Special Request ~ Meatloaf

Le hubby and I were headed to San Diego for the weekend to check out some breweries, the apple festival and do a bit of apple picking. That meant dad would be at home for the weekend without dinner! So I asked him if he had any special requests. Of course, it was meatloaf. And as usual, I used Alton Brown's Good Eats Meatloaf as my guideline.

I used 9oz jimmy dean sausage with sage and the remainder 27oz of ground beef for a total of 36oz of meat. Sprinkle with 1 and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

Little bowl on left:

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon Penzey's bouquet garni

Bowl on the right:

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped (couldn't find my onion)

3 whole cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, chopped

6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons or any other flavors would work well too.

Mix everything together, then mix in an egg.

Pack into a loaf pan.

Flip over and set the meatloaf on parchment paper. This way allows the fat to drain out. Then bake in preheated oven of 325°F.

After 10 minutes, pull the loaf out and cover with a ketchup glaze. The ketchup glaze was made with 1/2 cup ketchup,1 teaspoon ground cumin, dash Worcestershire sauce. I actually double the recipe; use half of it for the loaf and the other half as extra sauce.

My meatloaf's glaze burned a bit as our meat thermometer alarm wasn't working properly. You want an internal temperature of 155°F to ensure your meatloaf is cooked well. My meatloaf baked for about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

I realize we always use Alton Brown's meatloaf recipe. It's because it has veggies in it!. Most other meatloaf recipes is basically meat, bread, onions and egg. But, I will try another meatloaf recipe next time. Found some pretty highly reviewed ones as well as some fun ones:

Allrecipes.com's Easy Meatloaf

Paula Dean's Old-Fashioined Meatloaf

Betty Crocker's Savory Meatloaf

The Pioneer Woman's Favorite Meatloaf (w bacon strips)

Cheddar BBQ Meatloaf Muffins