FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - JEN TUCKER - BACON WRAPPED HEART-SHAPED MEATLOAF

Thank you, Tracie, for including me and my sensational love for food this month on your blog. Hugs!

Family traditions. They occur, and sometimes spontaneously combust, whether we’re ready or not. Some are passed down through generations, while others seem to appear from left field.  I’m not quite sure how heart-shaped meatloaf became the centerpiece of my mother’s annual Valentine’s Day meal, yet it keeps showing up year after year. 

The woman who created the Bacon Wrapped Heart-shaped Meatloaf, Becky Herrick!

Don’t get me wrong; I love a good meatloaf. Especially when it’s a one and done type dish like my mom makes. She layers within the meat slices of Swiss cheese, and alternates it with thinly carved slices of honey baked ham. I think this dish is off the cholesterol scale for those trying to measure, so please don’t trouble yourselves. 

This year, Mom took the dish to new heights. She wrapped that meaty delight in bacon.

Yes, friends—bacon.

Then, just to cut the fat a wee bit, she covered the roast beast in brown sugar. For mercy’s sake! This dish and I connected on a level that seems inappropriate for me to transparently recap for you. I will tell you this; the dish was mouthwatering, salty yet sweet, my mom knocked the meatloaf out of the atmosphere! There’s no turning back to our old ways of loafing after enjoying this year’s phenom.

From my mom’s table, to yours, enjoy!

P.S.  I’m a horrible daughter who has no photos of said dish, yet swear it’s gospel that we eat it on cupid’s holiday. Instead, I’m including a fabulous video on how you braid bacon, because that’s really what you’re wanting, right?

[Blogger's Note]This isn't Jen's mom's meatloaf, but it will give you an idea of what a braided bacon meatloaf should look like. Yummy, right?

Bacon Wrapped Heart-shaped Meatloaf
By Becky Herrick 

1 lb ground beef

2 eggs
1/2 cup diced onion

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder 

6 slices of Swiss cheese (sandwich size slices) 

6 slices of ham (not shaved, yet thinly sliced) 

1 cup dark brown sugar 

1 lb. bacon

Directions
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

*In a large bowl mix, by hand, ground beef, eggs, diced

onions, garlic powder, and onion powder.

*Divide into two equal parts. Take one half of the mixture and sculpt into a flat heart on a jelly roll or roasting pan (these types of pans will help prevent grease from dipping into the oven).

*Layer three slices of cheese, then ham, then remaining cheese on top of meat.

*Take remaining half of meat and lay it on top of the ham. Work to form one large heart shape. 

*WEAVING THE BACON: Remove bacon from packaging and divide it into equal amounts.

Take 1 half of the bacon and lay side-by-side; long ways. 

Feed strips of bacon, one at a time, over and under the slices lying side-by-side to form a basket weave pattern.

*Wrap the weave around the beef, tucking the bacon under the meat and continue to maintain the heart shape. 

*Pat brown sugar on top of bacon. Use more than a cup if necessary.

*Place meatloaf in the center of the even. 

*Cook one hour. Add 15 minute increments if more time is needed. Use a meat thermometer to check for internal temperature. 

Serve with freshly blanched green beans, or buttered peas and baked potatoes.

Bestselling author, JEN TUCKER has found a place in women’s nonfiction literature writing about days that seem to take a wrong turn before they even get off the ground. Her memoirs include 2011 Goodreads Book Awards semifinalist in The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out, and her 2012 release, The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt. Jen writes humor columns for the popular websites Chick Lit Central and Survival for Blondes. She resides in West Lafayette, Indiana with her ever patient husband, their three children and two mischievous golden retrievers.     

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