I have never had a lot of love for meatloaf, but my family likes it so I started tinkering with a few recipes and buying a nice blend of ground beef, pork and veal at the butcher.  The mix of meats helps keep the loaf tender, juicy, and flavorful. I love spice so this meatloaf is full of my favorite spices, lots of vegetables and has a sweet-spicy glaze on top that gives a nice kick. I am not a huge fan of bell peppers but if your family likes them they would make a great addition or substation in this recipe. I will normally serve with broccoli or green beans and a baked sweet potato. I opt for the sweet potato over mashed white potatoes to save on calories and get some added vitamins. Meatloaf is a simple weeknight dinner and everyone fights for the leftovers out of the fridge for snacks and lunch.

Sweet and Spicy Meatloaf

Ingredients

For the Meatloaf

  • 2 lbs mixed ground meat beef, pork, veal
  • ¼ cup bread crumbs any kind will work
  • 1 egg
  • 2 stalks of celery diced small
  • 1 carrot diced small
  • 1 small onion diced small
  • ¼ tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp chipotle chili pepper
  • 4 cloves of garlic minced or micoplaned
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1.5 tsp salt or favorite seasoning salt
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • Dash of hot sauce
  • Ground black pepper to taste

For the Glaze

  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ ketchup
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced or microplaned
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Pinch chipotle chili pepper
  • Dash of low sodium soy sauce
  • Black pepper and salt to taste
  • Hot sauce to taste

Instructions

The Meatloaf

  1. Pre heat your oven to 325 degrees. Making meat loaf is pretty simple, everything goes in the bowl and you mix it up. Some people like the veggies diced really small and will use the food processor, I just give a good chop with the knife. Don’t over work the meat when you are mixing. If it feels to dry a splash of olive oil can help it come together.
  2. Next get your baking sheet ready by lining it with parchment paper, be sure to use a pan with an edge all the way around like a jelly roll pan so you don’t have any liquid dripping into your oven. Form the meat into a loaf either with your hands or using a loaf pan as a mold.
  3. Place the meat on the baking sheet and into the oven for 45-60 minutes or until internal temperature is a least 155 degrees. After the loaf has been in the oven for 20 minutes drizzle the glaze over it.

The Glaze

  1. The sauce is simple too. I mix the honey and ketchup together first and pop into the microwave for 20 seconds to make it easier to stir. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients taste the sauce and adjust to your liking. I use a lot of Cholula hot sauce in my glaze but I like it hot so do whatever tastes good to you. Don’t forget to apply the glaze after the loaf has baked for about 20 minutes.

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