Meatloaf and playing Hide The Sausage

Are there people that don't like meatloaf? Is it cause it was too dry or too much filler compared to the meat? Is the "right way" to have ketchup on the top that is cooked along with the loaf so that it kinda thickens up? Onions in it? (not me!). Tricks? Treats?

I like meatloaf and really have a bunch of "unique" things I do to make it all come together for me. I kinda have a written recipe thanks to my Pop, but really only use it as a guideline and mine is way off from his, trust me. First off, I use beef and ground sausage, usually half and half but at LEAST a good chunk of sausage. Second, I add a can of cream of mushroom soup in addition to eggs. Yeah, it's pretty wet. Lastly, I add a river of Mozzarella cheese in the middle plus more special surprises!

• 1.5 lb ground beef
• 1.0 lb ground sausage
• 2-3 eggs
• 1 can Cream Mushroom soup
• 1 cup or so shredded mozz cheese
• 1 cup or so bread crumbs, I use canned Italian variety
• spices of your choice and liking. Salt, pepper, celery seed, parsley, Italian blend

Pretty much mix it up and make a loaf! I usually have the bread crumbs on hand to adjust as needed, don't want it too soupy. I'll flatten mine out on a big cutting board then dump the cheese in the middle and kinda fold it up. It's not the easiest thing to do, kinda like playing darts with Jello. If you've not invested in a meatloaf pan, it's worth it. It's a two layer bread pan looking thing that has holes on the bottom for the grease to drip through. Cook for about 1 hour at 350, get your meat thermometer out and make sure it's in the 160 range. Undercooked sucks, trust me.

Here's the fun part! HIDE SOMETHING! It's not above me to sneak in things sitting in the fridge, or something getting a little stale in the cupboard. Years ago I was low on bread crumbs and used a bunch of crackers. What the heck, how about Cheetos's! I didn't smash them up, and the stark orange pieces was pretty funny looking, and tasted great! Somewhere along the line I added the cheese, man was THAT healthy! Then in another brilliant moment, how would Goldfish crackers look? Well, I can tell you it looks funny. This last one I made, I had a coupla hot dogs left, so what the heck right?