Bacon Filled Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef, grass-fed 15% fat

1/2 lb ground turkey, mix of dark and white

1 cup ground tomato

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 tabelspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon pepper

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

6 thick slices of bacon

6 thick slices of bacon!

Ketchup

Fried Onions, optional

I was having a conversation the other day about the need for another post about bacon. Somehow the subject veered to meatloaf, and I thought, 'great, meatloaf often has bacon on top of it!' That was when the light bulb went off. Yes, meatloaf often has bacon on top, but I've never seen a recipe with bacon INSIDE! Thus, a new and exciting dish was born. Bacon Filled Meatloaf.

Begin by dicing the first 6 slices of bacon. Remove some of the extra fat. Add to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Render bacon until it just begins to crisp, about 3-4 minutes. This will help the texture of the meatloaf greatly. Drain rendered fat, saving it for another day.

Place the almost crisp bacon in a large bowl, and add all other ingredients save the other bacon slices, ketchup, and fried onions. Mix well (best done with your hands!), and let rest for an hour at room temperature. Don't skip the resting. Trust me, you'll be sad if you do. The mix needs time to let the breadcrumbs and meat absorb all the seasonings. If you don't let it rest, you'll end up with a strange textured loaf and a pool of sauce at the bottom. See? Sadness.

Put rested mixture in a loaf pan. Put loaf pan in a 375 degree oven. After a half hour, remove from oven and carefully drain most of the melted fat. Cover top of loaf with a layer of ketchup, then cover pan with foil. Return to oven and cook additional 30 minutes, removing foil for the final five.

At some point, cook the additional slices of bacon.

Rest, covered, for 10-15 minutes. Again, you'll be sad if you don't do this. After resting, cut into slices to serve. Top with a little more ketchup or crushed tomatoes, just a dab. Top that with extra bacon (crumbled), and, if you'd like, some canned fried onions.

Note: This one is still a work in progress. I'm going to play a bit with fresh onions and garlic, though I do like the convenience of using powdered. This was made using thick sliced bacon, so if you only have thin, use more.

Meatloaf is a million times better the next day. I'm not saying you have to wait a whole day to dig in, just that you should dig in again the next day.