52 in 52 #18 - Pioneer Woman Meatloaf

So, I'm going to be completely and totally honest here... I am not a meatloaf fan.  I never have been and probably never will be the biggest fan of it.  My mother didn't care for it and thus didn't serve it a lot, so I never really got the chance growing up to become accustomed to it.  Now that I am a grown up, it doesn't make my meal plan a lot, even though my husband loves it.  I resolved to change that this month because I know that he loves it and doesn't get to have it a lot.  Plus, I saw that the Pioneer Woman has a recipe for it and I figured that her recipe was bound to be amazing since I have yet to try a recipe by her that wasn't completely awesome. 

This recipe definitely did not disappoint.  I mean, it's covered in bacon... how bad could it really be?  Everything is better with cheese and bacon, right?  If you aren't saying "Right?" right now, we can't be friends anymore...

This meatloaf is moist and flavorful, and the sauce for the top is amazing.  I made a small modification because we don't have Tabasco in our house, but I would imagine that even if you made it exactly the way that it called for in the recipe that it would be amazing.  I will say that I am stating our cook time that it took in our oven.  Her recipe stated that you should cook the meatloaf for 45 ish minutes and after that time our loaf was no where near done.  We used a probe thermometer to ensure that it was cooked through and ours took roughly an hour and a half to cook through.  Keep an eye on yours and ensure that it is fully cooked before consuming.  Pink in the middle is not acceptable for this recipe. 

Definitely make this recipe if you or anyone you know is a meatloaf fan and they will think that you are awesome! 

Simple Meatloaf
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fresh minced Parsley
4 beaten eggs
6 slices white bread
1 cup milk
3 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 tbsp. seasoning salt
10 slices thin bacon
1 and 1/2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground mustard
Sriracha to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place six slices of white bread in a bowl and cover with milk.  Allow to soak for a few minutes.  This part is crucial for the texture.  Bread crumbs are not an acceptable substitution in this recipe. 

Mix eggs, beef, cheese, salt, pepper, seasoning salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Crumble bread and milk into this mixture and completely combine.  As odd as this sounds, your hands are the best tools to combine a meatloaf's ingredients together. 

Once your ingredients are completely combined, form into a loaf shape on a broiler pan.  Ensure that you have another pan underneath to catch drippings.  For your sanity, I would cover that bottom pan with aluminum foil.  This will allow for easy clean up when you are in a food coma after consuming this amazing dish. 

Once your loaf is formed, top with bacon slices.  Combine ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and Tabasco.  Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the bacon slices and spread evenly.  Bake in oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven, top with 1/2 of the remaining sauce and continue baking for 15 minutes.  Check the temperature.  We looked for 165 degrees.  You can technically cook it shy of that temperature but you are safe at 165.   Note:  I am using a picture from the Pioneer Woman's own recipe post.  In all the excitement of dinner finally being done with three starving kids, I forgot to take a 'final' photo.  This will not be the last time that we will make this so I will update with a 'real' picture of mine when we make it again. 

Serve with remaining sauce and your choice of side dishes.  We served it with the Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese. 

Enjoy!