Here it is, only my third post and I'm already back to the ground beef. I was planning to make Moussaka last Thursday before we got the boys back, but I ran out of time. So I had the ground beef in the fridge, and needed something the boys would like. Moussaka?... not so much. Ethan and Owen like their meat, and they like it by itself. Since Erika went to pick up our farm share, and brought back some nice fresh sweet corn, It only seemed natural to go with a meatloaf... and what better way to dress up meatloaf than bacon and cheese?
So just like the meatballs, I broke two eggs into the big bowl, added 2.2# 90/10 lean ground beef, seasoned breadcrumbs, paprika, dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion salt, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. You can use whatever meatloaf recipe you like.
Mix it well.
Line a 9" loaf pan with 5 slices of bacon. This left me with one slice so I threw that in too, following the "you can never use too much bacon" theory.
spread 1/2 to 2/3 the meat onto the bacon
add slices of cheese, your choice. I used 3 slices of gouda... because that's all I had.
Spread the rest of the meat on top. Place in a 375 degree oven...
At around 45 minutes, I tipped the pan to drain off the extra fat, and then tipped out the loaf, upside down, onto a foil lined broiling pan, or in my case a cooling rack on a baking sheet covered with foil.
At about an hour, with an instant read meat thermometer reading 160 degrees, I removed from the oven for serving.
If I had any more cheese, I would have placed two slices on the top for the last 5-7 minutes.
Still the slightest bit pink in the center even with the thermometer reading over 160 degrees.
Served with smashed red potatoes, fresh sliced heirloom tomatoes and fresh cucumbers, and fresh corn on the cob, it gets a big thumbs up from Owen. Ethan liked it too!
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