients

1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 lb. hamburger meat
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ginger
2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (Ritz or Club Cracker)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix brown sugar and ketchup in a small bowl an set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients thoroughly. Shape into 4 small "loaves." Place in a glass baking dish. I use a pie plate.

Top each little loaf with the brown sugar and ketchup mixture.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until juices are clear.

Ideas

You can place the meatloaf mixture into a traditional loaf pan and top with the sauce, if you like traditional meatloaf slices. If you do it this way, you'll want to cook it for about an hour.

I like to make the meatloaf into small loaves and place in a pie plate. This allows the meatloaf to cook faster and the fat drains into the pan rather than staying in the meatloaf, and I like that the servings are already portioned before it goes in the oven.