Globecooking recipe : Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf (USA)

Since Madhouse Daddy died, I've overhauled my cooking repertoire. I always used to cook for the kids, and then once they'd eaten, try something spicy, or foreign, or unusual, for the grown-ups. These days, I just cook one meal and we all eat it together. Understandably, the kids aren't that interested in expanding their culinary minds, so I tend to be cooking more homely, "normal" meals. But I still have a desire to try out new recipes. What to do? Well, I am slowly but surely developing the kids' repertoire of meals. But shhh - I don't think they've noticed yet !

My latest online search for some new recipes to try introduced me to some brand new blogs. The latest one is an Alaskan lady, whose blog is called Little House, Big Alaska and I saw her recipe for Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf. I adapted it slightly, according to what I had in the cupboard, but I stuck pretty close to her recipe for this one. The kids gobbled it up - success !

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

ingredients :

a few pickles, chopped

500g minced beef

2 tbsp dried onion flakes

2 eggs

1 cup dried breadcrumbs

a few slices of cheese, diced

salt, pepper

6 slices bacon

1/2 cup ketchup 

1 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the minced beef in a bowl, along with the sliced pickle and the dried onions.

Looking through the fridge, I came across a pack of Double Gloucester Onion & Chive that could do with being used up - perfect !

Add the breadcrumbs, cheese and eggs and mix it all together. Add some salt and pepper too, if you like. You could even go for extra spices - some chilli, oregano or even some mixed herbs would be great too.

Press it all together into a meatloaf shape and put it in a roasting tin.

Top with the bacon.

Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven. Mix together the tomato sauce and maple syrup and squirt it on top of the meatloaf. I also added a pack of frozen onion rings at this point.

Stick it back in the oven while you knock up some homemade chips then scream "dinner's ready" upstairs and you're good to go !

This was a great meal for putting in the oven when I got back home from school, because I could run around while it cooked and sort out homework and stuff - always a bonus ! The whole thing disappeared in record time once it was cooked, which was a shame, as I was hoping to take a leftover slice to school with me the next day for lunch !

*** Fancy trying out some more US cuisine? Don't miss my country-by-country globecooking recipe index ! ***