The Tastiest Meatloaf

Helllloooooo, is this thing on!!?!?

I, uh, know it's been awhile since I've graced this blog with my presence, but I've been all kinds of busy flying all over tarnation for work and making those big bucks.  And then I went to Chicago and Denver for fun and spent all the bucks.  I apologize in advance to my husband, and sincerely hope that he doesn't remember the password for our Capitalone.com online statement. 

And you know that all this travel nonsense means not a lot of cooking.  I wonder if you people get tired of the same old excuse from me, week after week?  Probably so.  I mean, I kind of get sick of it myself.  But now I'm back to tell you about this tasty meatloaf and to promise you (and my dear, hungry husband) that I'm going to cook and blog more.  Starting now.  Just like my diet.  That starts now, too.

This was the best meatloaf I've ever made.  Granted, I don't make meatloaf all THAT often, and it's hard to make a bad meatloaf, but this was seriously delicious.  I think what made it was the sausage that I decided to throw in there at the last minute for shits and giggles.  SO good.  We had this with mashed cauliflower (flavored with goat cheese, yum!) and roasted green beans.  Can't beat that with a stick.  Enjoy!

Classic Meatloaf with a Twist
Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs, seasoned
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs 

2 carrots, shredded

1 celery rib, minced

1/2 cup onions, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 pound lean ground beef (I used 93/7)

8 ounces  ground spicy Italian sausage

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine the bread crumbs with the minced vegetables in a large bowl.

Mix the ketchup, dry mustard, meat, eggs, S&P, and Tabasco together in a bowl. Knead until thoroughly combined. Add meat mixture to the crumbs/veggie mixture. Combine, but don't over mix.

Form the meat mixture into and elongated loaf on a baking sheet.

Mix the rest of the ketchup, dry mustard, and brown sugar together and baste onto the loaf with a brush.

 

Bake 45-50 minutes or until internal temperature is 160.  Cool on rack for 15 minutes before serving.