monday night meatloaf (so very, very good)

on monday, amidst wrangling this suddenly nap-refusing, walking-everywhere toddler, i managed to make meatloaf. i say managed because i know that you probably think i do barely anything all day and that making dinner should be par for the course. i'm a stay-at-home mom and how hard can that be, right? but this is simply not the case, even though it astounds even me how tiring a day that seems filled with relatively little (but how DEMANDING and ENERGETIC that little can be!;) can be.

this has very little to do with meatloaf, but i thought i'd make this story more interesting than "i made meatloaf." not succeeding yet? ok well, i tried.

this meatloaf recipe is actually pretty phenomenal. if i do say so myself, and i think i can because really it's just a liberally adapted from Pioneer Woman's meatloaf recipe, so i don't really deserve the credit. good enough for leftovers, i say! although frankly i say that about everything, especially if i've also made oven-roasted red potatoes and roasted parmesan asparagus to go with it, all while an overly tired baby wanders about destroying the kitchen.

i mean seriously, monday felt like a real stay-at-home mom day. do you know the kind? where you may look semi put together in the first half of the day — non-pajamas (yoga pants aren't pajamas in this one instance), makeup on, hair done — but by mid-afternoon, right about the time that a certain someone decides to wake up early from a very brief nap, you look kind of frightful and that's nothing to how the house looks.

when loverboy came home, he looked around and said "looks like you've had quite a day." i didn't tell him that it had actually been a normal day. the difference being that i spent the energy i normally spend putting everything back in its place for the umpteenth time on making the most amazing meatloaf. it made the mess worth it. and also, the fact that i will not be making dinner tonight. :)

Monday Night Meatloaf
adapted from the Pioneer Woman's recipe

Ingredients:

1 c. whole milk
3 slices bread

1 package dry ramen noodles, crumbled
2 lbs. ground beef
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
3/4 tsp. salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/3 c. minced parsley
4 whole eggs, beaten
10(ish) slices thin bacon

Sauce:
1-1/2 c. ketchup
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1-2 Tbsp. spicy mustard

1-2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, ramen noodles, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs. Mix the ingredients until well combined. 

Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, lined with foil, which will allow the fat to drain. Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Stir the sauce ingredients together and pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 20 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.