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My father-in-law (Grandpa Mark) was a really great guy. He was all about family and spent the better part of his life raising 8 children.
August 13, 1994 my wedding day and the day I got hitched to this great Eskelson family.
That’s a lot of kids no matter how you look at it!
He wasn’t really a fashionable sort of fellow….
More like a
get in there and work….
and build things like this….
and that.
He was the kind of guy that liked to ride around in a back hoe….digging and moving things around, and making life more pleasant than he found it.
He suffered from Congestive Heart Failure for more than twenty years, which included all of the time I knew him. Towards the end of his life he spent a lot of time at the computer, researching and writing and learning about new things. You could call him pretty much any time of day and know that he would
…be at his computer….
…and at your service….
Always willing to answer any question, or help solve any problem.
This good man found a lot of great recipes while he sat at his computer. This wonderful Meatloaf is one of them.
It is hands down the best meatloaf I’ve ever had.
Hope your family loves it as much as we all do.
The view from Grandpa Mark’s Bear Lake Cabin.
Photo by Grandpa Mark himself.
Sure wish he were around to give me some
photography tips
and parenting advice
and to help me figure out the technical side of blogging
(he would have been all over that kind of a project)
and to visit with
and to see my kids grow up
and to visit with
and to visit with
and to visit with…..
He knew a lot of good stuff.
1. Place all loaf ingredients in a large bowl. Get your hands in there and mix it all up together. You want all of the ingredients to be incorporated well. (Don’t be shy now….touching ground beef will not kill you. If you lick your fingers after you have been smashing it all together…you most likely will kill over dead immediately, or so I’ve heard. Please refrain from licking raw hamburger off your fingers. Your immediate death is something I don’t want on my conscience. However if you decide to lick raw hamburger and you do indeed kill over…give Grandpa Mark a kiss for me when you see him.)
2. Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom.
3. Form your meat mixture into two loaves. Place them on top of the brown sugar leaving a little alley way between them. (Wash your hands…do not lick them.)
4. Pour your ketchup between the loaves…..
and around the sides of the loaves.
5. Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 40 minutes, or until the inside of the loaf is no longer pink.
6. Remove the pan from the oven, take off the foil and spoon the sauce over the tops of the loaves. Return to the oven and bake for about 3-5 more minutes.
7. Take the pan out of the oven and let the loaves rest for about 5 minutes. Then slice and serve.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- The Loaf:
- 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 sleeves saltine crackers, crushed into tiny pieces
- 4 eggs
- salt and pepper
- 3 T honey mustard
- 1/2 C ketchup
- 1 t Worcestershire
- The Sauce:
- 1 C brown sugar
- 1 C ketchup
Instructions
1. Place all loaf ingredients in a large bowl. Get your hands in there and mix it all up together. You want all of the ingredients to be incorporated well.
2. Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom.
3. Form your meat mixture into two loaves. Place them on top of the brown sugar leaving a little alley way between them. (Wash your hands...do not lick them.)
4. Pour your ketchup between the loaves and around the sides of the loaves.
5. Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 40 minutes, or until the inside of the loaf is no longer pink.
6. Remove the pan from the oven, take off the foil and spoon the sauce over the tops of the loaves. Return to the oven and bake for about 3-5 more minutes.
7. Take the pan out of the oven and let the loaves rest for about 5 minutes. Then slice and serve.
Enjoy!
Recipe from my father in law, Mark Eskelson
Thank you for sharing the story about your father-in-law along with his recipe! This was the best meatloaf I've ever made! Simple ingredients, easy directions, and simply delicious!
your last photo had a sprig of curly leaf parsley on it….I grow this to PRESS AND DRY it in my greeting card creations, Jamie! I sooooo needed a great meatloaf recipe! YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER and MY NEW BEST FRIEND! XOXOXOX
Best. Meatloaf. Ever. Thanks for sharing this recipe and the story about your father-in-law.
I made this recipe and it was yummo! I made one slight change…I carmelized the onions before I put them in the meatloaf. So moist
Was just wondering how to freeze Grandpa Mark’s meatloaf. Do I do the recipe up until the baking point or bake it, freeze it and then reheat it when we want to heat it? Thank you!
Grandpa Mark seemed like an awesome guy!
Nichole,
It is easiest if you freeze the meat loaf raw. Then just be sure it has defrosted fully before you cook it. Good luck!
~Jamie
Now that sounds wonderful!
Let me know how you like it. It is really good even Grace likes it and she is fkcniiy about her food. If you want I can have BJ come over and make it for you
I only used 2 and 1/4 lbs of hamburger and this thing is taking forever to cook! I cooked it for 40 minutes and only the outside was brown, the rest was raw! So I put it in for another 20 minutes and its still not done. Trying for another 20 minutes and hopefully this thing will finally be done. Don’t know why its taking so long.
Trying this for dinner tonight. It’ll be my first time making meatloaf. I love all of your recipes. Since I take night classes and my parents and siblings are at school during the day I love surprising them with a fantastic dinner when they get home. All thanks to you! 🙂
The meatloaf was fantastic!!!! Great flavor and easy to make. I do have a question though. Is there a mistake with the cooking time? I halved the recipe and still got 2 large loaves. I cooked it for the time above and it was still pink. I did use a more shallow pan. Maybe that was the difference. Any thoughts?