This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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
This is very delicious!!! Like Mark and Diane, I had to cook it much longer than the recipe called for. Maybe I’ll try several small loaves next time.
Tasty and moist!! Will definitely be making again!
I have made your meatloaf recipe several times and it is perfect every time. I love it! And I can tell I would have really liked your FIL. Thanks for sharing.
Made this for dinner this eve…I made it per the recipe but it was not done at all when it came out of the oven after 40 min. Ended up cooking for 3o minutes more until it was cooked through. Good thing it was Friday night…kids had to have a snack while they were waiting for it to finally be done. Did I do something wrong?!
Jamie, I just want to thank you for your marvelous, easy, family friendly and DELICIOUS recipes. I recently became acquainted with your site, and I think it’s just wonderful. Thanks for sharing your recipes – and your family! – with the world.
your oven temp gauge may be inaccurate. get a little one you can place in your oven and save yourself a lot of money for replacing the thermaostat
Your Father-in-law sounds just like my Dad,always trying to make everything better and just having him around did that!He could make the sun shine on a foggy,cloudy and rainy day, even if it was no where to be found,he is gone also. A day never goes by without thinking about him and wishing he was here, such a great guy! Wonderful story,Thanks for sharing it. The meatloaf is great, thanks for the recipe.
wow, he sounds like a wonderful man. you were very lucky to have him. my one son loves meatloaf, as do i, he’ll be home from school soon. can’t wait to surprise him with this. thank you
Your grandpa Mark sounded like a good man. I know he is proud of you. I printed off a copy of the meatloaf and will try it. looks good. Thanks
Yes, it would be wonderful if you had a “print recipe.”
Thanks,