Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp Bobbie's Boat Sauce 
• 1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar 
• 1 medium onion
• 2 celery stalks 
• 1 fat clove garlic 
• 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
• Black pepper  
• 2 cup Rice Krispies cereal, breadcrumbs, or stale bread torn into small pieces (2-3 slices)
• ½  cup milk or half & half  
• 1 Tbsp mushroom powder (optional, see note) 
• 1 egg 
• 2 Tbsp  finely chopped parsley and/or celery leaves 
• 1 ½  tsp dried herbs (thyme, sage) 
• 1 ½  lb ground beef (grass fed),  ground turkey, or fake ground meat

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350.  In a small bowl, combine 3T of Bobbie's Boat Sauce with brown sugar and set aside.  
2. Chop onion and celery into a very fine dice, or pulse in the food processor. Heat some oil in a skillet and saute vegetables without browning, over medium-low heat. Add garlic. 
3. After vegetables have sweated but before they start to brown, add salt, a few grinds of pepper, and 1 T of Bobbie's Boat Sauce. Turn up heat and stir attentively to get some nice caramelization on the aromatics.  If it sticks to the pan, add a little water to deglaze. Turn off heat and let cool.  
4. In a bigger bowl, combine rice krispies or breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, fresh and dried herbs, and cooled sauteed vegetables. Add remaining salt, more ground pepper, the meat, and use your hands to combine thoroughly.   Place in a shallow baking dish and form into a pleasing meatloaf shape.  
5. Brush Boat Sauce-brown sugar mixture all over the meatloaf,  and bake for 50-60 minutes, until it's reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.  

NOTE: Mushroom powder is simply dried mushrooms ground into...a powder.  You can buy it, or make it yourself.  I buy dried shiitakes at my nearest asian market, and grind them in an old coffee grinder that is not used for coffee..