I do all the cooking in our household—my husband, David, hates cooking, and I love it. But a few years ago, right around the time our first child was born, David surprised me by offering to cook his mom’s meatloaf recipe for Christmas dinner. It quickly became a tradition.

Every single Christmas, he texts his mom to ask for the recipe, then heads into the kitchen to put it all together. Over the years, I’ve helped him tweak it here and there, and it’s become a delightfully simple, cozy way for us to wrap up the Christmas holidays.

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large yellow or white onion, diced
• 4 gloves garlic, finely minced
• 6 slices of  soft white bread, crusts removed and either diced into small pieces or run through a food processor to create soft breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 3/4 c ketchup

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a sauté pan over medium heat, drizzle olive oil and melt butter. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir in garlic and cook an additional two minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add soft breadcrumbs/bread cubes and milk, stir to mix. Add in beaten eggs, onions and garlic, salt and pepper. Mix to combine .
4. Add the ground pork and beef to the bowl and mix it until well-distributed.
5. Line a large roasting pan with foil and form the meatloaf mixture into a large log shape.
6. In a medium bowl, combine ketchup and brown sugar. Spread half of this mixture onto the meatloaf.
7. Bake the meatloaf for approximately 45 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, pull out the meatloaf and add the remaining ketchup glaze.
8. Check temperature to ensure it’s reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to set up for 10-15 minutes.
9. Slice and serve alongside mashed potatoes, green salad, and roasted vegetables.