Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

I came home today with every intention of spending the afternoon outdoors, dead-heading some plants and staring at the yard dreaming of Astilbe and sunflowers blowing softly in a warm summer's breeze. When I got home, I realized we were in the thick of a wind storm, and it was kicking up so much post-winter debris I got a mouth full of dirt and rocks as I opened my mouth to curse the weather. I came inside to pout, and decided I'd just give in and start dinner. I had an extra few pieces of bacon to use up, so I thought some Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf sounded like a winner.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

-2 lbs lean ground beef

-3/4 cups Italian bread crumbs

-2 eggs

-1 medium diced onion

-pinch salt

-1 t. garlic powder

-1/2 t. pepper

-1 t. onion powder

-1 T. worcestershire sauce

-1/2 ketchup

-1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, diced ( save 1/2 cup for top)

-8 slices bacon

-pickle slices ( garnish)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all ingredients except for bacon and ketchup in a large bowl, do not squeeze the meat, just fold it all together, with your hands preferably. Press it into a greased 9 inch square pan and coat with ketchup. Place bacon on top and bake one hour. Ten minutes before it's done sprinkle the 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese on top. Serve with pickles if desired.

 

I tried to make this like fancy plated fare by giving it a drizzle of ketchup on the plate, but it turns out you can't make meatloaf look better than it smells, and combine bacon with that aroma? Damn son! I have made this for several dinner parties and people get really excited when they walk in the door and smell this in the oven.

I have made the garnish for this many ways, and serving it with french fries is always fun. And the pickles are a fun garnish too.

Enjoy!