Meatloaf

I always wanted to make meatloaf. Every time I go to the US, I try it. I love how it tastes!
I looked for many recipes, read them all and I also look for the Mexican recipe "pastel de carne" that is a very similar dish.
I decided to follow Alton Brown's Good Eats Meatloaf. I didn't follow every step, but added my own changes and ingredients and it was so good! My husband loved it! And me too...

So, in order to make this delicious meatloaf you will need:

Ingredients

• 1 small old baguette (I used an old one because you need crumbs and it was already hard, couldn't use it in a sandwich)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon Knorr's Costilla Jugosa (powdered Homestyle Beef Flavor Stock)
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and broken
• 3 whole cloves garlic
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 lb ground chicken breast
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 oz cream cheese (I used Chipotle Philadelphia cream cheese)
• 2 slices of American cheese (I used Kraft's Singles)
• nonstick cooking spray

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• Dash hot pepper sauce (I think Tabasco will be ok, I used "La viuda de Sánchez")
• 1 tablespoon honey (I would recommend to use natural honey, not maple syrup)

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a food processor bowl, combine baguette pieces, black pepper, white pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. 

  

  

  

    

Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. 

Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and green pepper in the food processor bowl. 

Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. 

Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chicken breast with the bread crumb mixture. 

Season the meat mixture with salt. Add the egg and the beef stock powder and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

  

 

Prepare a baking tray with aluminum paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray (I used PAM) in it. If you don't have nonstick cooking spray, you can spread a little bit of vegetable oil or butter with a paper napking in the tray.

Take the meat mixture and make the meatloaf form with it, placing it in the center of the tray. Make a small canal in the middle of the meatloaf by taking out some meat and reserving it.

Place the American cheese slices in the middle canal and then top them with cream cheese. Cover the canal with the reserved meat mixture.

 

Place the meatloaf in the oven. It should take 45 minutes to cook.

In the meanwhile, combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush half the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.

Brush the other half of the glaze after it has been cooking for about 35 minutes. After 45 minutes have passed, change your oven to griller and leave the meatloaf for 6 minutes. Take it out and cool for 15 minutes before serving. 

In my experience, some of the American cheese spread in the top of the meatloaf. I do not have a problem with that, but if you do, try to make a bigger layer of covering meat for the canal.

I served it with mashed potatoes and salad.

For the salad I used Paul Newman's Poppy Seed dressing, cranberries and pecans.

NOTES: 

• Instead of American cheese and cream cheese you can use only one of them, or you can use hard-boiled egg, ham, or whatever you like!
• You can use other vegetables too: celery, a rainbow of peppers (orange, yellow, red and green), or whatever you like!

* November 1st

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