Old-Fashioned Bacon Meatloaf

Why do so many cooks still act like they assume only women cook? For instance, aside from using "y'all" all of the time, Paula Deen frequently addresses her audience as "ladies" or "women" even though she has two sons who love to cook. On Spanish-speaking cooking shows, the male and female hosts address the audience as "señoras" ("ladies" or "women"). I just don't get it; it is so frustrating to me. Click here for more...

Another related pet peeve of mine is when people say something like "Oh, this [insert comfort dish] is just like how your mom or grandma used to make." ARGH!!!! Most of my readers know that I am proud that my mom doesn't know how and doesn't like to cook. My dad, on the other hand, was a great cook before he had his stroke. Just because someone is female doesn't automatically mean she should be in the kitchen, and contradicting examples of that assumption are everywhere!!
I only mention these pet peeves of mine because it reminds me of this meatloaf. This wonderful, flavorful, moist, amazing meatloaf was inspired by the recipe on Paula Deen's website and Food Network. According to her site, the meatloaf has two titles: "Old-Fashioned Meatloaf" and "Basic Meat Loaf Recipe" and some of the cooks/readers wrote comments about how it tastes just like mom or grandma used to make. WHATEVER THAT MEANS!! A meatloaf from my mom would be...well....Mother's Day is coming up, so I will just fill that blank with "I LOVE YOU, MOM!"

I modified this meatloaf recipe so much that I can no longer say it is from or even adapted from the "Lady PD" (hehe), so I'll just say that it was inspired from her recipe. My version is a bit more involved than that of Paula Deen, but I think it is much more flavorful because I cooked the veggies, added another type of ground meat along with crispy bacon. The broken-up bacon pieces add a great contrast to the soft texture of the meat!
I added Worcestershire sauce to the glaze, and just put it over the top of the loaf. I accompanied the meatloaf with a quick version of the mashed potato recipe on Pioneer Woman. It was quicker because I didn't bake it after mashing and heating up the potato mixture over the stove. Not baking the potato mixture made the mashed potatoes much smoother. Lastly, in order to incorporate more veggies in my diet (yes, you're still on my blog hehe), I made a simple salad with Romaine lettuce, fresh tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing.

I hope you make this dish. It is so comforting and adaptable. It tastes just like how your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, cousin, OR favorite restaurant used to make it LOL!

Old-Fashioned Bacon Meatloaf
recipe inspired by Paula Deen's recipe on Food Network

5-8 pieces of bacon
1/2 large onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 handful of fresh (or dried) parsley, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork (you could also use more beef, ground turkey, veal, or chicken)
1 1/4 teaspoon Kosher or seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
2 freshly cut tomatoes or 16 oz canned, diced tomatoes (w/o juice) (I cut 2 fresh tomatoes)
1 cup quick-cooking oats
Topping:

2/3 cup ketchup
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon yellow mustard (or Dijon, if you like that flavor)
1-2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Render the fat from the bacon in a skillet. Remove bacon and set aside. Place chopped veggies (I chopped the veggies together in the food processor) in the bacon fat, and cook until translucent. Allow veggie mixture to cool, and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Season the ground meat, and place it, along with the crispy bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and oats in a big bowl. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooled, cooked veggies on top of the meat mixture, and mix everything with your hands (using your hands helps prevent over-mixing and helps you feel when the mixture is fully amalgamated). Place mixture in a loaf pan, and shape or flatten it into a loaf.
Topping:
Mix ingredients for topping and spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour. (I accidentally placed the topping on the meatloaf AFTER baking it. You could put half of the mixture on the loaf before baking and the rest afterward. The sauce is so addicting!)