Chili Pepper Meatloaf

I have had meatloaf on the brain lately.  I don't really know why, I've just been thinking about it daily.  Do you ever get a food stuck in your head and think about it constantly?  No?  Maybe it's just me. . . I tend to think in food, and I kinda knew it wouldn't go away until I made some.

AND...

I've been seeing these adorable little tubes of spices in the produce section at the store.  I always look, then decide that I'm perfectly capable of chopping my own herbs . . . and I leave the little tubes at the store.

But ya know what?  Sometimes I don't have the time.  And sometimes the fresh produce isn't looking so fresh.  And sometimes I just don't feel like it.  So I picked up this little guy today.  He's the secret ingredient in this meatloaf.  Of course, if your grocery store doesn't carry these, you can just get a red chili pepper.

First, grab all of this for the meatloaf. . . .

Meatloaf
1 pound ground meat ( I always use the leanest I can find)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 Tbsp Red Chili Pepper Spice Blend (or 1 red chili pepper, minced)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup diced tomatoes, drained (canned is fine)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt

and this for the sauce. . . .

Sauce
1 1/2 cups pureed tomato (about (1) 28oz can)
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp Red Chili Pepper Spice Blend (or 1 red chili pepper, minced)
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Throw all of the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl.

Squish it all together with CLEAN hands.

Form into a loaf in a square pan.  I use a 9" pan, so there's room in the oven for another pan with potatoes.  If you have a hungry crew, you might need 2 meatloafs (meatloaves?). . . so you'll have to do a 9x13 pan.  But if one pound of meat serves your family, definitely think ahead of time about where you'll cook your potatoes ~ it's kind of a rule that meatloaf has potatoes next to it.

Put this in the preheated oven, uncovered for about 15 minutes, to brown.

Meanwhile, mix up your sauce.  Just put everything together in a bowl

and whisk

until the cream of mushroom isn't clumpy anymore.

Remove your browned meatloaf from the oven,

and pour the sauce in the pan.

Return to the oven (still uncovered), reduce ove temperature to 375 degrees, and cook another 45-55 minutes, until cooked through.

Serve in slices with sauce poured over the top.  For smaller children I break it into pieces with the spatula and hold off on extra sauce.  There's a little heat in the sauce, so what's on there in the pan is probably enough for the younger ones.  Mine attacked this and asked for more.

Get the printable here!

***Make Ahead Tip***  You can mix everything up for your meatloaf, form it in the pan, cover it and store it in the fridge overnight.  That way when you get home from work and you're too tired to cook, all you have to do is throw it in the oven.  Don't forget to go ahead and mix up your sauce too.  Just store it in a separate container in the fridge. 

This recipe is linked to:
Mingle Monday and Melt in Your Mouth Monday