Shirley’s Famous Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
6 oz. loose sausage meat
1 ¼ cups chopped onion
1 cup fine bread crumbs
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 (10 ¾ oz) can tomato soup
2 ½ strips uncooked bacon
4 strips green pepper (½ inch wide, cut vertically)

Makes 10 slices

Directions:

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line the bottom and narrow ends of a 9-inch by 5-inch by 3-inch loaf pan with a single strip of parchment, allowing 1 to 2 inch overhang at each end. Coat pan and liner with vegetable spray.

2. Combine ground beef and sausage meat in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In a smaller bowl, combine onion, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.

4. Working quickly with your hands, add bread crumb mixture to meat and mix to combine. Do not overwork or meatloaf will be tough. Add half of the tomato soup and quickly combine.

5. Place the meatloaf in prepared pan. Spread remaining tomato soup over top. Cut strips of bacon in half and arrange alternating strips of bacon and green pepper over top of meatloaf. Bake 1 hour.

6. Turn off oven and let meatloaf stand in oven another 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf registers 160°F.

7. Remove meatloaf from oven and cool in a pan on a rack for 30 minutes. Grasp both ends of parchment liner and lift meatloaf from pan.

8. To serve, cut meatloaf into slices, place on a baking pan, cover with foil and set in 350 degree F oven until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.