Sliced meatloaf with tri-meat.

Funny thing about meatloaf is, it really wasn’t my favorite food growing up. In school they had a slice of mystery meat with brown gravy. I bought those school lunches for 30 cents everyday which came in a molded tray with one large section and three smaller areas. The kitchen in school had a distinctive odor a mixture of food and disinfectant which permeated the very walls of the institution. Not very appetizing to say the least. Milk was in one section, a vegetable and fruit or cookie was in the third. Metal flatware was in a molded area on the right side of the tray wrapped in a napkin. My Mom made a meatloaf recipe with cream of mushroom soup, beef ground meat and other ingredients which she also stuffed peppers with. That recipe was better tasting, however when I met DH and was invited to dinner at his house, his Dad made a meatloaf that had everything in it except the kitchen sink. At that time, it was the best moist and flavorful meatloaf I had ever had. I ate it without any gravy too! I tried to replicate it, but neither DH nor I ever did. DH and I would never measure ingredients and would make meatloaf consisting of ground beef, breadcrumbs, sweet hot mustard, barbecue sauce and onions. We ate that type for years. After trying the tri-meat, I became a convert. The below meatloaf recipe has become a labor of love and it is the result of many different versions. Nowadays when creating a recipe, I write it down while cooking and I am conscious of the measurements. No more haphazardly throwing things in.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds tri-meat (veal, pork, beef)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (seasoned)
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup Caesar salad dressing
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 16 ounces marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F.
2. In a large bowl, combine Tri-meat, panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, basil, egg, garlic and Caesar dressing until combined, but don’t over mix it.
3. I suggest you line a baking dish with non-stick aluminum foil, for easier clean-up.
4. Form meat mixture into a mound shape and place it in a large enough baking dish that there is space all around it.
5. Use one cup of marinara sauce to coat the meat loaf mound on all sides except the bottom.
6. Bake meatloaf for an hour.
7. Heat remaining sauce up in microwave at 1 minute, 30 seconds.
8. Slice meatloaf and drizzle sauce on top.
9. Enjoy!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 1 minute, 30 seconds

Servings: 8