Pioneer Woman's - My Favorite Meatloaf

This was a GREAT meatloaf recipe that we all really enjoyed. I absolutely think I will continue using this one! It's got a great consistency and texture, wonderful flavor (how can you beat bacon and a sweet and tangy red sauce?!) And I love cooking it on the broiler pan so all the grease drips down underneath - brilliant! :)

Lots of ingredients to start with! Milk, bread, seasoned salt, parsley, salt, pepper, dry mustard, Tabasco, eggs, brown sugar, ketchup, Parmesan, bacon and beef.

I had several bags of bread/buns that only had 1 left in the package and thought this would be the PERFECT way to use them all - so I threw in 2 slices of wheat bread, a whole wheat hamburger bun and a white bratwurst bun and covered them with the 1 cup milk.

I let that absorb while I continued on with the rest of the ingredients!

I put the 4 eggs in a bowl and beat those.

By then the bread was pretty soggy and most of the milk absorbed, so I threw the beef in on top and started adding spices!

The original recipe calls for fresh which I'm SURE would be even better, but I went ahead and used a tablespoon of dried, since that's what I had.

The shredded Parmesan cheese went in next!

Followed by the beaten egg.

I dug in and got dirty and mixed everything up really well by hand, then dumped the bowl out onto the broiler pan and shaped it into a loaf.

I think I used a couple more than 10 slices of center cut bacon - I just finished up the package we already had open and made sure the whole surface area was covered (is there ever such a thing as too much bacon?!)

Next came the yummy red sauce! The brown sugar was added to the ketchup.

Followed by the dry mustard.

And a few good shakes of hot sauce! That was stirred up completely.

1/3 of the red sauce is poured on top and spread with a brush.

All basted and ready to go in the oven!

Pulled out after 45 minutes.

1/3 more of the sauce added on top and then back in the oven!

After 1 full hour total - looking and smelling fantastic!

That first slice to see how it looks... mmmm

We served this up with a carrot and pea mixture and some home made mashed potatoes and it was the perfect classic comfort meal! Absolutely delicious. And the meatloaf went great in sandwiches the next day! Hubby dipped his in the reserved sauce and really enjoyed that. Adding a little sauce to the sandwiches was a nice touch the next day as well.

Slightly modified from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 cup Milk
6 slices Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef
1 cup (heaping) Grated Parmesan Cheese
¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
¾ teaspoons Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 TBS dried parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten
10 slices Thin/regular Bacon

Sauce:
1-½ cup Ketchup
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Tabasco To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.
Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes. Yummy!

Posted by Ree on September 19 2010