Put these three ingredients in a small saucepan with a teaspoon of butter and saute on low heat, covered, until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
MIX TOGETHER:
Sauteed onion mixture
1 pound ground beef - not too lean
1 egg
¼ cup plain dry breadcrumbs or 10 soda cracker squares, crushed
2 ounces or about ¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I use Tamari which is lower sodium and gluten free - I think it is richer in flavor)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (be careful if adjusting the quantity of this - too much and it overpowers the other flavors)
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon Nature's Season Salt (you could just use salt here if you wish but I would only start with ¼ teaspoon)
½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
TOPPING/GLAZE - Mix ¼ cup ketchup with 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce and set aside (I always make extra of this to serve on the side)
Instructions
Mix all meatloaf ingredients together well until uniformly blended. Peel the amount of carrots and potatoes you need and cut into large chunks. I typically split the large carrots in half lengthwise and cut into about three lengths, and split the potatoes in half unless they are quite large, then cut them in fourths. Drizzle a little olive oil into your baking pan. Toss the potatoes and carrots to give them a light coat of the oil and push to the sides of the pan. Shape the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place in the middle of the pan. Salt and pepper the vegetables, cover the entire pan with foil or a lid if you are using a dish that has one. Bake at 350 for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. Spread half of the glaze over the top of the meatloaf, going a little down the sides. Place back in the oven, UNCOVERED, for about 20 minutes. At this point, if you want to speed the browning/carmelization process, increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. If you increase the temperature, watch it closely so it doesn't overbrown the glaze. Brush the rest of the glaze on the top. If juices are running clear and meat is fully cooked it can be removed at this point. I typically put it back in to set the second layer of glaze. (The 2 pound meatloaf I just baked took a total of 2 hours in the oven)
Let it rest for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
Recipe by Messin' With Perfection at https://www.messinwithperfection.com/moms-meatloaf/