Italian Meatloaf

This should yield 12 servings which translates to perhaps six servings for my household, what with us being the greedy food beasts we are. Serve with a side of vegetables sauteed in butter and mashed potatoes to bring a well rounded meal to the table.

The only meatloaf I’ve eaten for over 20 years is mine, but this sounded so good I had to try it. Scored! I liked that it has marinara sauce, not ketchup (yew!) on the top. I covered it with foil and baked it on the barbecue (works like an oven and keeps the house cool in the summer). This is a definite repeat!

This may be a silly question, but this will be my first meatloaf; do you use a loaf pan or do you put it on something flat like a baking stone?

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground mild Italian sausage
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 C. chopped bell pepper (I used orange, it was all I had in the freezer)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. parsley
1 egg, beaten
3/4 C. Italian bread crumbs
2 slices white bread, crumbled
1 T. milk
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese, reserve 3/4 C. for topping
1/4 C. parmesan cheese
1 C. marinara sauce, plus 1/2 -3/4 C. more for topping

DIRECTIONS:

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over med. high heat and sauté the onion and bell pepper for 3-4 minutes, remove from heat. In a large bowl, add the meats, onion and peppers along with all remaining ingredients reserving 3/4 C. mozzarella cheese for topping. Now, dive in there with the best tools God gave you, your hands and combine everything really good. Once it has all come together, place and mold the mixture in a baking dish of your choice. I used my oval Portuguese stoneware for ours. Spoon 1/2 to 3/4 C. of the marinara sauce on top and spread around. Place in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese and sprinkle a little dry basil over the top …