Meatloaf

I seriously can't remember the last time I made meatloaf, but I can promise you it wasn't anything to write a blog post about.  I was used to the old school meat, egg, and oats approach to meatloaf.  Well tonight I went the Paula Deen approach, and what a difference.  I scoff at other meatloaf now.  Scoff!  Also, this dish must be made with mashed potatoes.  A good salad helps too.  But the taters, those are required.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 8-oz canned diced tomatoes with juice (I couldn't find an 8-oz can, so I just measured out 1 cup from a larger can)
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Topping

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all meatloaf ingredients well and place in a loaf pan or small baking dish.  Shape into a loaf.
3. Mix the topping ingredients and spread evenly on loaf.
4. Bake for 1 hour.