Meatloaf Bliss

Being a newlywed is a funny thing.  It's been a long time since my wife and I were marriage rookies, but as I think back to those early days, I can't help but remember it being a little awkward at first.  Although we dated for almost two years before getting married, we never lived together until after the wedding and so it felt a little like getting a new roommate in college. It took us a little while to figure out how to live together.  Who will do the laundry?  Who will do the yardwork?  What really is the right way to put lights on the Christmas tree?  I am messy, she is not.  Who will do the grocery shopping? Who will pay the bills?  What are we having for dinner?

What are we having for dinner?  A question that is still asked everyday in our house.  But back then, she and I quickly realized that each of us had a couple of meals that we could cook fairly well.  I had a little gas grill (amateur!) and could do burgers and steaks and every now and then a juicy piece of chicken.  I could also do spaghetti.  She had a bunch of her mom's casserole recipes, she could do lasagna (to this day it's the best lasagna I've ever had!) and she could do meatloaf.

I will never in my life forget the first time she ever cooked meatloaf.  I came home one evening to a loaf of meat cooking away in the microwave.  "Huh," I thought to myself.  "I've never seen meatloaf cooked in the microwave before."  But I went with it and to be totally honest, it tasted pretty good.  Apparently, that's how her mom had always cooked meatloaf.  But there was just something weird about cooking meatloaf in the microwave.

Fast forward a few years, the two of us had become fairly comfortable in the kitchen and we were having fun trying new dishes and playing around with recipes we found on the web.  One day my wife mentioned cooking meatloaf and I suggested we try something different.  I had just had a conversation with a guy at our church earlier in the week about meatloaf and he talked about how he used Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs and it sounded excellent so I figured this might be the right time to take our meatloaf in a different direction (like towards the oven and away from the microwave!).  This began our journey to meatloaf perfection!

From the microwave, to the oven, and eventually to the grill, we just kept making it better, each time changing things up a little.  Less ketchup, more mustard, more crackers, less crackers, onions, bell peppers; you name it, we've tried it.  For a little while we were even wrapping the entire thing in bacon.  And eventually, after almost eight years of tinkering with one of America's most classic meals, we have achieved what our family considers Meatloaf Bliss.

In a large mixing bowl, combine two and a half pounds of ground beef, two eggs, two sleeves of crushed Ritz crackers, one sixteen ounce container of Garden Fresh Thick and Chunky Salsa, one can of strained and rinsed black beans, one can of strained and rinsed sweet corn, three tablespoons of mustard and two tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce.  Divide the mix into two loaves and place the loaves on a cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for about thirty minutes.

While the loaves are chilling, fry half a pound of bacon and break the pieces up into bacon crumbles.  Then head out to the grill and get it set up for cooking with indirect heat.  Bring the grill temp up to 350 degrees and add a couple of chunks of hickory or pecan.  Before placing the loaves on the grill, top each loaf with a couple of handfuls of light brown sugar and the bacon crumbles.  You may have to lightly press the bacon crumbles into the loaves so they will stay in place.

Cook the meatloaves at 350 degrees until they reach an internal temperature of 165.  Remove them from the grill with a large spatula and let them rest for about twenty minutes before serving.