The 'never-look-for-another-meatloaf-recipe' Meatloaf!

Meatloaf is another meal that is only truly enjoyed on a cold, winter day.  Its also another recipe that I am always on the lookout for..the new, best meatloaf recipe!  Well, I don't have to look anymore.  This one is another I found and modified from foodnetwork.com  I'll list the entire recipe at the end of this post.
This meatloaf includes a recipe for an outstanding Tomato Relish...something I was dubious about making because it includes the dreaded KETCHUP.  I am a meatloaf purist and up until now, have always made my meatloaf sans ketchup.
I made this a few days after the chili...it helped to use up the bacon I bought for the chili...have you seen the price of bacon lately??  Yipes!

You begin with making the relish for this recipe, Pour about 2 T of olive oil into a skillet, swirl around to coat the skillet well.  Heat the oil over med high heat, once hot, add in your onion and garlic and bay leaves and saute a few minutes...then add in your diced bell peppers and cook a couple more minutes.  Next add your diced tomatoes...







Stir in your ketchup, chopped parsley and Worcestershire, then season with salt and fresh ground black pepper










Remove the relish from the pan to a large bowl, remove about 1 1/2 cups of the relish to a smaller  bowl to allow it to cool a bit before adding to meat mixture.
At this point, you want to add some milk to your torn up pieces of bread...add just enough to almost cover the bread and swish it around a bit to coat the bread.  Let sit.
Now its time to mix and loaf the meat!  The messy, fun part :)
Throw your ground meat, the reserved relish, eggs, thyme and s&p in a large bowl and combine it all together...yes, your hands work best!
Squeeze the extra milk from the bread you have set aside and then add the bread to the meat mix...combine and then move the glob of meat over to a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Shape your loaf however makes your heart sing.
Ladle some more of your fabulous relish over the top of your loaf, and then place your bacon across the loaf lengthwise..like so:

Throw that hunk o' meat into the oven which you brilliantly preheated to 350 degrees and cook it for about an hour and 45 minutes, depending on how thick you make your loaf and how long it takes the bacon to crisp.
Serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and a great, crusty multi-grain loaf of bread...no exceptions or substitutions here!

I didn't get a shot of the finished masterpiece...but here is the photo from the site.

This meatloaf was undoubtedly the best I have ever had.  The tomato relish is SOO worth gambling on.  It was just so wonderfully flavored and added a really neat freshness to the meatloaf.  The meatloaf itself was further perked up by the addition of the relish to the meat mixture prior to baking.  The red bell peppers stay crisp and the tomatoes don't dissolve into mush. Please try this with your own twist and tell me how it went!!

Tomato Relish:
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
~8 oz bottled ketchup1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
(I considered next time some whole kernel sweet corn would be a nice addition to this relish..??..and maybe also some diced Jalapeno for the truly daring!)
Meatloaf:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks by hand
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 bacon slices

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.
Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.
This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.

Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side.

Original recipe-Click here ,