Meatloaf. It's What's for Dinner.

I'm not sure if you know this but The Pioneer Woman is my blogging hero. The woman is amazing. She's a city girl transplanted to a cattle farm in rural Oklahoma where she lives with her cowboy husband and their four 'punks'. She cooks, she gardens, she shops, she takes amazing photographs, she homeschools, and she's hilarious. 

The Pioneer Woman started her blog several years ago and it has expanded into photography showcases, children's books, a novel of their love story and a cookbook. I loved her novel but her cookbook is my favorite. It's step by step photos of how to make her favorite recipes. The best part is you don't even have to buy the book since all of her recipes are on her blog. But be careful, it's tricky to have your laptop sitting on the counter while concocting cowboy food. 

My bestie Jen and I were chatting the other night about what we've been cooking for dinner lately. I've been in an asparagus and broccoli slump and was looking for new ideas. Meatloaf came up so I decided to try out PW's meatloaf recipe. I was not raised on meatloaf so I'm not really familiar -- in fact I don't think my mom even has a recipe for it. My mom is a fabulous cook but she definitely errs on the side of chicken.

The meatloaf was so simple to make. I was shocked. 

Start with regular old bread...

And dump a cup of milk over it. Let it get soggy for a few minutes.

Then take 2 pounds of ground beef and place it in a bowl. Holy crap -- I had no idea how much meat 2 pounds is. We may be eating meatloaf until next Christmas.

Add 1 cup of Parmesan to the meat bowl.

Then add 1 teaspoon of Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt...that I imported from the States. Canada really sucks sometimes.

Add a teaspoon of regular salt.

And throw in ground black pepper just for the hell of it.

Add in 1/3 cup parsley. Don't you think brightly colored measuring cups makes everything more fun? I do.

Beat 4 eggs. Pretend their your boss. Or your dog. Whoever has annoyed you more today.

Pour them in the bowl too.

Now wash your hands and remove all your expensive costume jewelry. No one wants to eat a diamond.

Oh, add in the bread and milk too.

Mix, mash and squeeze the daylights of it. 

Yup, get right in there. Don't be bashful.

Once you've taken out all your aggression, shape it into a loaf-looking monstrosity.

Now comes the fun part. Wrap it in bacon. Lay each piece over the top and tuck the ends underneath.

For the sauce you'll need some ketchup and 6 tablespoons of brown sugar. Try not to eat the brown sugar right off the spoon. 

Mix in 1 teaspoon of dry mustard.

Then pour in hot sauce. As much as you want. If you've got a hint of red hair like me you'll want to add more. 

Take some sauce and cover the meatloaf with a thin layer. Then pop that bad boy in the oven for 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes are up add another layer of sauce and put it back in the over for 15 more minutes. You'll use the remaining sauce for dipping.

Woohoo! All the men in your life will love you forever.

We had so much meatloaf that even after inviting John over for dinner there was still half left. I told you, this will be Christmas dinner.

Copy and Pasteable:


Pioneer Woman's Favorite Meatloaf


Prep Time: 20 minutes, maybe 15.
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients: 2 lbs ground beef, 6 slices of bread, 1 cup milk, 4 eggs, 1/3 cup parsley, 1 tsp salt, ground black pepper, 1 tsp mixed salt, 1 cup parmesean, 12 slices of bacon, 1.5 cup ketchup, 6 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp dry mustard, splash hot sauce

1. Pour milk over bread and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. In separate bowl combine meat, cheese, salt, pepper, eggs (beaten) and parsley.

3. Add in bread and milk.

4. Mix together with your hands.

5. Shape into loaf format.

6. Lay bacon over the loaf, tucking the edges underneath.

7. In separate bowl, combine ketchup, hot sauce, brown sugar and dry mustard.

8. Spread 1/3 of the sauce over the loaf.

9. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

10. Remove loaf and  put an additional 1/3 sauce on top. Bake for 15 minutes.

11. Serve remaining sauce as dip.

12. Enjoy!

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Workout: nothing. I'm sick. I can't breathe and my head is pounding. It's a miracle I even wrote this blog tonight. I'm going to bed. See you next week.