TOMATO SOUP MEATLOAF

Tomato Soup Meatloaf image

I know most people use ketchup and bread crumbs to make their meatloaf. I grew up learning to make it with tomato soup and crushed saltines. It is always moist and yummy.

Provided by Michelle Jackson

Time 1h15m

Number Of Ingredients 8

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef (or you can mix half beef w/ half turkey or pork)
2 small onion finely chopped
1 can(s) campbell's tomato soup (lrg)
1/2 sleeve, crushed saltine crackers
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
couple dashes worcestershire sauce

Steps:

1. *80/20 makes for a more moist loaf or I've found that replacing 1 lb of ground beef with 1 lb of ground turkey also makes for a moist and tender meatloaf, with less fat.
2. Heat oven to 350 F and spray a 13x9 pan with Pam.
3. Mix all ingredients together (saving aside 1/4 to 1/3 can of soup). For this, I remove all my rings and dig in with both hands. It's the best way to get all the ingredients mixed together properly.
4. You want the mixture to be moist, but you also want it to stick together. You can adjust this by adding more crackers if it's too wet, or add more soup if it's too dry. (If you don't have enough extra soup to add to the meatloaf, you can add a splash or two of milk. Just be sure to have enough soup left over to spread on top.) I tend to be a little heavy handed with the soup, so I try to have an extra can on hand. It makes for a moist and flavorful meatloaf.
5. Press meatloaf mixture evenly into your 13x9 pan. Spread remaining soup over the top of the meatloaf and bake for 45 min - 1 hour.
6. If you have a lot of grease in the bottom of that pan at the end of cooking time, you can CAREFULLY drain this off into an empty soup can.
7. Let meatloaf sit for about 10 minutes then cut into desired servings and enjoy. This recipe can feed 4-6 with a little bit for leftovers. The leftovers are great eaten cold with a little mayo between a couple of slices of bread. MMMMM, meatloaf sandwiches!!
8. VARIATIONS: Go Italian with spaghetti sauce instead of tomato soup, Italian bread crumbs instead of crackers, add Italian seasonings, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses. Or go Mexican with salsa instead of tomato soup, tortilla chips instead of crackers, add taco seasoning and Mexican blend cheese.