Every time I buy bacon, I never know what to do with it. We love it, but just can't eat a whole pound or whatever they give you. This time, I used the extra in a meatloaf, and it came out great! (Okay, it doesn't look so great, but trust me. And maybe leave it in 10 minutes less than I did.)
10 slices bacon
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels. When cool, crumble into a large bowl.
Mix ketchup and mustard in a bowl.
Thoroughly combine 1/4 the ketchup mixture, ground chuck, Cheddar cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper with crumbled bacon in bowl; pat the mixture into a 5x9-inch loaf pan.
Spread remaining ketchup mixture evenly over top of meatloaf.
Bake in the preheated oven until the meatloaf is no longer pink inside, about an hour.
Meatloaf is great because it's cheap, plus you can throw in anything you've got and it will usually come out fine. For days when you're meatloafing it, here are three alternatives that never fail to come out smashingly. You're family won't even complain, I promise.
1) Eggless Meatloaf
Out of eggs? This is the meatloaf for you. Moist and delicious.
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (leaner is better)
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except ketchup in a large bowl, and mix well.
Place mixture into an ungreased loaf pan or shape into a loaf in an ungreased baking pan.
Spread ketchup or sauce over the top of the meatloaf.
Bake uncovered for 1 to 1 1/4 hours until no pink remains at the center of the meatloaf.
2) Cheddar Mushroom Meatloaf
1-1.5 pounds of ground beef
1 egg
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4/ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 onion, chopped
1/3 cup of bread crumbs
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1 can of mushrooms (I used fresh mushrooms and sauteed them first)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
Combine beef, egg, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, salt, milk, onion and bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl.
Mix well.
Roll out onto wax paper into an 8x5 rectangle, 1/2 inch thick.
Sprinkle cheese and mushroom on top of beef mixture.
Roll lengthwise like a jelly roll.
Place seam side down in baking dish.
Bake for one hour at 350° - or you can microwave turning occasionally for 25-30 minutes on roast.
Blend brown sugar and ketchup.
Spread over loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven. May not need to use all of the ketchup mixture on top.
3) Gorgonzola Meatloaf
8 ounces each: ground pork, veal, beef (I just used 1 1/2 lbs of beef)
1 onion, minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
1 cup freshly toasted bread crumbs
2-3 eggs
1/3 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 oz. (or so) crumbled or thinly sliced Gorgonzola cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix ground meats together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk together.
Add the remaining ingredients, adding the bread crumbs last.
Mix well and add to the meat mixture. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix everything together. Make sure it's all incorporated and uniform in texture, but don't overmix.
Evenly press half the meat mixture into the bottom of a loaf pan. Sprinkle with crumbled Gorgonzola or lay slices of the cheese over the top of the meat.
Top with remaining meat mixture.
Bake for about 1 hour.
These meatloaf recipes are sure to please. How could they not? Just remember Phineas and Ferb's song about meatloaf...
