Okay...here ya go:
First make the Tomato relish (this is for a single recipe of this, but it is so yummy, I always double it)
Extrra Virgin Olive Oil
1 onion, finly diced
2 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced fine
1/4c FRESH flat leaf parsley
1 12oz bottle ketchup
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
Seasalt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Coat a skillet with a 2 count of the EVOO and place over me3dium heat. Saut the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Then toss in the red peppers and cook them a couple of minuts to soften. Then, add the tomatoes, stir in the parsley, ketchup and Worchestershire sauce. Season with seasalt and pepper to pull all of the flavors together. Allow to simmer a few minutes, then remove from heat, while you get the meatloaf started.
Meatloaf
3 slices of white bread, crusts removed and torn into chunks
1/4c whole milk
1 and 1/2 lbs of ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 eggs
2 sprigs of FRESH thyme (de-leaf and just use leaves)
salt and pepper
4 slices of bacon
Place the bread in a bowl and pour milk over it to just barely cover. Swish it around and leave to soak. In a LARGE mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 and 1/2 cups of the tomato relish from above, eggs, thyme, salt and pepper. Squeeze extra milk from bread that has been soaking and add the bread to the meat mixture. Lightly spray crisco on cookie sheet then transfer meat mixture to the cookie sheet. Form it into a 9" x 4" loaf. Coat the top of the meatloaf with 1/2 c tomato relish. Lay bacon, lengthwise on top. Bake 1 and 1/2 hours until bacon is crisp and meatloaf is firm. Rotate occasionally while baking. Cool before serving and serve with extra relish on the side.
This is a family favorite around here. I hope you love it as much as we do. Typically I serve it with mashed potatoes and green beans. MMMMMMMmmmmmmm....