Your New Favourite Meatloaf

Comfort food is one of my favourite things to eat,

and meat loaf is at the top of that list.

Next to homemade mac'n'cheese.

And soup.

Okay, so it's a three way tie.

For some reason meatloaf has a bad reputation,

maybe because of the name.

However, it is a simple and delicious meal.

This past spring

I found a favourite recipe.

This isn't your average meatloaf.

I am even willing to bet that this will 

become your new favourite meatloaf!

I've said here before and I'll say it again -

I don't follow cooking instructions well.

This is one of the main reasons why I prefer cooking to baking.

I can follow my creative instincts and try different things.

The recipe I am using is originally 

derived from the Pioneer Woman's recipe. 

My recipe is inspired by hers, 

and there are many similarities. 

Gather your ingredients:

Meatloaf -

-1 cup of milk (I used 2%)

-6 slices of white bread (I used day old crunchy artisan bread, but Wonder Bread works just fine.)

- Mix about 1.5 pounds of lean ground beef and .5 pound of ground Italian pork.Total 2 pounds. 

- 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 

- 1/2 cup of minced fresh flat leaf parsley, basil and rosemary.

-4 eggs, beaten

- 1/2 tsp seasoning salt

-salt and pepper to taste

-8 slices of pancetta

Sauce - 

- hot sauce to taste

- 1 1/2 cups ketchup

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1 tsp dry mustard, yellow mustard also works to substitute

Method:

1. Pour milk over bread slices and allow them to soak in the milk. Preheat the oven to 350'F. Mince up your fresh herbs. Always use fresh herbs when available. They are wonderfully aromatic and delicious. 

2. Place your meat, soaked bread, cheese and seasonings into a bowl and mix well. It is a good idea to take off your rings and get right in there with your hands, ensuring the ingredients are mixed in evenly. Then mix in the beaten eggs. When I made this recipe I didn't have fresh Parmesan cheese. Although I am always an advocate for the freshest ingredients, all I had on hand was a Parmesan by Kraft. It was actually delicious. The cheese still melted throughout the loaf and the added flavour was tasty! 

3. Place parchment onto a cookie sheet and shape the meat into a loaf. Place the pancetta on top of the loaf.

4. Mix the sauce ingredients and pour half of the mixture over the meatloaf evenly. 

5. Bake the loaf for 45 minutes. Then remove it from the oven and pour the other half of the sauce over. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 160'F. 

If you try this recipe, comment below and let me know what you think!

I think I am going to add to our regular dinner rotation!