Bacon Meatloaf
I haven’t used my beloved blender in weeks. I think I’m starting to go through withdrawals. I was seriously using it every single morning before work. After I returned from Kansas City, I didn’t make it to the store fridge like I normally do, so I didn’t have any milk or spinach or whatever I usually throw in my smoothies in the morning. So what did I do? I made oatmeal. WHO AM I? Honest to goodness oatmeal.
Of course I’ve made it everyday since then. That’s just how I roll. I don’t like having to think about things in the morning. Consistency is my friend. Rolled oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, fresh grated ginger, a couple drops of stevia, and a sprinkling of cacao nibs. It tastes delicious, but of course I’m hungry two hours later. I hate that about rolled oats. So good, but so not filling for my seemingly bottomless appetite.
I threw a new meatloaf recipe at my appetite recently. I was really craving meatloaf, and more specifically, gravy. I prefer to have them together. It’s like my peas and carrots. Peanut butter and jelly. This was the most ingredient intensive meatloaf I’ve ever made. Two unusually ingredients popped out at me, so I knew I needed to make it — bacon and prunes. Color me intrigued. I ended up using in raisins because that’s what I had [LAZY], but they’re virtually the same thing. It definitely added a little extra moisture, and a hint of sweetness. You don’t really notice it.
This was super good. I like all the vegetables. I love the mixture of meats. I really just need to remember to grind my rolled oats into something a little more fine. It doesn’t taste funny or affect the texture, but it just doesn’t look as nice.
Leftovers for lunch the next day? You bet.
Inspiration: Epicurious
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 medium onion, chopped into quarters
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 medium celery rib, chopped in 4-5 pieces
- 1 medium carrot, chopped in to 4-5 pieces
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 pound of bacon, chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted prunes (chopped) or raisins
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350° and have a 9″x13″ pan handy. Pour the milk into a large bowl with the rolled oats. In the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Pulse until finely chopped and combined. Heat the butter on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onion mixture. Cook, and occasionally stir, for five minutes before covering. Lower the heat and let it cook for another five minutes until the carrot is soft. Remove the pan from the heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, nutmeg, two teaspoons of salt and pepper.
Add the raisins and bacon to the food processor. Pulse until mixed and finely chopped. In the large bowl with the rolled oats, combine the bacon mixture and the carrot mixture. Add the beef, pork, eggs, and parsley. Use your hands to combine everything evenly. Form a loaf in with the meat mixture in the 9×13″ pan. Bake the loaf for about 75 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf comes to 155°. Let it stand 10 minutes before slicing serving.
This sounds so good with the raisins and bacon! I remember one particularly delightful meatloaf I had (in Portland, no less!) that was actually wrapped in bacon…oh yes.
Of course it was in Portland. They put bacon in and on everything! I don’t think I’ve actually had a bacon wrapped meatloaf. It sounds so good, though!
Have we traded lives? After using my blender as nothing more than a large coffee-bean-grinder for months, I’ve used it daily for non-coffee-related adventures daily for the past week. Y’know, I haven’t made meatloaf with real meat…ever. Lentil loaf? Done. All sorts of bean loaf? Yup. Guess I need to try again now that I’m back on the meat train–although I’m a ketchup rather than gravy gal when it comes to loaf toppings (of course–would you expect anything else?)
Ignore one of those “daily”s. I got carried away.
We’ve clearly traded lives…although I’m not getting up as early as you. I’d get three hours of sleep at that rate. My current six is hardly cutting it.
I think it’s time to make a meatloaf! It’s nice because you can hide the beefy flavor that you love (hate) so much.
Haha, I’m like you. I cycle through 1 of 3 breakfast options, but once I start on one, I’m good on it for at least a couple weeks (the past 5 days straight I’ve had grape nuts, yogurt, flax, and almond butter). I like oatmeal, and I bet it would be good ground up in meatloaf. I lovvve meatloaf, and the addition of prunes/raisins sounds awesome. You can’t beat sweet + savory.
PS Thanks for your comment on my graduation post, Michelle. I watched the TED talk and I really liked it. The message of the talk, and that quote, “to achieve great things, you need a plan, and not enough time,” resonated with a speech I heard at graduation. The speaker said how I (we, the graduates) will never have more energy, enthusiasm, and ideas than we have now. It was a good reminder to me, to not waste these next years and everything I have.
Yogurt! I miss it so much. Grape Nuts are super addicting, too. It’s rare to find people that like it, though!
Isn’t it a neat TED talk? I’m glad you had a good graduation speech. I’ve heard horror stories! I didn’t graduate until last year [longest bachelor degree EVAR], I didn’t care about walking/commencement. I finished up at Eastern Oregon online, so driving to La Grande didn’t sound like a good time. It is true that you’ll never have more energy and enthusiasm [sidenote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmpYnxlEh0c&feature=share this is another good one]. You’re not jaded yet! You’re so excited to get out on your own that you feel rather invincible, but it is super easy to feel like you have all the time in the world. You have a good head on your shoulders, as long as you keep marching forward and challenging yourself, I know you’ll do great/awesome/fun things. It seems to be in your personality.
Haha, in the past I’ve thought all graduations sound like one of the worst ways a person can spend 2 or 3 hours. I don’t know if it was feeling like 200 degrees under our polyester garbage-can-like gowns or if all the speeches were actually really good, but I enjoyed the whole ceremony. It probably also had something to do with the fact that, for the first time, I felt like all the speeches really applied to my life too though. I completely understand you choosing not to go though. 😉 And thanks!!!