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A meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and the obligatory green vegetable is pure heaven. You just need the right recipe. Mix it up and bake it on Sunday, then serve it for Monday night's supper.

• 1 to 1-1/4 pounds ground beef (see Note, below)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 14-1/2 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained, mashed and drained again (drink the juice)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons catsup
• 3/4 cup Pepperidge Farm Seasoned Herb Stuffing Mix (blue label) or 1 cup soft breadcrumbs plus a few dashes of onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2 or 3 strips uncooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Put all ingredients except the tomato sauce and bacon in a large bowl. Take your rings off and mix everything with your hands until thoroughly combined.

Scoop up the meat mixture and form it with your hands until you have an oblong loaf that will fit easily into a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Don't pack the mixture into the pan. Pour the tomato sauce evenly over the meatloaf, and cover it with the bacon slices.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Makes 4 generous servings.

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Note: The best ground beef for meatloaf is neither the leanest nor the fattest. Since most supermarkets offer a choice these days, look for ground beef that is marked 80 to 85 percent lean.

While I am a proponent of cooking from scratch, I do recommend using the Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix in this recipe. It is very lightly seasoned.

Readers also clicked through to these recipes in Grandma's Cookbook:

• Barbecue Meatloaf
• Texas Oven Brisket
• Dry Rub for Chicken, Ribs or Brisket
• Cowboy Brisket

You can also take John Raven's virtual course on basic barbecue:

• Barbecue 101
• Barbecue 102: Grilling
• Barbecue 103: The Real Thing
• Brisket from B to T
• Power to the Poultry
• Marinades You Should Know

We have lots of information about barbecue, grilling, chili and other traditional Texas foods. Read our continuously updated section Traditional Texas Fare for a complete listing of John Raven's articles.

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