Sometimes, it’s difficult to find recipes that are easy and tasty as well as economical. But there’s one that is probably familiar to a lot of people who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s — meatloaf.

I don’t know too many people who don’t have fond memories of their mom’s meatloaf. And if you’re like me, you can add the meatloaf you were served for school hot lunch.

In the past year or so when we’ve had meatloaf, it’s been from a slightly revamped recipe that was given to me by Milt Kinzler of Grand Forks, N.D.

When Milt shared the recipe with me, he explained that everyone who tried the recipe loved it. I couldn’t agree more. The meatloaf melts in your mouth.

Besides a dinner with baked potatoes and a veggie or two, one of my favorite ways to have meatloaf is as a leftover, on a sandwich, with a little mustard. That was my preferred lunch when I went duck hunting as a kid with my dad and brother, Kevin.

We haven’t had Milt’s Meatloaf for a while, but I’ve already got a plan for sandwiches. And it won’t include mustard. I’m going to substitute spicy sriracha barbecue sauce. In fact, I’m going to use it as a baste when baking the meatloaf.

Now that would have been good in the duck blind.

Milt’s Meatloaf with a Twist
2 pounds ground beef (can substitute 1 pound ground pork or pork sausage for 1 pound of beef)
2 eggs
16 saltine crackers (crushed)
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly and place in greased loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 90 minutes. Check after 1 hour to see if some liquid (water) needs to be added to pan. About 15 minutes before taking meatloaf out of oven, cover with sriracha barbecue sauce (recipe follows). When done cooking, take meatloaf out of oven and let sit for 10 minutes or so before slicing.

Sriracha Barbecue Sauce
½ onion, cut into chunks
½ red pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
½ green pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 cup spicy barbecue sauce
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
Place onion and peppers in a food processor and chop until finely diced. Add barbecue sauce, ketchup and Sriracha sauce and whip together until combined. Serve with meatloaf.
Note: Sriracha is an Asian hot sauce widely available in supermarkets.