Meatloaf

This might be my mom's meatloaf, but it's not your mother's meatloaf!  This delicious, comfort food dish is really closer to a really huge, baked cheeseburger.  But WOW is it fantastic!  My mom's meatloaf (with a side of peas) was my birthday dinner go-to for much of my childhood.  That's right: I special requested meatloaf for my birthday dinner. 

I love that I can make this meatloaf any size, by just adjusting the measurements by eye.  Nothing is too precise, but it always comes out delicious.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (I hear turkey works well too... not my style)
1/4 pound ground veal
1/4 pound ground pork (the ground pork/veal can be a "meatloaf mix" or left out entirely; just double your beef)
1 small can (4 oz) tomato sauce (or 1/2 jar of chili sauce!)
3/4 C Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 (8 oz) container ricotta cheese

Directions:
In large bowl, using hands (take off your rings!), mush together the meat, tomato sauce, bread crumbs, egg and 1 C of the cheddar cheese until thoroughly blended.
Pat 1/2 of the meat mixture about 1" thick into the bottom of a baking pan; I like to build a little retaining wall for the cheese filling in the next step:

Spread the ricotta cheese across the layer of meat, almost to the edges.
Cover with the remaining 1 C cheddar cheese.
Pat the remaining meat over the top of the cheeses, sealing the cheeses within.
Bake 1 hour at 350* degrees. 
Drain grease from pan. 
Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving, so the cheeses can cool.

Last night's meatloaf, pictured here, turned out even tastier than usual.  Maybe it was the cold, rainy weather, but YUM!