DAY # 29 Pioneer Woman's Meatloaf

It's surprising to me how many people don't like meatloaf simply because it's ground meat in the shape of a loaf.  I think the problem is not actually the shape or "look" of the meat but more the taste.  I NEVER order meatloaf at a restaurant and up until now have never eaten any one's meat loaf except my mom's, my ex mother-in-laws, and my grandmothers.  They all make VERY good "traditional" type meatloaf.  That's why i was sooooooo intrigued when i found the pin for Pioneer Woman's meatloaf.  First off, i had never heard of Pioneer Woman, and apparently i was missing out because the woman is a genius and an amazing blogger.  She has her own show and a cook book (which i will be buying!).  However, all of these things were not what hooked me on her blog, it was her post called All I Wanted Was A Doughnut and if you haven't read it, you should go there right now and read it and come back to this post after you've had a nice hard laugh!

So now that you're back you should probably grab a tissue and wipe away all of those tears from your laughing fit!  Back to the recipe.  I couldn't wait to try this bacon wrapped meatloaf so off to the store i went.  Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

Meatloaf:
1 cup Whole Milk
6 slices White Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
3/4 teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten
10 slices Thin/regular Bacon

Sauce:
1-1/2 cup Ketchup
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Tabasco To Taste (I used about 1 tbs)


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.
Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.
Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together.

Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

I served with mashed potatoes and green beans. Yummy!

You can find the pin HERE.
You can find the original recipe and all of Pioneer Woman's amazingness HERE.

OK, so here is my opinion:
This meatloaf was delicious!  I didn't change one single thing with the recipe.  I did have one major problem though!  After cooking for the whole hour, i pulled the meatloaf from the oven and cut the end to find the meat still pink.  So i cut the other end too and stuck it back in to cook another 20 minutes.  I then pulled it back out of the oven, cut into the center and much to my surprise (my gas oven cooks a little hotter than most electric ovens) the middle was still VERY pink!  Now I'm aggravated, not only are we starving, but my potatoes and green beans are getting cold!  So i cranked the oven up to 450 degrees and stuck it back into the oven for another 20 minutes.  When i pulled it out this time and cut into it, i found it to be cooked perfectly.  All aggravation was lost the minute the meatloaf hit my tongue.  Not only was it moist but it had an amazing sweet and spicy flavor (thanks to the sauce).  I even made the kids meatloaf sandwiches the next day with the leftovers and they LOVED them!  There wasn't one bite left on any of their plates  :)


???  Pinterest Win / Pinterst Fail  ???
YAY for another WIN!