Cooking for my family is something that I really enjoy doing. I love to make special meals for special little occasions, such as passing a driving test, or getting good news from the doctor. It makes the little things in life joyful.
But yesterday, I made my husband a special meal for Father’s Day. My husband…. That word is finally real for me. We’ve been together for over 20 years, and we never felt the need to make it legal until this past October. In our culture, we get married by having a family ceremony. So even though we were not legally married, we were considered married in our culture for over 20 years.
We had decided that since we have been together this long, we should do this because the kids have been wanting it done for so long. So we took a road trip down to Las Vegas, and had a little wedding at one of those little white chapels, where you could have an Elvis impersonator as the officiant! Cheesy I know, but we chose to have a regular minister marry us instead of Elvis. He just couldn’t replace the real Elvis, and it’s either real Elvis or no Elvis. It was just myself, my husband, and our kids. And it was the most beautiful day of my life.
And because my husband has been such a wonderful father to our children, I wanted to make him one of his favorite meals. Bacon-Wrapped mini Meatloaf. It has been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and with this recipe, it could not be more true. The flavor from the ground pork and beef together with the topping of bacon, is something to dream about.
You can and should top everything in bacon. At least I think so. I have made meatloaf many times in the past, but these little individual meat loaves are not only the cutest, they may also be the best way to present meatloaf ever!
Everyone gets their own meatloaf. A bacon-Wrapped little present all to them self.
The mirepoix makes it so moist and flavorful. And the bacon just gives the meatloaf a flavor all its own. So without further delay, here is the recipe for what I think is the most delicious meal any dad would love.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup finely chopped carrots
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/3 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 18 slices of bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium sized pan, melt butter, then sauté chopped carrots, onions, and bell pepper until soft and translucent. About 3 minutes. Remove vegetable mixture from pan, and set aside to cool for a few minutes. In a large bowl, add beef, pork, bread crumbs, sautéed vegetable mixture, eggs, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix together until well combined.
- Shape mini loaves with your hands, and place on prepared baking sheet. This recipe should make about 5-6 loaves. Then cover each loaf with 3 slices of bacon, tucking the bacon under the loaf. Place loaves in oven and let bake for about 40-50 minutes, or until bacon has browned, and a meat thermometer reads 155 to ensure doneness.
Serve with a side of Mashed potatoes, like my recipe for Classic Homestyle Mashed Potatoes and a topping of my Simple Mushroom Pan Gravy.
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