Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

First, let me preface this by saying that I adapted this recipe from a Paula Dean recipe that had seen on a show of hers and knew my husband would love. I saw that a meatloaf "blend" was on sale in the grocery store so I grabbed some and remembered this recipe. That being said, anyone who knows anything about Paula Dean, knows that her food can't exactly be called healthy. So fair warning, this is not for the timid of heart or stomach. But my husband deserved a great meal and this is what I gave him. It will be greens for the rest of the week, to make up for it! :-)

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf
(adapted from Paula Dean)

1 pound ground beef (I used a mixture of ground beef and pork because it was packaged together on sale.)
1 teaspoon House seasoning**
1 teaspoon steak seasoning salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
2-3 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled
2-3 slices of white bread

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except the white bread and the ingredients for the glaze.

Shape the meat mixture into a loaf and place on top of foil-lined baking sheet or loaf pan, with the bread slices underneath. These will help absorb extra grease and should be discarded after the meatloaf is finished cooking. (This is how my set-up looked.)


Cook meatloaf until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 155 degrees. For me, this was about an hour.

During this time, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a separate dish.

Spread the glaze onto the meatloaf after about 50 minutes of cooking.


You will notice that my recipe strays quite a bit from Paula's. My "sauce" is more of a glaze and instead of adding sour cream for moisture and as a binder, I used one egg. Most of the other substitutions came about based on what I had in my pantry (bread crumbs instead of cracker crumbs, etc). Also, I used precooked bacon and all I had to do was zap it in the microwave and crumble it. Super easy. This meal was very hearty and, of course, rich. I paired it with a baked potato and salad and the result was goodness! And, for your information, yes, I did gratuitously put my Gators tumbler in the pic just for the opportunity to shout out my team! Go Gators!!

**House seasoning is very easy to make. Make your own by mixing 1 part garlic powder and 1 part black pepper with 4 parts salt.