Marvelous Meatloaf

In all fairness, what meatloaf isn't marvelous? 

Meat loaf is a seriously underrated food in my opinion. It sits next to casseroles, vegetables, and pigs in a blanket on the island of misfit foods. I love all of the misfit foods. So much. 

This meatloaf is my own blend of a vegetable meatloaf my parents always make and the bacon wrapped meatloaf The Pioneer Woman makes in her first cookbook. (Is anyone else as excited as I am about the second one that came out this week?!) It is a truly delicious recipe and I highly reccomend it the next time you're feeling homesick.

Nothing says "home" like a meatloaf.

You will need: 1lb lean ground beef (I go healthy here since we are going to wrap it in bacon. Things even out, right?), 1 egg, 4 stalks of celery, 1 medium onion (or half of a gargantuan one), 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (none of the sawdust nonsense), 1 Tbsp dried parley, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp heavy cream (I forgot to put it in all together), 1 bell pepper, 1 large carrot, salt and pepper to taste, and 4 slices of pork bacon.

I don't believe in turkey bacon.

 

Grate the carrot with a box grater. You can peel it first if you want to, but as long as you wash it, no one will know the difference.

Throw it into a large mixing bowl with the ground beef.

Next dice up the onion with your still-carrot-covered knife...

And throw it into the bowl too.

Now dice up some celery...

And throw that in too.

You are going to be a professional dicer by the time this is over.

Next cut half the cheeks off of a green pepper and slice them into thin strips...

Now rotate the strips 90 degrees and start chopping the other way to make a fine dice.

Now throw that in too.

Next throw in a tablespoon of dried parsley.

About a teaspoon of salt.

And half a teaspoon of pepper.

Now crack in the egg and about half a cup of bread crumbs.

Next grate about half a cup of parmesan,

And throw that in the bowl too! This is also where you should add 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream. It adds a lot of moisture to the loaf, and trust me, it makes a difference when you forget it.

Now remove your rings...

And get in there and mash all those ingredients together! This is my favorite part of making meatloaf. I always ask my mom if I can do the mashing.

After the mashing is done, form her into a loaf! If it isn't quite coming together right, add in some more breadcrumbs.

Now stick it into a loaf pan. 

Since we will be covering this in bacon later, if you don't want your loaf to soak up all of that grease, I recommend putting it on a broiler pan.

Now lay the bacon on top of the meatloaf. Mmmm... bacon.

Now cover it in ketchup and throw that baby into the oven until the temperature in the center is 165, about an hour at 350.

Slice up your loaf and serve with mashed potatoes. Yum!

A GINORMOUS shout out to my big sister Tauna for taking these photos for me. And for making over the site! The banner at the top is her handiwork. She's pretty much awesome.

Marvelous Meatloaf

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

• 1lb lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• salt and pepper to taste.
• 4 strips bacon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix together all ingredients except bacon in a large bowl. Form into a loaf and place in a greased pan. Cover with bacon slices.
3. Bake until internal temperature reaches 165, about 1 hour.