Well folks this may sound weird but.....my mom was famous for all the short cuts ... I use Herb stuffing instead of bread crumbs and V-8 juice and eggs . My reciepe calls for 3 lbs of meat, 1 16 oz bag of herb stuffing, 1 12 oz can of V-8, and 3 eggs, that is my base meat loaf. The rest depends on what is in the fridge. The topping is one part ketchup and 1 part brown sugar. It really is good and it's cheap