Some days, all I want is comfort food. So, yesterday I decided to make meatloaf. But I didn’t have any regular bulk pork sausage in the freezer. What I did have, however, was some bulk sweet Italian sausage. OK, that’ll do! And then, why not look for a new recipe? (My favorite thing to do!) And what I found, and only slightly modified, was this recipe on the bellyful.net site.

The meatloaf was so delicious! So, I knew I just had to share this recipe with you. I served it with baked gold potatoes and Simple Oven Roasted Eggplant Chunks. And if you haven’t tried this eggplant preparation yet, WHAT IN HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Mr. C. commented again last night how much he liked the eggplant. And not every veggie gets that kind of review from this quasi-veggie lover!

Well, that’s it for today. I don’t even have a book review for you today because I have been continuing to read Cara Black books, and I’ve told you how fun her books are already. But soon I will be telling you all about the current book I am reading, written by Janet Skeslien Charles, a new author to me. The book is entitled The Paris Library. Set in Paris, 1939 and Montana, 1983. I’m almost finished with the book, so you don’t have long to wait for my review. (Spoiler alert. It’s going to be a good review.)

And there will be no political commentary today. I’ve been writing so much lately that I’m totally burned out on the subject. (And aren’t we all!)

So, as always, peace and love to all.            

For the meatloaf:

½ onion, finely minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 T. finely chopped parsley

2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten

3 T. ketchup

¾ c. Italian breadcrumbs

⅓ c. whole milk

¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1½ tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. paprika

freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. lean ground beef 

Stir the onion, garlic, parsley, eggs, ketchup, breadcrumbs, milk, Parmesan cheese, W. sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, paprika, and black pepper together in a large mixing bowl. Add the Italian sausage and mix it into the other ingredients. (I use a serving fork for this. It does a great job.) When the Italian sausage is well dispersed, stir in the ground beef.

Form the meat mixture into 2 football shaped flat loaves in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 45-minutes. Remove from oven and slather with the meatloaf sauce.

Return to oven for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches at least 160 degrees.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serve with mashed, baked, or roasted potatoes and a veggie or salad.  

For the meatloaf sauce:

½ c. ketchup

¼ c. brown sugar  

½ tsp. granulated garlic

½ tsp. granulated onion

pinch seasoned salt

freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, stir all the ingredients together.