Day 24, Quarantine Kitchen, Meatloaf

Growing up with an Italian mother, if there was ground beef, it was made into meatballs, or Polpettone, which was one big meatball made into a loaf smothered in a rich tomato sauce with a side of pasta.
As a kid, I never had Wonder bread or tuna noodle casserole, those were things that were exotic to me since I was getting pasta with tuna fish and homebaked Italian bread.  Don't get me wrong, there were things about this childhood diet that were sublime, but as a kid, all I wanted was for my mom to let me go to my friends' houses on Friday nights to have tuna noodle casserole, that creamy noodle filled casserole topped with crushed toasted potato chips, it was the food of my dreams for a while.  Meatloaf was another dream food since it was usually crowned with ketchup, which you wouldn't find in our house.  My mom and my Nonna were two of the best cooks I've ever had the pleasure of observing, but their repertoire was limited since they didn't use any convenience foods.  As a kid that was all that was on TV, and that's what I wanted.
So, with day 24 dawning with rain, and a bit of a nip in the air, I thought meatloaf would be the perfect comfort food for tonight.

Slow-Cooker Meat Loaf

Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

4 cups tomato sauce or tomato puree

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons Worcestershire 

2 tablespoons maple syrup

In a saucepan or the slow cooker, saute the onion until it is translucent.  Remove 1/4 cup of the onion, and set aside.  

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  If you are using a saucepan, transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, and set on high while making the meatloaf. 

1 piece sandwich bread, torn into pieces

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 pounds organic ground beef

1/4 sauteed onion

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (I used Penzey's 4S)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 large egg, beaten

3 slices bacon

Put the sandwich bread and milk into a bowl, and let the bread absorb the milk. 

Add the beef, reserved sauteed onion, ketchup, Worcestershire, seasoned salt, mustard, and egg.  

Stir to combine.  

Cook's Note:  At this point, I will take a bit of the mixture and fry it in a small saute pan to see if the seasoning is correct---this is a good check on whether it suits your taste or not. 

Shape into a loaf, and place in the sauce in the slow cooker.  Top with the bacon, and spoon some of the sauce over the meatloaf. 
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6 to 7 hours, until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 170 degrees.  Remove from the sauce, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  Skim the excess fat from the sauce before serving alongside the sliced meatloaf.   Any leftover sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months. 

As we head into this 4th week of self-isolation, there appears to be some encouraging news, although the number of deaths is still staggering.  Please stay at home and stay well, this is a critical period and you and your loved ones need to be well.  ciao for now.