This is a delicious meatloaf recipe with a twist of bacon wrapped around it and in it plus the cheese cooked right inside.  If you love bacon cheeseburgers then you will love this recipe 😉 

Ingredients:

You will need a 1.5 lb Loaf pan or a 9×13″ pan

• 1 1/2 LBS of Lean Ground Beef
• 1/2 LB of Ground Sausage (I use a mild sausage but you can use a hot if you like a little spice)
• 1 Small Vidalia Onion Finely Chopped
• 1 Bell Pepper Finely Chopped
• 2 TBSP of Freshly Crushed Garlic (about 2 cloves)
• 2 tsp of Liquid Smoke
• 3 Eggs
• 1  Cup of Oatmeal
• 1 1/2 Cups Freshly Grated Parmesan-Romano Cheese Blend
• 2 TBSP of Dried Minced Onion
• 2 TBSP of Italian Seasoning
• 1 TBSP of Black Pepper
• 1/4 Cup of Gulden’s Spicy Mustard
• 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 1/3 Cup of BBQ Sauce (I useDinosaur Bar-B-Que Sensuous Slathering BBQ Sauce)
• 1 Cup of Tomato Sauce (I use crushed tomatoes with basil & garlic)
• 1 LB of Bacon (4 slices of the bacon cooked but not crispy & chopped up small)
• 1 16oz Brick of Galbani Mozzarella Cheese (slice the brick into 4 slices)

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 275* (after 1 hour of cooking you will bring your oven temp to 475*)

• In a large bowl combine your beef and pork together well
• Add your onions, garlic and peppers, mix well
• Add 1 tsp of the liquid smoke, 1/2 Cup of the crushed tomatoes all of your dried minced onion, italian seasoning and black pepper, combining with the meat well
• Next add in your 4 slices of cooked bacon, oatmeal and parmesan, ramano grated cheese blend, mix all the ingredients very well together
• Set your meat mixture aside
• In a bowl combine your mustard, brown sugar, tomato sauce, other teaspoon of the liquid smoke and bbq sauce together (this is your basting sauce)

Putting Your Meatloaf  Together

1. Take half of your meat mixture and press it gently into your pan
2. Put your sliced mozzarella evenly in the middle of your meat mixture
3. Press the other half of your meat mixture on top of the mozzarella, sealing the meat together in the middle
4. Brush the top and sides of the beef with your basting sauce
5. Take the rest of your bacon (uncooked) and cut it in half, starting at one end of your meatloaf, place a piece of bacon across it and make sure that it is pushed around the side of the loaf encasing the meat
6. Brush the entire meatloaf with your basting mixture (not heavy, just lightly, you will need to have enough to baste your meatloaf 2 more times while cooking)
7. Put your meatloaf into your preheated oven on the middle rack
8. Cook for 1 hour at 275* basting after 30 minutes
9. Increase your oven temperature to 475* and baste your loaf again
10. Cook for another 30 minutes or until your bacon is golden brown and your meat thermometer inserted halfway in the middle of your meatloaf reads 160*
11. Take out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing